Abies balsamea
Common Name: Balsam Fir
Family Name: Pinaceae

EVERGREEN

Plant is Native to: North America, especially in the higher altitude from Labrador to Alberta to Pennsylvania. Cultivated since 1696. Hardy in Zone 3 to 5.
Plant Height at maturity: 45' to 75' by 20-30' spread.
Plant Habit and Form: Stiff in habit, symmetrically pyramidal or narrow-conical when young, but loses pyramidal shape with age.
Foliage: 5/8" to 1" long, 1/20 to 1/16" wide, horizontally arranged in 2 lateral sets with V-shaped parting between; apex slightly notched, upper surface shining dark green with interrupted lines of stomata towards the tip; lower surface has 2 gray bands of stomata; balsam odor.

Photo: West Simsbury, CT

Bark: Dull green, later grayish areas; smooth with numerous raised resin blisters. Breaking up into small reddish brown, scaly plates, ½" thick.

Photo: Keith Kanoti, Maine Forest Service, Bugwood.org

Flower: Male: yellow, catkin-like, develops from underside of leaf axil.

Photo: Joseph O'Brien, USDA Forest Service, US

Fruit/Seed: Cone: dark violet when young, 2 to 4" long, turning gray-brown and resinous at maturity. Once seeds ripen, scales fall off, leaving only central axis.

Photo: http://www.jungleseeds.com/SeedShop/HardyTrees.htm

Growing Requirements: Likes moist, well-drained, acid soil, with high humidity and cooler temperatures. Slow growth. Best to plant in spring, using small container grown or balled and burlapped plants.
Problems and Drawbacks: Looks good in its youth, but in hot, dry climates may lose leaves and look unkempt. Susceptible to spruce budworm, woolly adelgid and several canker diseases. Does not tolerate air pollution, therefore doesn’t do well in cities.
Special Uses: Popular as Christmas tree; landscape value as specimen tree or in groupings.
ID Tips/Remarks: Leaf has a definite balsam scent.
Bibliography:
Dirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, 1998 Stipes Publishing, Champaigne, IL
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/a/abibal/abibal1.html

Ilex crenata
Common Name: Japanese Holly, Box-leaved Holly
Family: Aquifoliaceae

EVERGREEN

Photo: Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT

Plant is Native to: Japan, Korea, many other Asian countries. Introduced to the US in 1898, at Arnold Arboretum.
Plant Height at maturity: 5 to 10' with similar spread.
Plant Habit and Form: A dense, compact shrub, with multiple rigid branches. Rounded or broad rounded outline. Slow growth.
Foliage: Dark green, lustrous leaves above. Evergreen. Oblong, alternating with serrated margins. 1 to 2" long. Short petiole.

Photo: Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT

Bark: Smooth, gray-brown or slightly greenish; mostly hidden by dense foliage.
Flower: Dioecious, unisexual, dull greenish white with 4 petals, in May-June; not showy. Grow in leaf-axils of current season’s growth.
Fruit/Seed: Black berry-like seed, 1/4" diameter; inconspicuous because born under the foliage. Only female plants bear fruit in September-October.
Growing Requirements: Zone 5 to 8, but best in 5 to 7. Prefers light, moist, well-drained, slightly acid soils; adapts to sun or shade. Does well in city gardens.
Problems and Drawbacks: In high pH soils, chlorosis may occur. Susceptible to spider mites, nematodes (in south) and black knot disease (Thielaviopsis basicola).
Special Uses: Good landscape plant, for textural differences in foundation plantings, hedges and masses. Exceptionally hardy and long-lived. In Japan, have been maintained for so long they can be walked on. Best if pruned in a natural style, but often over pruned to make ‘sculptures’.
ID Tips/Remarks: Differentiated from Buxus by its serrated leaf edges, and alternating leaf on stem. (Buxus has opposing leaves, with smooth edges).
Bibliography:
Dirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, 1998 Stipes Publishing, Champaigne, IL
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/i/ilecre/ilecre1.html

Juniperus virginiana
Common Name: Eastern red cedar
Family: Cupressaceae

EVERGREEN

Photo: Long Island, NY

Photo: Voluntown, CT

Plant is Native to: East and central North America.
Plant Height at maturity: 40 to 50' high, 8 to 20' spread.
Plant Habit and Form: Dense, pyramidal shape when young, to slightly pendulous in old age. Quite varied in appearance.

Foliage: Medium green, to sage green to blue-green in summer; becomes bronze to yellow-brown in winter. Leaves are scale-like or awl-like, about 1/16" long, longer on older branchlets, about 1/12" long. Arranged in 4 ranks, closely pressed and overlapping. Concave and glaucous above, green and convex below. Cedar scent when bruised.

Photo: Long Island, NY

Bark: Grayish to reddish brown, exfoliates in long strips.

Photo: Voluntown, CT

Flower: Usually dioecious, may have monoecious flowers on occasion. Staminate yellow, pistillate green.
Fruit/Seed: Waxy, blue fruits with an almost frosted appearance. Globular or ovoid cones, 1/4" across. Brownish violet, ripen in the first year. 1 to 2 small ovoid seeds, shining brown, with blunt-angular apex.

Photos: Long Island, NY

Growing Requirements: Transplants easily, and tolerates adverse conditions and gravelly soils. Prefers a sunny, airy location. Tolerant of shade, but only in youth. Tolerates high or low pH.

Problems and Drawbacks: Male tree turn an unpleasant yellow-brown color in winter. Susceptible to cedar apple rust and bagworms.
Special Uses: Good specimen plant, in groupings or as a screening. Good windbreak or hedge.
ID Tips/Remarks: Strong cedar scent when leaves are bruised, like a cedar chest or closet. Female has a pretty, almost frosty blue-green color when in cone, while males are more yellow-brown in winter.
Bibliography:
Dirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, 1998 Stipes Publishing, Champaigne, IL
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/j/junvir/junvir1.html

Picea abies
Common Name: Norway Spruce
Family: Pinaceae

EVERGREEN

Photo: Cedar Hill Cemetary, Hartford, CT

Plant is Native to: Native to northern and central Europe. Hardy to Zone 3.
Plant Height at maturity: 40 to 60 ft high, 30 to 35 ft wide.
Plant Habit and Form: Evergreen tree, with dense, conical shape when young, becomes more open in maturity. Has pendulous branchlets on horizontal branches.

Photo: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Foliage: Needles are stiff and pointed, ½ to 1 inch long. Alternate and spiral. They tend to point downwards and toward the stem tip. Medium green in color. Persist for 3 to 4 years.

Photo: Goshen, CT

Bark: Grey brown in color, with peeling thin scales.
Flower: Monoecious; female flower is pink in color, terminal.
Fruit/Seed: Cones are long and narrow, 4 to 6 inch long and 1 ½ to 2 inches wide. Light green when young, medium brown at maturity.
Growing Requirements: Even large trees transplant well. Best in full sun, in well-drained, sandy, loamy soil; tolerates slightly alkaline or acidic soil. Prefers cooler climates.
Problems and Drawbacks: Susceptible to spruce gall adelgid, red spiders, tip weevils, spruce budworm larva and bagworm. Cones may leave undesirable litter underneath. Shallow root system, therefore grass may grow poorly beneath.
Special Uses: Good as a specimen, or used in hedges, or as a windbreak. Can be a good shade tree, if evergreen is desired. Mature trees often found bordering farm lanes or driveways. Norway spruce is used in Rockefeller Center each year as a Christmas tree.

Photo: Goshen, CT

ID Tips/Remarks: Large evergreen tree with pendulous branchlets. Stiff pointed needles, that leave petiole on stem when pulled off. Long narrow cones. Adelgid galls.
Bibliography:
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/p/picabi/picabi1.html
http://hort.ufl.edu/trees/PICABIA.pdf
Dirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, 1998 Stipes Publishing, Champaigne, IL

Leucothoe fontanesiana
Common Name: Drooping leucothoe, Fetterbush
Family: Ericaceae

EVERGREEN

Photo: Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT

Plant is Native to: mountainous regions of southeastern U.S. Hardy in zones 4 to 6.
Plant Height at Maturity: 3 to 6 feet high and wide.
Plant Habit and Form: Broadleaf evergreen shrub; tends to sucker, colonize. Stout stems from base, limited lateral branches. Has graceful, arching stems.
Foliage: Dark shiny green mature foliage; leathery. Emerging shoots are bronze or reddish. 2 to 5" long. Leaves turn red in fall. Leaves are sharp pointed, with fine widely spaced serrations. Burgandy purple leaf color in fall with sufficient sun exposure.

Photos: Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT

Bark: Stems are a mix of green and red; glabrous and shiny.

Photo: Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT

Flower: Small white urn-shaped flowers, about 1/3" long, born on racemes that are up to 2-3" long. Borne in leaf axil. Fragrant and showy, but somewhat hidden by foliage. Flower in May.
Photo: Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT

Fruit/Seed: Capsule, not ornamentally significant.
Growing Requirements: Prefers moist, cool, shady location with acid soil. Protect from winter wind. Can rejuvenate old plants by pruning to ground in spring.
Problems and Drawbacks: Subject to leaf spot if air circulation is poor; winter dessication if in exposed site.
Special Uses: Great as an understory shrub, and does well in moist areas. Good in a mixed border with other ericaceous plants.
ID Tips/Remarks: Red-green stems with little lateral branching. Colonizing habit. Evergreen leaves with long sharp point and fine serrations on leaf margin. White urn-shaped flowers on racemes in leaf axil.
Bibliography:
Dirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, 1998 Stipes Publishing, Champaigne, IL
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/l/leufon/leufon1.html

Pieris japonica
Common Name: Japanese pieris, mistakenly called Andromeda
Family: Ericaceae

EVERGREEN

Photo: Wadsworth Estate, Middletown, CT

Plant is Native to: Japan, Taiwan and some parts of eastern China. Hardy to zone
Plant Height at maturity: 6 to 8 feet tall, spread almost as wide
Plant Habit and Form: broadleaf evergreen shrub with upright and spreading branching habit, rounded shape and dense foliage.

Photo: Wadsworth Estate, Middletown, CT

Foliage: leaves are glossy green, 1½ to 3½ inches long, ½ to 3/4 inch wide. Leaf margins are slightly serrated, and leaves are clustered in whorls at the tips. Emerging leaves are reddish.

Photo: Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT

Bark: Gray-brown, with light vertical fissures.
Flower: Small, white urn-shaped flowers, 1/4 inch long, held on 3 to 6 inch clusters. Bloom in March or April, lasting 2 to 3 weeks. Flower buds persist through fall and winter, and are red.

Photos: Wadsworth Estate, Middletown, CT

Fruit/Seed: Small, rounded dehiscent capsules. Not particularly desirable or attractive.
Growing Requirements: Prefers moist, well-drained acidic soil; partial shade but tolerates some sun. Keep protected from wind.
Problems and Drawbacks: Susceptible to lacebug, especially in hot dry spots, which sucks the juice from leaves causing yellow, stippled leaves); phytophthora root rot is also a problem. Also, florida was scale, two-spotted mite and nematodes. Leaves can suffer winter dessication in zone 5, and flower buds can freeze over winter.
Special Uses: Shrub border or foundation; deer resistant and shade loving.
ID Tips/Remarks: an early bloomer, with broad evergreen leaves; flower buds persist over winter.
Bibliography:
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/p/piejap/piejap1.html

Pinus strobus
Common Name: White pine
Family: Pinaceae

EVERGREEN

Penwood State Park, Bloomfield, CT

Plant is Native to: North America: throughout all of New England; from Newfoundland to Georgia and west to Iowa. Hardy to zone 3
Plant Height at maturity: 50 to 80 feet tall, by 30-50 feet wide, can reach over 100 feet tall. Plant Habit and Form: Tall, straight coniferous tree. Conical when young, has wispy, upturned, horizontal branches in maturity. Many lateral branches creates a moderately dense canopy. Fine texture and fast growing.

Voluntown, CT

Evergreen Way, Manchester, CT

Foliage: Thin, flexible evergreen needles, 3 to 5 inches long, with 5 soft, blue-green needles in each fascicle. Leaf sheath is deciduous. Serrated margins and two stomatal lines on underside.

Voluntown, CT

Bark: When young, bark is smooth, gray-green, with some splotches. When mature, becomes reddish-brown to gray-brown, with scaly, rounded ridges and long furrows. New stems are somewhat silvery-gray.

Voluntown, CT

Flower: Monoecious. Male flowers are yellow, cylindrical in clusters near branch tip. Females are light green, red-tinged, at ends of branches.

Fruit/Seed: Cones are 6 to 8" long, cylindrical, thick rounded scales. Light brown color, often numerous. Typically clustered in the upper third of the tree. Take two years for cones to reach maturity, mature in late summer.

Evergreen Way, Manchester, CT

Growing Requirements: Easily transplanted, easily gown. Prefers moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soil. Prefers sun, although young trees tolerate light shade. Cold tolerant.
Problems and Drawbacks: White pine weevil is common, causing leader death, but plants recover with an altered form. Wood is weak and cannot tolerate strong winds. Susceptible to salt, air pollution and white pine blister rust. Often suffers significant damage from ice and heavy snows.
Special Uses: Good specimen for parks or other large spaces; Dwarf cultivars make nice borders and mass plantings. Can be sheared, but if shearing is stopped will send our vigorous top growth which overgrows bottom branches. Used as Christmas tree.
ID Tips/Remarks: 5 needles per fascicle; serrated leaf margins; thin drooping needles. Smooth gray or silvery bark often with a green tint on younger branches. Cones are long, pendant and slightly curved. Most widely used pine in the Northeast.
Bibliography:
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=111

http:/www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/p/pinstri/pinstr1.html
Dirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, 1998 Stipes Publishing, Champaigne, IL

Kalmia latifolia
Common Name: Mountain laurel
Family: Ericaceae

EVERGREEN

West Simsbury, CT

Plant is Native to: eastern North America; hardy to zone 5 and protected areas in zone 4.
Plant Height at maturity: 5 to 12 feet tall, with similar spread.
Plant Habit and Form: Broadleaf evergreen shrub. Has a rounded shape, with irregular branching. Can be dense and compact or loose and open, depending on amount of light that plant has.
Foliage: Leaves are elliptical, 2" to 5" long, .75" to 1.5" wide. Leaf tip is pointed; margins are entire and smooth; color is dark green and glossy above, but in full sun can be yellow-green; yellowish green below. Leathery texture, entire. Leaves are clustered alternately toward the shoot tip, otherwise opposite or whorled. No fall color change.

West Simsbury, CT

Bark: Color is brown-tan; lightly ridged and furrowed; trunks are gnarled and twisted.
Flower: 4" to 6" diameter clusters of small individual blooms at branch tips, occur in late May to early June, lasting 2 weeks or more. Individual flowers are .75" to 1" across, borne in terminal corymbs about 4" to 6" in diameter. Normal color is pink, fades to nearly white. Many cultivars have been selected and bred to produce red budded, cinnamon banded, pure white and deep pink/red flowered forms.

West Simsbury, CT

Fruit/Seed: Non-ornamental, small dehiscent capsules are brown-tan color. Persist through winter.
Growing Requirements: Prefers partial shade to full sun. Plants grown in full shade are very thin and open and bloom sparsely. Flowers best in partial sun. Requires a cool, moist, acidic, organic soil for best performance. Avoid windswept sites. Remove flowers immediately after flowering and mulch around base to keep soil moist.
Problems and Drawbacks: Leaf spot, especially in moist, heavy shade; lacebug; foliar burn (winter injury) in exposed, windy sites; blight, flower blight, whitefly, scale. Performs poorly in heavy, high pH soils (chlorosis).
Special Uses: Provides good evergreen foliage and showy blooms that work well in partially shaded sites, foundation plantings, naturalizing and mixing with other broadleaf evergreens. Dirr says the kalmia is "exquisite in mass" and "magnificent in flower".
ID Tips/Remarks: broadleaf evergreen with elliptical leaves and acute apex. Leaf margins have no serrations (complete); alternate leaves clustered at the shoot tip (often confused with Pieris sp.); lateral buds hidden behind the petiole base. State flower of Connecticut.
Bibliography:
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/Plants/k/kallat/kallat1.html

Dirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, 1998, Stipes Publishing, Champaign, IL

Thuja occidentalis

Common Name: Eastern Arborvitae, American Arborvitae, White Cedar
Family: Cupressaceae

EVERGREEN

Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Plant is Native to: northeastern North America. Hardy in zones 3 to 7 (not vigorous in south).
Plant Height at maturity: 40 to 60 feet tall by 10 to 15 feet spread; in cultivation, more likely to be 20 to 30 feet tall.
Plant Habit and Form: A scale-leafed evergreen, with a dense, conical shape. Medium growth rate. Usually has a single trunk, but may have multiple trunks. Branches end in flat, spreading, horizontal sprays.
Foliage: Leaves are small, scale-like, about 1/12" long, abruptly pointed; Scale-like leaves overlap, forming a rope-like appearance. Leaves on the main axis are glandular (have a small resinous gland on the back); bright green above, pale green below; emits tansy-like odor when bruised. Branchlets are layered in a horizontal fashion.

Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Bark: Grayish brown on the surface to reddish brown in the furrows; Furrows are in narrow strips. Fairly ornamental on older trees, when visible.
Flower: Monoecious. Born on the branch tips. Not ornamentally significant.
Fruit/Seed: Cones, oblong, light brown, about 1/3 to ½ " long. Have 8 to 10 scales, usually only 4 are fertile. Not particularly noticeable.

Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Growing Requirements: Easily transplanted from pot or balled and burlapped. Requires deep, well-drained soil; full sun. Tolerates pruning, acid or alkaline soils, and wet, marshy soils but is susceptible to strong wind, snow or ice damage; also tolerates considerable heat and drought.
Problems and Drawbacks: Bagworm, heart rot, leaf miner, spider mites, foliar burn and deer browsing.
Special Uses: Hedges, screens, windbreaks; smaller cultivars useful for foundation planting. Also, select cultivars with green winter foliage for best show.
ID Tips/Remarks: Conical shape, horizontal branches on single trunk usually, but may have multiple. Scale-like leaves, tansy odor when crushed. Small, woody cone.
Bibliography:
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/Plants/t/thuocc/thuocc1.html

Tsuga canadensis
Common Name: Canadian Hemlock, Eastern Hemlock
Family: Pinaceae

EVERGREEN

Hopmeadow St, Simsbury, CT

Plant is Native to: Eastern North America; Hardy to Zone 3.
Plant Height at maturity: 40 to 70 feet tall, up to 100 feet in wild; 25 to 40 foot spread.
Plant Habit and Form: a needle evergreen. Conical or pyramidal shape in youth, and becoming pyramidal and pendulous in maturity. Soft, graceful structure, with horizontal to pendulous branches. Fine texture.
Foliage: Needles are flattened, about .25 to .75 inch long. Dark green on top, two white bands below. Leaf margins have minute serrulations. New spring growth light yellow-green, changes to glossy dark green.

West Simsbury, CT

Bark: Brown. Smooth when young, then flaky and scaly, then has wide flat ridges with age. Deeply furrowed on old trees. Freshly cut surfaces show purplish streaks.

West Simsbury, CT

Flower: Monoecious, with male and female flowers. Small, not ornamentally significant.
Fruit/Seed: Small slender cones, about .5 to 1 inch long. Light brown in fall. Hang from branches like small oval ornaments. Can have large numbers.
Growing Requirements: Full sun or partial shade. Prefers cool, moist, well-drained soils. Avoid hot, dry and windy locations.
Problems and Drawbacks: Hemlock wooly adelgid, a pest that can kill a plant in 3 years if untreated, has been a real problem in New England and mid-Atlantic states. It is now less of a problem, but still an issue, especially where nitrogen fertilizer has been used (increases susceptibility to the wooly adelgid). Intolerant of pollution, salt, heat or drought. Deer eat the foliage and rub off the bark. Scale, spider mites also may be a problem. Sunscorch may occur when temperatures reach 95 degrees and higher.
Special Uses: Specimen tree, or in groupings as a hedge or screen. Can be pruned in spring for use as hedge; prune individual shoots rather than sheering, for best effect.
ID Tips/Remarks: Short flattened needles, arranged in 2 by 2 fashion. Shoots are pubescent. Confused with T. caroliniana, but has more ,spirally distributed. Also, T. canadensis has minutely serrulated needle margins, while T. caroliniana has smooth margins.
Bibliography:
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/Plants/t/tsucan/tsucan1.html
Dirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, 1998 Stipes Publishing, Champaigne, IL

Acer palmatum
Common Name: Japanese Maple
Family: Aceraceae

DECIDUOUS

West Simsbury, CT

Plant is Native to: Japan, China, Korea. Hardy to Zone 5 or for some, Zone 6.
Plant Height at maturity: 15 to 25 feet tall and spread.
Plant Habit and Form: Small, deciduous tree with rounded to irregular form. Branches often have a layered effect, similar to Flowering dogwood. Form varies with the cultivar. Can be single or multi-stem. Slow growth rate. Fine to medium texture.
Foliage: Opposite, 2" to 5" long. Has 5, 7 or 9 deeply lobed palmate leaves. Color varies with cultivar, generally dark-green on species. Autumn foliage may be yellow, orange, red or purple. Color develops late and leaves hold well into fall.

West Simsbury, CT

Bark: Twigs have green and red shiny bark; showy. Gray bark on trunk and main branches. Good ornamental feature, but not known for this due to popularity of showy leaves.

West Simsbury, CT

Flower: Small, red or purple in May and June.

West Simsbury, CT

Fruit/Seed: Samara, ½ to 3/4" long, wings 1/4 to 3/8" wide. Curved inwards, forming a broad arch. Wings turn red or green, and ripen in September - October.
Growing Requirements: Transplants easily in late spring into moist, well-drained soil with high organic matter. Protect from winds and late spring frosts, since young foliage is sensitive to cold. Prefers full sun to partial shade (in nature, is an understory tree). Avoid hot, dry locations, and wind-swept sites.
Problems and Drawbacks: Few diseases and insects cause problems. Cold sensitive, so twig kill, bark split and lack of winter hardiness can cause problems. Spring frosts can damage new growth.
Special Uses: Good specimen plant, accent plant, shrub border, grouping or bonsai.
ID Tips/Remarks: 5 to 9 palmately lobed leaves. Twig bark is red or green, most are glabrous (not hairy). Base of bud is surrounded by a papery, hairy sheath (like a hula skirt). No terminal bud.
Bibliography:
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/Plants/a/acepal/acepal1.html
Dirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, 1998 Stipes Publishing, Champaigne, IL