This week, we're going to talk about the big guys: iconic conifers that will reach over 60' tall at maturity. Most of these conifers are also fast-growing. There's something pretty magical about seeing a big healthy conifer in your yard and thinking back to the year you planted it as a small living Christmas tree. If you've got the room, we highly recommend these beauties - and they're all native to the west coast; four out of the five listed here can be found growing wild in Oregon!

Ponderosa Pine: Ponderosas are the classic pine here in southwest Oregon. They're stately-looking trees with dark green needles and dark, flaky bark. The biggest Ponderosa Pine in the state (268' tall) can be found growing in the Big Pine Campground, northwest of Grants Pass. Ponderosa Pines growing in your yard won't get that tall, but you can expect them to easily reach 60' to 100'.

Incense Cedar: Incense Cedars get their name from their wonderfully aromatic bark. They're lovely trees with rich green needles and reddish bark, and will happily grow in drier sites than most of the other trees mentioned here. They will probably reach a height of 60' - 70' when grown in your yard, but can get much larger in the wild. One of the largest Incense Cedars in the world - the Tanner Lakes Titan - is from right here in Jackson County, and is over 137', with an amazing dbh (diameter at breast height) of 12.8'!

Douglas-fir: Douglas-fir is the Oregon State Tree and is named for pioneering botanist David Douglas. Almost everyone is familiar with them as cut Christmas trees, so rather than include a photo of the tree itself, this photo shows the distinctive cones. They'll reach 80' to 100+' in the home landscape. Visitors to the Oregon Caves Big Tree trail have had a chance to see a 600-800 year-old Douglas-fir with the widest girth in the state.

Giant Sequoia: This is the only plant on the list that isn't native to Oregon, but they do grow well here. The biggest Giant Sequoia on the planet is the General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Forest, which is around 275' tall, with a 100' crown. In the home garden, expect a mature height of about 100'. Young trees are fast growing, and have a densely pyramidal shape with soft-looking bluish green needles. 

 Coast Redwood: Anyone who has ever driven along Highway 199 to the coast is familiar with these majestic trees. Coast Redwoods require a bit more water than the other trees listed here (think of the climate they grow in!), and will do especially well if planted along a creek or near a pond. Your tree will likely reach 100' or so tall at maturity. The biggest Coast Redwood in the world is 'Hyperion' - which grows in Redwood National and State Parks in Del Norte County. It measures a stunning 397' tall, making it the tallest tree in the world!

Shooting Star Nursery regularly carries all these trees, albeit in much smaller sizes than listed above! If you like the idea of planting a tree as a living legacy, this might just be the year to plant one of these beautiful conifers. 

Compact conifers - which range in size from 6' to 20' tall - are the perfect-sized plant for a small to mid-sized yard. They're large enough to make a statement but are a much more manageable size than large conifers, which can reach heights of 60-80' tall!

As we mentioned in our last Plant of the Week article, compact conifers never really stop growing - it's just that most of them grow fairly slowly and will remain small for a long time. The sizes given in the plant descriptions below are a good representative of their likely size in 10-20 years. Here are a some of our favorite compact conifers:

Dwarf Alberta Spruce: A dark green, columnar spruce. They are relatively slow growing (around 6"/year), and will reach 10 to 12’ tall by 4’ to 5’ wide in 10 years  

'Tannenbaum' Pine: 'Tannenbaum' is a taller variety of the popular Mugo Pine. They are dark green, with a dense pyramidal shape. Plants are moderate growing (6' to 12'/year) and will be approximately 10- 15’ tall by 6-12’ wide in 10 years.

'Horstmann's Silberlocke' Fir: This is such a showy little fir! 'Horstmann's Silberlocke' features upcurved needles with a white underside (see photo to the left).  Plants have a moderate growth habit (generally 6" to 12"/year), and will be around 12’ by 8’,  in 10 years.

'Black Hills' Spruce: ‘Black Hills’ Spruce is more heat tolerant than most other spruce, and has a nice greenish-blue color. They’re slow growing (generally less that 6”/year, and will reach 15-20’ tall by 10-15’ wide in 10 years. 

 'Oregon Green' Pine: A lovely deep, rich green pine with a moderate growth rate (6-12”/year); likely reaching 18-20’ tall by 15’ wide in 10 years.  

'Hoopsi' Blue Spruce: ‘Hoopsi’ is the very bluest of blue spruces! Plants grow around 6-12”/year, and will generally be about 25’ tall by 15’ wide at maturity.

We get a lot of requests for dwarf (under 6' tall) and compact (6' to 20' tall) conifers, and this is a great time of year to find a good selection of them here at Shooting Star Nursery!

Let's start with a word about conifer sizes. Like most conifers, these dwarf and compact conifers never really stop growing - it's just that most of them grow fairly slowly and will remain small for a long time. The sizes given in the plant descriptions below are a good representative of their likely size in 10-20 years. Here are a few of our favorite dwarf and compact conifer species:

Prostrate Colorado Blue Spruce: A sweet, prostrate form of Colorado Blue Spruce (shown here with Wilma Goldcrest Cypress in the background. These plants will do well in the garden, or in a large containter, and respond well to selective pruning and shaping. Size: 2' tall by 5'-8' wide in 10 years.

Hornbrook Pine: A lovely little dark green, dwarf pine; this variety started out as a 'witch's broom' on a standard Austrian Black Pine. They are medium growing (6 to 12"/year), and will reach 3-6' tall and wide in 10 years.

'Divinely Blue' Deodar Cedar: Do you love the graceful branches of Deodar Cedars, but can't find the room to accomodate an 80' tall tree? Consider this dwarf form! 'Divinely Blue' has the same blue-green needles of the full-sized Deodar Cedar, but forms a low mounding shape with nodding branch tips. Plants are slow-growing (less than 6"/year), and will measure roughly 2-6' by 3-6' in 10 years.

'Swiss Chalet' Stone Pine: This is a very showy and decorative-looking little pine. One of the things that makes it special is that its dark green needles have a white reverse side, which really makes tha plant "pop" in the garden. 'Swiss Chalet' has a moderate growth rate (6-12"/year), and will be 5-8' tall by 2-4' wide in 10 years. While 'Swiss Chalet' can tolerate full sun, it will look even better if you can provide it with a bit of afternoon shade.

 'Fat Albert' Blue Spruce: This tree is pretty much everything you have ever wanted in a Blue Spruce, and is one of our favorits here at Shooting Star! It's also a wonderful choice for a living Christmas tree. The needles are a lovely shade of blue-green, and ttrees have a chubby, densely pyramidal shape (hence the name). 'Fat Albert' is a fairly fast grower - often over 12"/year - and can reach sizes of 25' by 15' at maturity.

'The Blues' Weeping Blue Spruce: If you are looking for a truly striking specimen conifer that can provide a strong focal point in your garden, 'The Blues' Weeping Blue Spruce is a great choice. 'The Blues' has an irregular, weeping form - and no two plants are alike. They respond well to creating pruning and shaping, as you can see from the three shown to the right. Plants are relatively slow growing - generally around 6"/year, and will reach 6-8' tall by 2-4' wide in 10 years.

Another plant we love to sing the praises of: evergreen, usually compact, deer resistant and drought tolerant - with flowers that last 3 months or more. The only thing you have to do to enjoy them is to not overwater, and to prune the flower stems back to the base of the plant after blooming is done.

This photo shows a Euphorbia characias variety in full bloom, with Allium 'Purple Sensation' in the foreground. Flowering begins in early spring and will easily last into July. The flowers are set off by the larger bracts, thus lasting longer than a typical petaled flower. When flowering stalks start to brown or look faded, just prune the flower stem all the way to the ground so the new stems can fill in.

As an added bonus, Euphorbias are evergreen in all but the coldest Rogue Valley winters, and their foliage tends to color up in winter; providing a nice visual interest in the winter garden. Euphorbias will take full sun to half a day of sun and need well draining soil. They all have a white sap in their stems keeping the deer at bay but can also cause a rash in some people, so wear gloves when pruning Euphorbias.

There are many, many varieties of Euphorbia, here are some of our favorites:

If you have room for even one large conifer in your yard, Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) would top our list of recommendations!

Incense Cedars are native to the West coast; ranging all the way from northern Baja California up into central Oregon and western Nevada. Unlike many of the popular conifers frequently planted here in the Rogue Valley, Incense Cedar is heat and drought tolerant, and is tolerant of both clay and serpentine soils.

They get their common name from their wonderfully spicy-smelling, aromatic bark. Plants feature flattened sprays of rich green needles, with a rich reddish-brown bark that becomes deeply furrowed with age.

Young trees are dense, symmetrical, and pyramid-shaped which – happily – also makes them an excellent choice for a living Christmas tree.

Incense Cedars generally grow at a moderate rate (1-2’/year) and will probably reach a height of 60' - 70' when grown in your yard. Wild trees can get much bigger though. In fact, one of the largest Incense Cedars in the world - the Tanner Lakes Titan - is from right here in Jackson County, and is over 137' tall, with an amazing dbh (diameter at breast height) of 12.8'!

Fun fact: the genus name Calocedrus comes from the Greek words kalos meaning beautiful and cedrus meaning cedar tree!