Show #33/6107. Rare And Unusual Conifers

Tips For Making Conifers Happy

What do we need to be thinking about to make sure that our conifers are going to be happy and healthy? A lot of conifers like a well draining, slightly acidic soil. And that's important for the maples too. But with conifers, particularly the dwarf plants, once they’re established they don’t need a lot of care and attention. They don’t need to be deadheaded like rhododendron, for example. Once established in the ground, roots in the soil, in most cases they won’t even need supplemental water. The care of conifers is minimal. Pruning isn’t necessary, especially if dwarf, because they are slow growing. Some like to do candle pruning or something that reduces their growth rate, makes then a little more compact, a little easier to maintain in a smaller space. For the most part conifers are the easiest plant to grow. 

A lot of what they use in their container mix is a pine bark, medium bark. It’s small enough that it allows some of the water to soak in, but it's not fine enough that it's going to be like a saturated mud. There needs to be a balance. Sam thinks that if people add some compost to their gardens their conifers should do great.