Elizabeth is a Permaculture Garden Designer, Sustainability Consultant and Professional Writer, working as an advocate for positive change. She graduated from the University of St. Andrews with an MA in English and Philosophy and obtained a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design from the Permaculture Association.
Reviewed By DAN ORI
Dan has over 27 years’ under his belt caring for plants and gardens. Working as a Horticultural Instructor and Consultant, he draws on a diverse range of experience that includes working as a Head Gardener, Tree Surgeon, Garden Centre Trouble Shooter, and writer of academic papers. Dan has a Level 3 Diploma in Horticulture and is currently a candidate for the RHS’s most prestigious award – The Master of Horticulture.
Conifers can be very useful, long-lasting design elements in a garden.
They can sometimes be useful features as trees to provide year-round cover.
They can be used in hedgerows on their own, or combined with deciduous options in mixed hedgerows.
Coniferous trees can also come in dwarf of ground growing varieties, which can be useful in mixed beds or borders, or in pots.
Why Grow Coniferous Trees?
These trees are useful because they usually keep their needles or thin leaves all year round, and not only improve the appearance of a winter garden but also provide shelter for a range of wildlife.
Choosing the right coniferous tree is important – some grow extremely quickly while others are much more slow-growing.
Some are neat and compact, while others can tend to take over and will outgrow a smaller garden.
Conifers can be good choices due to their density and the privacy they can afford.
But it is important to think about the shade they will cast, and their impact on other plants grown nearby.
They can be excellent low maintenance garden plants, which often won’t require a lot of your care or effort.
Coniferous trees are, quite simply, those which bear cones.1What is a Conifer Tree? (2021, July 1). American Conifer Society. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://conifersociety.org/conifers/articles/what-is-a-conifer-tree/
There are some fantastic (and some not quite so appealing) options to choose.
Some fast-growing conifers like the notorious Leyland cypress are not the best choice for most gardens, and are often best avoided.
While many conifers work extremely well, even in container gardens and where space is tight, coniferous trees should always be chosen and positioned very carefully.
Where conifers are incorporated correctly, they can be very appealing and grace your garden for many years to come.
So to help you make the right choice or choices for your garden, here are some conifers which are commonly grown here in Britain:
1) Cedar
Cedar, Cedrus, are commonly grown in larger gardens and estates in the UK. Species within this genus are:
- C. atlantica (Atlas Cedar)
- C. brevifolia (Cyprus cedar)
- C. deodara (Himalayan cedar)
- C. libani (Cedar of Lebanon)
These are majestic trees are typically grown as stand-alone specimen trees in larger gardens.
But cedars can also be trained as bonsai, and can be grown in pots and shaped to give different effects.2Care guide for the Cedar Bonsai tree (Cedrus). (n.d.). Bonsai Empire. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://www.bonsaiempire.com/tree-species/cedar
Those above are ‘true cedars’, but other coniferous trees commonly grown in British gardens are also called cedars. For example:
- Thuja plicata (Western Red Cedar)
- T. occidentalis (Northern white cedar / eastern arborvitae)
- Juniperus virginiana (Red Cedar / Eastern Red Cedar)
- Calocedrus decurrens (Incense Cedar)
2) Cypress
Cypress is the common name for a range of coniferous trees or shrubs in the family Cupressaceae.
Some cypress commonly grown on these shores include:
- Cupressus sempervirens (Mediterranean Cypress / Italian cypress)
- C. macrocarpa (Monterey Cypress)
- C. x leylandii (Leyland cypress – a hybrid of the two above)
- C. arizonica var. glabra (Smooth Arizona cypress)
- Callitropsis nootkatensis (Nootka Cypress)
Cypress (especially Leyland cypress) are particularly common as hedging plants.
But it is important to realise that while cypress can be very useful and hardy trees in certain settings, they grow very quickly, and very tall, and so are often not at all the best choice for smaller gardens.3Leyland cypress trees often planted incorrectly. (2021, September 22). CAES Newswire. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://newswire.caes.uga.edu/story/4006/leland-cypress.html
That said, smaller shaped, topiary and bonsai cypresses can be grown in pots or containers even in the smallest garden.
Chamaecyparis are also common evergreen trees or hedging plants in UK gardens. These are known as ‘false cypresses’.
Common options for our climate include:
- Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (Lawson cypress)
- C. obtusa (Japanese cypress)
- C. pisifera (Sawara cypress)
- C. thyoides (Atlantic white cypress)
Many different cultivars of these coniferous trees are prized for their variety and are commonly used in horticulture.
3) Douglas Fir
The Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is another common coniferous tree.
In spite of its common name it is not actually a fir at all – it is a conifer species in the Pinaceae or pine family.
Of course it is a common tree used for Christmas trees and in forestry plantations, but it also has ornamental appeal in large gardens and parks.
4) Fir
True firs (Abies) is a large genus of coniferous trees which offer many options.
Common firs grown here include:
- A. alba (European silver fir)
- A. balsamea (Hudson fir)
- A. concolor (White fir)
- A. fraseri (Fraser fir)
- A. koreana (Korean fir)
- A. nordmanniana (Caucasian fir)
- A. pinsapo (Spanish fir)
- A. procera (Noble fir)
This is another varied collection of coniferous trees which can make impressive full-sized trees, or be cultivated in pots, shaped, and kept much smaller.
5) Hemlock
Hemlock (Tsuga) is another genus of coniferous trees that can offer options for a garden in the UK.
Some common choices include:
- T. canadensis (Eastern Hemlock)
- T. heterophylla (Western Hemlock)
- T. mertensiana (Mountain hemlock)
Numerous cultivars are great in gardens – they can be slow-growing and attractive conifers for pots, beds or borders.
6) Juniper
Junipers (Juniperus) are a wide range of coniferous trees and shrubs widely distributed across the Northern hemisphere.
UK gardens can choose from many, including:
- J. communis (Common juniper – a UK native)
- J. chinensis (Chinese juniper)
- J. scopulorum (Rocky mountain juniper)
- J. procumbens (Decumbent juniper – mat forming)
- J. squamata (Flaky juniper – prostrate shrub)
The diverse growing habits of junipers make them extremely useful in many different settings and positions in a garden.
7) Larch
Larches (Larix) are a little different to most other conifers because they are not evergreen, but deciduous.
They lose their needles in the winter.
Some larches to consider for gardens include:
- L. decidua (European larch)
- L. gmelinii (Dahurian larch)
- L. kaempferi (Japanese larch)
- Pseudolarix amabilis (Golden Larch)
Larches in many different sizes, shapes, colours and forms are available for British gardens.
8) Monkey Puzzle Tree
This enormous evergreen tree is another common option for large gardens.
It can grow truly monstrous in size, however, and so may not be a great choice where space is more limited.
Though a common sight in gardens, this tree is actually endangered by logging, overgrazing and forest fires in its native South American range.4Price, V. (2018, June 25). Six well-known trees surprisingly close to extinction. Global Trees. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://globaltrees.org/news-blog/six-well-known-trees-surprisingly-close-to-extinction/
It is known by the Latin name Araucaria araucana.5Mabbett, T. (2019, July 3). Tree of the month: A puzzle of a pine tree. Forestry Journal. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://www.forestryjournal.co.uk/features/17746316.tree-month-puzzle-pine-tree/
One interesting thing to note about this tree, commonly grown as an ornamental, is that it also can produce edible seeds (similar to very large pine nuts) which could mean that it has potential as a future food crop – in parts of the UK, for example, where other nut crops do not grow well.
Bear in mind though, that you will have to plant a male and a female; these trees do not yield seeds until they are 30 or 40 years old.6Monkey Puzzle Tree. (2013, February 10). Geograph. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3326641
“This is one of my favourite trees to look at and one of my least favourite to work with,” shares Master Horticulturist Dan Ori.
“One issue I have encountered is that raising a nursery tree into a straight single-leader tree can be challenging, so I advise buying as big a tree as your budget allows and let the grower do the hard work.
“Other issues are they get big, they can drop limbs if the roots are disturbed or compacted and the leaves are stiff and spiky.”
9) Pine
Pines are another very important category of coniferous tree.
Pines of note include:
- Pinus sylvestris (Scot’s pine – native to parts of Scotland)
- P. armandi (Chinese white pine)
- P. cembra (Arolla pine)
- P. coulteri (Coulter’s pine)
- P. densiflora (Japanese red pine)
- P. halepensis (the Aleppo pine)
- P. heldreichii (Bosnian pine)
- P. jeffreyi (Jeffrey’s pine)
- P. montezumae (Montezuma pine)
- P. mugo (the Mountain pine)
- P. nigra (European black pine)
- P. parviflora (Japanese white pine)
- P. patula (Mexican yellow pine)
- P. pinaster (Maritime pine)
- P. peuce (Macedonian pine)
- P. pumila (Siberian pine)
- P. radiata (Monterrey pine)
- P. strobus (Eastern white pine)
- P. thunbergii (Japanese black pine)
- P. wallachiana (Bhutan pine)
… and more.
Pines offer a lot of varied options if you are looking for coniferous trees for your garden.
10) Spruce
There are also a lot of spruce (Picea) trees to consider when choosing coniferous trees.
Some of the common options to consider include:
- P. abies (Norway spruce)
- P. asperata (Dragon spruce)
- P. breweriana (Brewer’s spruce)
- P. glauca (White spruce)
- P. mariana (Black spruce)
- P. omorika (Serbian spruce)
- P. orientalis (Caucasian spruce)
- P. pungens (Blue spruce)
- P. sitchensis (Sitka spruce)
Though there are also many other options to consider if you are looking for more usual conifers to place in your garden.
11) Yew
The European yew, Taxus baccata, is another coniferous tree to consider.
This is a native evergreen tree, which like so many other conifers on this list, can also be an option for hedging.
There are several named cultivars to choose from.
These types of coniferous trees commonly grown in Britain should give you a good place to take inspiration when choosing conifers for your garden!
