Plant Spotlight

Wells Dolly’s Choice Pine (Pinus mugo fastigiata 'Wells Dolly's Choice')

Mugo pines are generally medium to large shrubs that are fairly inconsistent in their growth habit, some being quite uniform while others develop more of a personality. The Wells Dolly’s Choice pine is a different form of mugo with a narrow, upright habit which forms the perfect Christmas shape.

It tolerates drought, but has a fuller form when given adequate water. Better yet, it stays small, never surpassing 12 – 15 feet, the perfect evergreen for a small yard.

Plant Spotlight

Utah Juniper (Juniperus utahensis)

While not your standard Christmas evergreen, the Utah juniper is tough and maintenance free. They can be found growing throughout the foothills of Utah, usually spread wide so their extensive root systems have ample ground from which to harvest the water without undue competition with their nearby kin. They’re great in the home landscape when located correctly, i.e. not 5 feet in front of your largest bay window, as was the common approach in the 1970’s for junipers and arborvitae.

It is virtually unrecognizable from the Rocky Mountain juniper, you’d need a PhD in botany to tell the difference. It grows without much fuss and is virtually maintenance free.

Plant Spotlight

Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis 'Vanderwolf's Pyramid')

A variety of the native limber pine, this tree is known for a tight pyramidal form and twisted silvery-blue to green needles. As the name implies, it has limber limbs – flexible to the point of knot tying, almost. When planted in the proper site, the Vanderwolf has no equal for winter beauty. However, I’ve found it to be a bit unreliable and finicky often leaving this life on an instant with nary a warning.

Plant Spotlight

 Pinyon Pine (Pinus edulis)

Common throughout Utah, the Pinyon pine is a staple evergreen for Utah’s mountains. They were a staple food source for the Native Americans as well, who harvested their nuts. They are often used as Christmas trees for those with access to a chainsaw and the backwoods of Utah. Indeed, some people are of the opinion that they’re all too common and many a cattle ranchers has removed them en masse to make room for their grazing bovine.

Yet its tough as nails nature and manageable size make it a good choice as an evergreen for any home landscape. Just don’t expect too many pine nuts once they’re removed from their natural habitat. The ones in our garden produce scads of empty nutshells with a full one in about every thousand picked. I know by experience. After seven years of searching, I have found one.

Plant Spotlight

Blue Atlas Cedar (Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca’)

This cedar is not your typical evergreen. Its bluish-green needles grow in clusters along windswept branches giving each tree a unique personality. It works well as a specimen plant and needs a stage to show off its unique qualities.

It can be finicky at times and struggle with the colder temperatures of northern Utah. The severe cold snaps in the fall of 2010 caused nearly all of the blue atlas cedars in the Salt Lake Valley to turn brown and fall off. I wrongly diagnosed the death of several only to have them burst to life with new green needles in the spring. Boy did I look stupid!

Plant Spotlight

Cloud Nine Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum ‘Cloud Nine’)

This tall prairie grass is one of the showiest ornamental grasses to be found in Utah. Its broad leaves are attractive shades of blue with highlights of red and purple. Late-summer brings cloudlike seed heads that start out purple and fade to tan with the onset of winter.

Switchgrasses are on the large end and this one tops out at six feet and should be planted in areas with enough room. They are also tough and thrive in Utah’s difficult and unpredictable climate. Ours have been going strong for eleven years with minimal water and a haircut each spring.

Plant Spotlight

Chanticleer Ornamental Pear (Pyrus calleryana ‘Chanticleer’)

A native of China, the Callery pear was cultivated for its superior traits such as profuse white spring flowers, a pleasing lollipop shape, and red fall color. Bradford was the earliest available cultivar and was soon used to excess by landscapers and architects who were unaware of its propensity toward self-destruction. This tendency is manifest in its weak branching structure making it susceptible to damage by wind and snow. Chanticleer is an updated cultivar which, in addition to superior flowering and fall color, has a much stronger branching structure, helping extend its lifespan in the landscape.

On a side note, the flowers can be breathtaking in more ways than one. They have a pungent odor that, depending on your sensitivity to smells, can be unpleasant. Many find the beauty of the Chanticleer Pear best admired from downwind.