Trees, Shrubs and Conifers: Soliciting suggestions for large unusual conifers, 1 by HoosierGreen

HoosierGreen wrote:
What a wonderful opportunity for you. If at all possible, I would visit an arboretum that has a collection of conifers. It'd be worth the trip to see first-hand the selection and what strikes your fancy. In general, the white pines have the fastest growth and there are lots of unusual cultivars, some of which get large. Korean pines and Himalayan pines are both strikingly beautiful and fast-growing too. There are lots of unusual cultivars of Norway Spruce, which again are fairly fast-growing.

A few places you could visit to get some ideas and which are located relatively near you would be Rich's Foxwillow Trees (northwest of Chicago... retail and wholesale nursery with a good collection), the Morton Arboretum (west of Chicago), and the Missouri Botanical Gardens (St. Louis). A little farther, but definitely my first pick of the most outstanding rare and unusual conifers in the Midwest, is Hidden Lake Gardens in southeastern Michigan (photo). Nearby Hidden Lake is Gee Farm, with lots of unusual conifers available from one gallon to specimen and a very nice arboretum. Then, of course, the best of the best is the collection at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.

There are more that others can recommend, even fantastic Victorian age cemeteries such as Spring Grove north of Cincinnati, Ohio and one in Louisville, Kentucky. Hopefully, you'll get more suggestions.

You can Google any of these places for more info. Well worth the road trip!

This message was edited Dec 16, 2010 12:32 PM