In these difficult economic times, it might seem to make sense to spend a little more to buy a living holiday tree. It could serve double-duty; first spending several weeks inside the house covered with lights and ornaments, then planted into the garden in January to add to the landscape.
Most of the evergreens that are sold as living holiday trees, the Douglas firs and the Scotch pines, are grown in climates with long, wet winters and short, mild summers, the opposite of our climate conditions. There are several species of conifers, though, that are better suited to our Central Valley weather and soil, and most of those are available at local nurseries and garden centers.
Before listing some of the better evergreen tree choices, a few words of caution are in order regarding the keeping of live evergreen trees indoors for weeks at a time. You'll need to create a cooler, more moist environment while the tree is indoors. Placing the tree in the coolest spot in the family room, say next to a north-facing window, as well as daily misting and regular watering will help maintain the tree's health until it can be transplanted. The truly tiny everygreen trees sold as table decorations should be kept outdoors on the patio or porch for as much time as possible.
This rather short list of conifers suitable for our climate zones (8 and 9 in the Central Valley and 7 in the foothills) was compiled by the Fresno County Master Gardeners and these suggestions were downloaded from their Web site http://groups.ucanr.org/mgfresno.
Keep in mind that some conifers are very large at maturity.
Deodar cedars, Italian Stone pines and Canary Island pines can reach 80 feet. Austrian Black pines will reach 60 feet. For smaller areas, consider choosing a Bristlecone pine or a Japanese Black pine that top out at 20 feet. Japanese Black pines also make excellent container and bonsai plants.
Hollywood juniper is another smaller-growing species, but, like most junipers in the Central Valley, they are susceptible to insect and root rot problems. Aleppo pines aren't on the Master Gardener list, even though they are frequently planted in our area. their shallow roots have difficulty penetrating our clay soil, making the trees unstable at full height.
Some conifers, such as the Deodar cedar, are drought-tolerant when established. All of the conifers mentioned above require well-drained soil. Soggy root systems will quickly succumb to rot.
If the soil in your garden is heavy clay, or if there is a layer of impenetrable hardpan underneath the soil surface, the soil must be amended with large amounts of compost or humus and the hardpan must be broken up to allow for drainage. With the exception of the Deodar cedar, all the listed conifers will need supplemental irrigation during our long, hot summers.
[Top picture is of a Deodar cedar; the bottom picture is of an Austrian Black pine].
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