Find the right conifers to add beauty and structure to your landscape.
When you think of conifers, aChristmas treeprobably comes to mind.
Yet these cone-bearing plants come in various shapes, sizes, and colors.
Credit: Annie Schlechter
Use our guide to the best choices to provide year-round beauty and structure to your landscape.
Choose from spruce, fir, pine, and other conifer tree types.
The soft needles also curl toward the stem, giving this conifer tree a decidedly flocked appearance year-round.
Credit: Justin Hancock
As it grows, this fir develops a classic, pyramidal Christmas tree shape.
Weeping white pine is a widely adaptable tree native to parts of North America.
Name:Pinus strobusPendula
Size:As tall as its supported.
Credit: Kritsada Panichgul
Many selections reach no more than eight feet tall and take a long time to reach their mature size.
The effect gives the entire tree a distinctive texture.
Thisfast-growing evergreenreaches about 12 feet over its first decade.
Credit: Justin Hancock
Golden Korean fir is a standout among these varieties.
It offers decidedly greenish-yellow needles in the spring, but they slowly fade to green by winter.
The trees sunny coloring contrasts beautifully with its purplish cones.
Credit: Justin Hancock
However, in cultivated landscapes, they’re more likely to last less than a century.
As the name implies, its cones are prickly.
Its native to areas of North America.
Credit: Justin Hancock
Its widely used as a bonsai or acontainer plant.
Its native to areas of North America and makes an excellent choice forwildlife gardens.
Many varieties are available, including columnar forms thatmake an excellent focal point in the landscape.
Credit: Justin Hancock
During the holidays, this tree is often available potted.
Fraser fir is native to Eastern North America.
This tree offers deep green foliage and a horizontal branching habit.
Credit: Justin Hancock
Try growing your own for the holidays.
Blisters on the otherwise very smooth, gray-brown bark are a distinguishing characteristic of balsam fir trees.
If you plant this tree, it must be treated to protect it from this insect.
Credit: Jon Jensen
It offers feathery foliage that looks beautiful in spring and summer.
In autumn, the needles turn russet red and then drop, exposing the trees delightfully architectural branching habit.
It helps castshade and add privacyto decks, patios, and other outdoor living areas.
Credit: Justin Hancock
In the wild, its considered endangered.
Cypress trees are also very common, but they belong to a different genus than blue pine.
Instead of leaves, conifer trees have needles.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Most conifers bear cones that house the plant’s seeds.
Some conifers are evergreen, others are not.
Credit: Justin Hancock
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Credit: Justin Hancock
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Credit: Bill Holt
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Credit: Marty Baldwin
