Regional Picks: Unusual Evergreens – Northeast

1. ‘Red O. D. Burke’ Japanese Red Pine

Name:Pinus densiflora‘Red O. D. Burke’

USDA Hardiness Zones:4 to 7

Size:12 to 15 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide

Conditions : Full Lord’s Day ; well - drained soil

Japanese red pine grows naturally across Japan , Korea , northern China , and uttermost southeasterly Russia . But this cultivar , ‘ Red O. D. Burke ’ ( or ‘ Burke ’s Red Variegated ’ ) , stopped me in my tracks when I first saw it grow in a field at a greenhouse in cardinal New Hampshire . The yellow variegation on this two - needled pine glows so strongly from a distance that I thought it must be plugged into an electrical source or was solar powered . With New England winters so long and cold , the yellow variegation is a welcome mess . Plant this as a specimen with a drab immature evergreen as a contrasting backdrop . ‘ Oculus Draconis ’ might be a more democratic cultivar , but ‘ Red O. D. Burke ’ is believed by those who grow it to have stronger diversification and a greater cold tolerance . The yellow acerate leaf will brown during the winter when young , but as the tree matures , they will remain yellow year - round .

2. Algerian Fir

Name:Abies numidica

Zones:6 to 8

size of it : Up to 70 foot improbable and 20 feet broad

have long admire Spanish fir tree ( Abies pinsapo , Zones 6–7 ) , I was delighted to see that a secretive relation , Algerian fir , was an outstanding grower in New England . Algerian fir is endemical to a few small mountaintops in Algeria . Only 1 square kilometer of trees is believe to survive . The fact that a critically peril coniferous tree from the Mediterranean region can not only survive but also thrive in our environment is a true underdog story . The radical are circled by stiff , gray - light-green needles . The overall appearance is somewhat columnaryet slightly open due to its ramification structure . implant a grouping of this beautiful tree with a completing ground cover , such as ‘ Angelina ’ sedum ( Sedum rupestre‘Angelina ’ , Zones 6–9 ) , for a true conversation piece .

3. Japanese Mahonia

Name:Mahonia japonicaand cvs.

Zones:6 to 9

Size:6 feet marvellous and up to 20 feet wide

Conditions : fond shade ; acid , well - drained grease

Finding a broadleaf evergreen other than rhododendron to survive a Maine winter has become a kind of holy - Holy Grail following for us at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens . We planted ‘ Epstein ’s shape ’ , a dauntless cultivar of Nipponese genus Mahonia , in summertime 2013 , and much to our surprise , the plant survived the uncollectible winter Maine had seen in a while ( we recorded a first of – 7 ° F in 2014 ) . Japanese mahonia is generally lie with for its dark green compound leaves , which can get up to 16 inches in duration . The bright yellow flowers are support on prospicient racemes from previous winter to former spring . It makes a fine plus to a winter garden and looks great with snowdrop ( Galanthusspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–9 ) and hellebores ( Helleborusspp . and cvs . , Zones 4–9 ) .

4. Wheel Tree

Name:Trochodendronaralioides

Zones:6 to 11

Size : Up to 20 feet tall and wide

weather condition : Full Dominicus to fond shade ; moist , acidic , well - drained soil

ascertain a bicycle Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in a garden is like seeing a Ferrari parked at your neighbourhood grocery store : It is beautiful , it stand out , and , of course , it rarely happens . I studied this tree in college , but only after kneeling under a 25 - foot - marvellous specimen did I become awestricken by its sophisticated mantrap . Looking up through the canopy toward the sky is like see a bread and butter kaleidoscope . The whorled arrangement of the folio along with a somewhat lateral growth provides a striking structure for all who are lucky enough to grow ( or happen upon ) this prized Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .

Rodney Easonis director of gardening and the plant conservator at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens .

Photos : ( 1 and 2 ) , millettephotomedia.com ; ( 3 ) , Heather Edwards / gapphotos.com ; ( 4 ) , Joshua McCullough

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