Conifer Comparison Chart
The chart below lists various attributes of the conifers grown here at Western Maine Nurseries. Certain qualities will be desirable for Christmas tree stock and may not be as important in nursery and landscape or timber applications (and vice versa). Characteristics such as maximum height and growth rates will obviously be effected by site and climate. Needle retention is greatly dependent upon post-harvest care, and disease resistance can vary depending upon the seed source. With this in mind, please use this guide as a general reference and feel free to call us with specific questions regarding the species most appropriate for your individual situation. 800-447-4745.
|
||||||||||||
|
?SPECIES |
MAX. |
SITE |
NEEDLE |
SHEARING |
GROWTH |
DISEASE |
COMMENTS/ |
|
ARBORVITAE???? |
|||||||
|
American |
60' |
Moist soils |
? |
Excellent |
Very good |
Very good |
Excellent hedge, deer favorite |
|
Dark American |
30' |
Moist soils |
? |
Excellent |
Very good |
Very good |
Holds winter color |
|
Emerald Green |
20' |
Moist soils |
? |
Excellent |
Good |
Very good |
Heat tolerant, very hardy, excellent color |
|
FIR??????? |
|||||||
|
Balsam |
75' |
Moist, well-drained soils |
Very good |
Very good |
Very good |
Good |
Excellent aroma, subject to spring frosts |
|
Canaan |
50' |
Moist, well-drained soils |
Very good |
Good |
Excellent |
Very good |
Late flushing, tolerates heavier soils |
|
Concolor |
140' |
Well-drained, medium soil |
Excellent |
Very good |
Fair |
Very good |
Nice citrus aroma, subject to spring frosts |
|
Corkbark |
60' |
Medium, well-drained soils |
Very good |
Fair |
Poor |
Very good |
Requires little shearing, beautiful foliage |
|
Douglas |
200' |
Well-drained soil |
Excellent |
Excellent |
Very good |
Fair |
Requires good air drainage, good timber tree |
|
Fraser |
60' |
Well-drained loam |
Excellent |
Very good |
Very good |
Good |
Excellent wholesale tree, more site specific than most |
|
Korean |
60' |
Moist, well-rained soil |
Good |
Good |
Good |
Very good |
Beautiful foliage, tends to cone early |
|
Nikko |
130' |
Moist, medium soil |
Good |
Good |
Good |
Very good |
Tolerates heavier soils, beautiful foliage |
|
HEMLOCK??????? |
|||||||
|
Canadian |
80' |
Moist soil, part shade |
? |
Excellent |
Very good |
Good |
Shade tolerant, excellent hedge or specimen tree |
|
Western |
175' |
Moist soil, part shade |
? |
Very good |
Excellent |
Very good |
Shows resistance to hemlock woolley adelgid, not cold-hardy |
|
PINE??????? |
|||||||
|
Austrian |
90' |
Rich, light loam |
Very good |
Fair |
Very good |
Fair |
Good urban specimen, salt & CO2 resistance |
|
Mugho |
20' |
Soil adaptable |
? |
Good |
Poor |
Very good |
Dwarf, compact ornamental |
|
Norway Red |
80' |
Medium-light soils |
Good |
Very good |
Excellent |
Good |
Timber tree, gravel pit reclamation |
|
Scotch |
60' |
Extremely adaptable |
Excellent |
Fair |
Very good |
Poor |
Disease-prone, tends to grow crooked stems |
|
White |
100' |
Medium-light soils |
Excellent |
Very good |
Excellent |
Good |
Excellent timber or specimen tree |
|
SPRUCE??????? |
|||||||
|
Black Spruce |
40' |
Moist locations |
? |
? |
Fair |
Very good |
Timber/reforestation tree, uniform taper |
|
Black Hills |
70' |
Moist, medium soils |
Fair |
Good |
Fair |
Good |
Somewhat shade tolerant |
|
Colorado Blue |
90' |
Medium, well-drained soils |
Good |
Very good |
Fair |
Good |
Popular ornamental, avoid planting near Douglas Fir |
|
Meyer |
60' |
Medium-light soils |
Excellent |
Very good |
Fair |
Very good |
Slow starter but catches up, extremely hardy |
|
Norway |
100' |
Soil adaptable |
Poor |
Good |
Excellent |
Good |
Fast growing, good windbreak or specimen tree |
|
Serbian |
100' |
Moist, well-drained soil |
Fair |
Good |
Good |
Very good |
Similar to Colorado Blue Spruce in appearance |
|
White |
90' |
Well-drained loamy soils |
Poor |
Good |
Good |
Good |
Strong post-harvest aroma, good timber tree |
|
YEW??????? |
|||||||
|
Taxus |
40' |
Medium soils |
? |
Very good |
Good |
Very good |
Excellent ornamental, tolerates shade, deer favorite |