Best conifers, picea and shrubs for a rock garden??

[Michelle Swann]

Hi Everyone,

This is my very first post.  We are building a rock garden and I am a little unsure about what shrubs people have in their rock gardens so I can get some good ideas.

We have slightly acid soil, we have dug in lots of grit and new loam.  We are using rustic slate.  We have good soil in our garden, which is sandy in consistency.  We have a shaded area behind a hedge and the rest is east and south facing. 

Thanks everyone, your ideas are very much appreciated.

Michelle x

[Maggi Young]

Hi Michelle!
 It's  best  to be  very  cautious  about conifers  for  a  rock or  small garden, since  while  many  grow  very slowly at  first, they can, over  time, reach very  large  size, upwards and  out sideways -  Connor  Smith wrote  about  some  real gems  in the  recent  issue of  International Rock Gardener  e-magazine - Download the  IRG 124 here:
 http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2020Apr231587675747IRG_124_April_2020.pdf

Likewise, many  shrubs  will get  too big , too fast! 

[Michelle Swann]

Hi Maggie,

I have been having a good look around and like in Connor's article I liked the Mugo conifers.  I actually managed to pick on up yesterday from the general nursery I have been going to for years - the guy who owns it assured me I would be a very old lady before it would be any bother lol.  He picked out another couple that he said wouldn't grow more than a couple of feet tall or wide.  I am wary thought as I remember buying 'dwarf' conifers in the past, that were not really very dwarf, so I think I had a mad moment and will take them back.  Now I come to think of it I am really reconsidering the whole conifer idea, they might take up the room from more flowery things.

I have fallen all too often for the old trap of looking at plant dimensions on websites, then I buy the plant to find that it grows much bigger.  This has resulted in me having to move plants out of my troughs and into my raised beds and into the borders or just giving them away.

[IanR]

I have grown the following in a small trench for over 5 years without them becoming too large
Pinus mugo 'Sherwood Compact'
Abies lasiocarpo
Picea glauca
Abies balsamea 'hudsonia'
there are also a number of dwarf rhododendrons you might consider
'Carmen' 'Satint Merryn 'Keleticum'
I am growing them in an ericaceous compost

[Michelle Swann]

Hi Ian, Sorry for the late reply, I am jus getting to grips with things on the forum.  I am struggling to find the links to the posts that I have put on.  I also thought I had sent messages to people, but then realised that I hadn't because I didn't complete the picture at the bottom.  Anyway, all a learning process

Thank you so much for responding, it really means a lot when people are prepared to help me.  Maggie has been a real Godsend over the past few months, she is such a kind a helpful lady.  I have met so many people online, it really has been amazing, now I have met you, so that is really cool too.

I was sent a link by somebody on Facebook a few days ago to a good a place in Holland called Herman Geers, it has an amazing list of conifers etc, the delivery charge was steep, but to be honest, I thought it was good compared with some places in the UK 20 euros approx £18.  I was struggling to find miniature stock in the UK.  I was really chuffed with the selection on this site.

I ended up with the following:  Pinus mugo 'Almhütte'
Picea engelmannii 'Pocahontas'
Pinus uncinata 'Paradekissen'
Tsuga canadensis 'Abbott's Pygmy'
Pinus mugo 'Almhütte'

The pinus mungo are grafted onto very slow stock and are meant to only grow to 30 and 40 cm.  Their growth rate is approx 1-2cm a year or something like that.

I hope they are ok, I will leave them plenty of room as I want them to stand out.

Thank you so much.

Michelle xx