Conifers, The Illustrated Encyclopedia

I've mentioned in the past that I house a library of plant books in the coffee room just outside of the main nursery office. I used to encourage my employees to avail themselves of the knowledge, as I thought that was an enlightened approach to advancing their careers. Ha – I was rong! – very few cared. Those who did take books home were liable to forget, and I was constantly pestering for their return. I regret losing some, such as the JD Vertrees 1^st edition of Japanese Maples which was signed by the author. I don't lend books anymore as I've grown into a bitter old man, and I've instructed my wife to dig an extra large grave when I pass, and dump all the books in with me.

Yesterday I pulled Conifers(1986) by DM van Gelderen and JRP van Hoey Smith from the shelf, which was signed by the latter. Paging through the photographic encyclopedia brought back memories of plants I used to grow as well as others still in production. Ten years later (in 1996) the authors doubled their effort and a two-volume set was published, and Timber Press from Portland, Oregon brags that “This book is the most complete collection of photographs – 2347 strong – of conifers ever assembled,”* and suggest that “It may also be used in conjunction with the detailed text descriptions in Gerd Krussmann's Manual of Cultivated Conifers,” one of the driest, most boring plant reference books ever (1985-translated-to-English edition).

*Hmm... “the most complete collection of photographs of conifers ever assembled.” I suspect that it has been more recently surpassed with newer publications, and even perhaps by the Buchholz Nursery photo library.

Mr. van Hoey Smith

The two-volume Conifers (1996) lists 190 photograph locations, and my nursery – with Buchholz thankfully spelled correct – is number 34 in alphabetical order. Hats off to the late van Hoey Smith for his world-wide photo collection, all of which were captured with color slides and kept in his well-organized files. vHS had no interest in going digital, and with his slides he bragged that he could locate any individual photo in a matter of seconds.

Picea sitchensis 'Sugarloaf'

Of the 15 photos from the Buchholz grounds, only three plants are currently in production: Juniperus scopulorum 'Tolleson's Blue Weeping', Chamaecyparis (Xanthocyparis) nootkatensis 'Green Arrow' and Picea sitchensis 'Sugarloaf', the latter described as “A dwarf form with twisted new shoots.”The book's photo is mediocre at best, but it is the same plant as my mediocre photo depicted above, some 27 years later. We dug the tree last week as it was crowding another conifer, Sequoiadendron giganteum 'Little Stan', which I valued more. The 'Sugarloaf' had grown to 4' tall by 7' wide, and was gifted to me early on by its discoverer, the late Bill Janssen of Washington state. It originated as a seedling on Sugarloaf (one word) Mountain in Oregon, a 1575' (480m) summit that was once proposed (in 1942) for an aircraft warning station against a Japanese invasion. Fortunately that didn't happen, especially since any visibility from the top is hampered most of the time by coastal fog.

Thuja orientalis 'Locogreen'

Another entry in the book (on page 652) is the Buchholz introduction of Thuja (Platycladus) orientalis 'Locogreen'. Unfortunately it is misidentified as named 'Lisa', but it was never so-designated. When visiting one summer vHS noticed it in the garden. A plastic label was at the base of the tree with the “Lisa” name and rooting hormone rate, but that name referred to the propagator while the metal label on the other side correctly said 'Locogreen'. It is described as “A dense cylindrical plant,”but strangely, “with greenish yellow foliage, turning yellow in spring.” Actually the foliage is dark green, per vHS's photo in summer, but with light green new growth in spring. 'Locogreen' looks similar to the old Euro cultivar 'Athrotaxoides', or so thought vHS, while the latter is said to be Difficult to propagate and hence rare.” Locogreen' is rather easy to propagate, at least for me, but the “difficult” suggestion rings true when this grower attempted to sell his propagules.

Thuja orientalis 'Locogold'

Thuja orientalis 'Locogold'

A twig mutation developed on T.o. 'Locogreen' which was bright yellow in color and I predicted it would be a cheerful, worthy cultivar. It too struck easily from rooted cuttings, but unfortunately it looks rather drab when grown in full sun. Nothing is worse than a conifer that is only “sort of gold,” and while a couple are planted in the collection, we no longer have it in production. The 'Locogreen'/'Locogold' tree in the photo above is no longer with me either, as it flopped apart in a snow storm and I dumped it...so if anything remains of the selection, you have the green version, not me. To conclude: 'Locogreen' is gone, 'Locogold' is no good', and 'Lisa'– also my ex-wife's name – is invalid...thanks for the memories.

Pseudotsuga menziesii 'Skyline'

A row of Pseudotsuga menziesii 'Skyline' is pictured on page 590, and is described: “This form has an extremely open habit, like that of Picea abies 'Viminalis'.”It has always been one of my favorite of conifer cultivars, which was discovered as a seedling on Skyline Blvd. on the West Hills of Portland, Oregon. I never saw the original tree, but my start came from the late Otto Solburger, from his world-class collection of conifers which the hillbilly assembled as a Christmas tree grower, located just one-half hour from my nursery. I never met Mr. S. either, but his wife was very kind, and my interest in propagating from her husband's “pines” warmed the old lady's heart. From his collection I promulgated Abies pindrow, Abies cilicica, Pinus gerardiana, Cupressus bakeri and many other seldom-encountered species. Though Otto was a slightly-educated Oregon rustic, he nevertheless developed contacts from around the world when it came to conifer species...then this young Buchholz later swooped in for the commercial harvest.

Sequoiadendron giganteum in Verboort, OR

Talon with Mr. and Mrs. van Hoey Smith in front of Sequoiadendron giganteum

One regret is that we never found the time for vHS to visit the Solburger farm...which he surely would have relished, but I fondly remember escorting him and wife Riet to Verboort, Oregon's early planting of Sequoiadendron giganteum in a Dutch community of ardent-Catholic settlers, where a grove of giant redwoods are among the oldest/largest in the world outside of their native range. I even slipped my arm around Mrs. v H.S. for the photo, and her husband never noticed – or cared – because he was then enthralled with the “Big Trees,” the “Giants of Verboort,” a group of seedlings planted by the pioneer nurseryman John Porter who collected the saplings from California. Porter originally ventured south to the “Golden state” to acquire instant wealth during the “Rush,” but had to settle for a bag of redwood seedlings instead.

Pinus densiflora

Pinus densiflora

Pinus funebris

I discovered Pinus funebris on page 463, and yes the photo location is at Buchholz Nursery. I don't have it in the collection anymore, and I can't explain why I didn't keep at least one around, other than the reality that no one would buy the species. Certainly P. funebris is winter-hardy as it comes from North Korea, Russia and northeastern China. Conifers states that “This rare species is closely related to P. densiflora,”and I may have seen it at a Beijing temple, but assumed at the time that the specimens there were of the latter species. The specific epithet funebris suggests a funereal association, and we also used to grow the “Mourning” cypress, AKA the “Chinese Weeping” cypress, Cupressus funebris, which is also found near graveyard temples. But honestly, if I had not seen it this week in Conifers, I would have completely forgotten that I ever grew Pinus funebris.

Pseudotsuga menziesii 'Compacta'

Pseudotsuga menziesii 'Compacta'

A tidy specimen of Pseudotsuga menziesii 'Compacta' occurs on page 583, and vHS photographed it at least 25 years ago. A mound-planting of Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star' can be seen in the background which helps me date the picture. It is in the middle of the original Display Garden and I can see it from my office window. I have fun leading visitors into the garden and asking, “Which tree do you suppose is the oldest?” All heads immediately tilt upward and some speculate that it must be the behemoth specimen of Pinus flexilis 'Vanderwolf's Pyramid', but nope, the pine is only about 35 year old. No, it's not the huge Acer palmatum 'Sango kaku', that's about 48 years old. Then I announce that it's the 'Compacta' Douglas fir, at least 60 years of age. Everyone expresses surprise that it's the nondescript conifer that we are standing next to, as they were probably expecting the oldestto be something more spectacular. I purchased the tree from the Chehalis Rare Plant Nursery about 40 years ago, so I'm only guessing at its current age. That nursery no longer exists, just as mine some day will also not. In Krussmann's Manual of Cultivated Conifers it is listed as 'Compacta Glauca', which describes the needles as “short and blue-green,” and was “developed near Hamburg, W. Germany by Ansorge before 1902.” vHS pointed out the location of the Ansorge Nursery as we drove by on a Conifer Society tour in 2000, but it existed no longer either. And too, the designation of “W. Germany” is now obsolete, but back when Krussmann's tome was published (1985) – really not that long ago – we Americans (and most Germans) never would have supposed that “West”and “East” would soon merge into just “One”Germany.

Tsuga mertensiana 'Blue Star'

None of my Tsuga mertensiana specimens or cultivars were depicted in Conifers, nevertheless a nice photo of T.m. 'Blue Star' is on page 690. I have seen the very same specimen myself at the von Gimborn Arboretum, Holland, and via a circuitous rout starts of that particular tree are in production at Buchholz Nursery, albeit on a very limited scale. The “Mountain hemlocks” are agonizingly slow in growth, and quality scionwood is usually limited. If the propagator chooses to root the cultivar, that can be accomplished, but in my experience that makes it even more slow-growing, plus the propagules tend to grow horizontally, and the grower is exasperated that it can take 8-10 years of constant staking to achieve a strong leader and a conical shape. Conifersstates that 'Blue Star' is: “A splendid, slender small tree with almost blue needles. Very difficult to propagate.” Again, only difficult if one lacks good scionwood, otherwise as successful as any Picea or Abies. The authors don't mention the origin of 'Blue Star', but Hillier in The Manual of Trees and Shrubs (2019) credits the Dutch firm of L. Konijn in 1965. Konijn also introduced Larix kaempferi 'Blue Rabbit'; because the company's name, Konijn, translates as “rabbit.” One gripe about T.m. 'Blue Star' is that the cultivar name was used previously for the popular Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star', with the latter introduced by another Dutch Nursery as a witch's broom on J.s. 'Meyeri', discovered by at least 1950 and finally introduced in 1964...but maybe in the 1960s Dutch nurseries couldn't keep up with each others' names.

Tsuga mertensiana

Tsuga mertensiana

Tsuga mertensiana

One wonders if Tsuga mertensiana truly belongs in the Tsuga genus, because to this non-botanist it seems so different from western USA's T. heterophylla and eastern USA's T. canadensis; and furthermore the various Chinese species, such as T. yunnanensis, resemble the above two American species. But then the two Japanese species, T. diversifolia and T. sieboldii look very different from the aforementioned American species as well. I don't know the botanical details, but I have spent a career handling all of the above during propagation. The botanist certainly notices – while the propagator/grower may not – that T. mertensiana differs from the other hemlock species in having stomata on the upper surface, along with needles arranged spirally around the shoot.

Tsuga mertensiana

Tsuga heterophylla

Tsuga heterophylla

With the above in mind, the Tsuga mertensiana range in western USA is similar to T. heterophylla, except that the former extends further east and usually at higher elevation; nevertheless I can show you where the two literally touch each other on the flanks of Mt. Hood, Oregon. Imagine then, my interest in a supposed hybrid of the two, x jeffreyi. In Swartley's The Cultivated Hemlocks, the proposed hybrid is T. heterophylla x T. mertensiana, but if the cross truly exists, how would anybody know whom is pollinating whom? The jeffreyiepithet honors the Scottish plant explorer and botanist John Jeffrey (1826-1854) who apparently perished without a trace at age 28 while travelling from San Diego across the Colorado Desert. Jeffrey started out as a gardener at Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden, then was appointed by a Scottish group known as the Oregon Associationto collect plant material in western North America. Since he sent his loot back to Edinburgh, he was honored with the x jeffreyiname, as well as Pinus jeffreyi and Dodecatheon jeffreyi.

Mount Baker

Swartley's The Cultivated Hemlocksprovides an interesting account of the Tsuga x jeffreyi origin:

“Formerly regarded as a variety of T. mertensiana, now regarded [1984] as a hybrid between T. mertensiana and T. heterophylla. If this be so, the second parent shows remarkably little in the hybrid. A tree with a curious and doubtful history in cultivation. It was first noticed in Edinburgh RBG from seed sown in 1851 deriving from near Mount Baker in British Columbia [actually Mount Baker exists in Washington state, not British Columbia, Canada]...It was thus unknown in the wild yet occurred three times in the British Isles. In 1967 or 1968 however, Mr. J. Duffield found a hybrid swarm of this parentage growing on the east side of White Pass, south of Mount Rainier, Washington.”

Mount Rainier

Tsuga mertensiana

Tsuga x jeffreyi

I would like to search for the White Pass swarm, but I'm not sure if I could distinguish it from pure T. mertensiana. The only specimen I have seen is at the von Gimborn Arboretum, where the tree was rather crowded with other conifers, so all I could do was record a lower, mertensiana-looking branch. In Conifers vHS has photographed the full tree and also a branch closeup from the same-and-only tree I have seen. In spite of Swartley's speculations of hybridity, Hillier and others now consider there to be three taxa, two subspecies and a minor variety of T. mertensiana: 1) T. mertensiana subsp. mertensiana, 2) T. mertensiana subsp. grandicona and 3) T. mertensiana var. jeffreyi.

Mrs. van Gelderen and Mr. van Hoey Smith at Firma Esveld

I have met both authors of Conifers, The Illustrated Encyclopedia, where supposedly D.M. van Gelderen of Firma Esveld in Boskoop provided the text and van Hoey Smith supplied the photographs. At the latter's Arboretum Trompenburg in Rotterdam I picked up a brochure that aptly describes the collection: “TROMPENBURG: Where the elite of the world's trees meet.”I like that motto, and perhaps they were inspired with the aid of a bottle of wine, just as I was with the Flora Wonder Arboretum: Plants from the Best Corners of the World.”

Mr. van Hoey Smith with Quercus pontica

The one plant in this blog that I have never grown is x jeffreyi or var. jeffreyi, so it's the tree that I covet the most out of all the entries in Conifers. Or, better yet, my desire would be sated if someone in the Flora Wonder Blog readership could lead me to a wild grove, which I've heard exists at more than one location. Help me to achieve my Coniferous Grail.