Different conifers

Needle-shaped or scaled leaves

There are two groups of ‘true’ conifers, plants and trees with needle-shaped leaves or scaled leaves. There are also trees like the pencil cedar (Juniperus virginiana) where the foliage on the young trees is needle-shaped, and scaled on mature specimens. For convenience, the yew (taxus) species and Ginkgo biloba are also included with the conifers. Larches are deciduous conifers, a popular choice is the European larch (Larix decidua).

Ginkgo

Ginkgo is a special tree which forms a link between ferns and higher plants. The fabulous leaves look like ducks feet and turns a magnificent clear yellow colour before it is shed in autumn.

Yew

There are six species and lots of cultivars of yew-like conifers. The best-known species, Taxus baccata, is native to Europe and North Africa as far as Iran. Specimens are known which are more than 1500 years old. The tree is ideal as a hedging plant and responds very well to pruning.

The columnar Irish yew, T. baccata ‘Fastigiata’, is particularly well-known. This cultivar is always female and therefore bears red false fruit if there is also a male plant nearby. There are also gold, silver, dwarf and weeping forms of the yew.