Adding Winter Color with Conifers

One of the most common design requests by our customers is ensuring that they have colour in their garden over the entire year. Thankfully, we live in a gardening climate where we can have twelve months of flowers. That said, some of the winter-flowering perennials and shrubs can leave a lot to be desired once the weather warms and the rest of the garden catches up. One way that we like to soften this effect is by using evergreens that are vibrantly colored (or change color in the cold). Here are a few of our favourite conifers that will be sure to brighten up your winter garden.

Elegant Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica ‘elegans’)

Every year we get a call from someone wondering why their new cryptomeria is dying.  It’s easy to think the plant is in dire straits when it goes from lively chartreuse in the summer to a livid rusty-chocolaty-purple once the weather changes.  This is completely normal and actually has a tremendous visual effect in the garden (especially in such a large tree).  Equally fun is watching it turn back green again in the spring (don’t blink or you might miss it).  Alternately, ‘Heatherbun’ is another Cryptomeria with similar colors but stays at only 4 feet tall.

 Ice Blue juniper (Juniper horizontalis ‘Monbar’)

A great trailing juniper anyway but it excels in the cold when the plant turns a shade of purple.  Don’t fret if the thermometer stays above freezing, the cool blue foliage is striking all year long.  For a similar colour but more upright shape, try a Blue Star juniper.

Firefly Heather (Calluna vulgaris ‘Firefly’)

When planting for winter interest, it might seem like a bit of a leap to choose a summer-flowering heather over their much cherished winter-flowering cousins.  But one look at the fiery brick-red winter foliage of this plant will make anyone stop and stare.  It’s no slouch during the rest of the year either as its color will move through lemon yellow-gold-bronze in the shoulder months.

Sungold Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Sungold’)

There aren’t many shrubs as golden as ‘Sungold’.  They do trend toward green in the late spring and early summer, but the foliage will yellow through the fall.  ‘Sungold’ will grow in part shade but will only reach its resplendent potential in a full sun bed.

Silver Korean Fir (Abes koreana  ‘Silberlocke’)

This fir is a terrific addition to any garden where a lighter colored evergreen is required.  The underside of the needles are silver but they curl up to become the dominant color giving the entire tree a ‘frosted’ look all through the year.  As an added bonus, a silver fir will keep a neat upright form and won’t require much shaping.

This is not meant to be a comprehensive list and a deeper dive into any of the genus’ listed will be sure to give you many more types to try.  To see photographs of the plants listed in the article, head over to the blog on our website (www.redfeatherhorticulture.com).  If you have a winter interest conifer to suggest or if you just need some help in your garden in 2020: please feel free to drop us a line at info@redfeatherhorticulture.com.  Good gardening!