Conifers with Scaly Foliage Bring Soft Texture to the Garden
Scaly-leaved conifers like junipers, false cypress and arborvitae are key plants for winter interest in the garden, adding unique visual texture
Evergreen conifers are a staple for year-round interest and structure in gardens. These undemanding, reliable shrubs and trees come in a smorgasbord of colors, textures, sizes and shapes, which can make it hard to choose among them.
Lately I’ve been thinking about conifers in terms of their foliage type. Conifers do not offer the wide assortment of leaf shapes that deciduous shrubs and trees do, but they can be split into two leaf types: needles—such that you find on pines, firs and spruces—and flat, scale-like foliage.
Conifers with scaly foliage are mostly found in the Cupressaceae, or cypress family. Genera include juniper (Juniperus), false cypress (Chamaecyparis), arborvitae and false cedar (Thuja) and cypress (Cupressus) among others. While immature plants in these genera might have needle-like leaves (and some retain that trait throughout their lifespan), most develop flat foliage with a surface reminiscent of the scales of a fish.
Related: Explore all our conifer-related articles
This detail adds a softness that complements the tree or shrub’s overall appeal. Sam Pratt, inventory manager at Conifer Kingdom, a mail-order nursery specializing in conifers and Japanese maples, observes that “[needled evergreens, such as] pines and firs, tend to have a rigid shape, but [junipers, false cypress and the like] are more sculptural, with an irregular shape.” He points out that with their fine texture, the scale-like leaves are the perfect cloak for those elegant, expressive growth forms.
From cushion to column: conifer forms
Dwarf elkhorn cedar (Thujopsis dolabrata ‘Nana’; USDA Zones 6–9) is one Sam recommends for its low, mounding shape, dense branches and light green, scaly foliage. Plus, he likens it to “a juniper for the shade,” as it cooperates in low light. (It will also thrive in full sun outside of the hot South.) This hassock-shaped shrub grows to roughly two feet tall and twice as wide in ten years.
Low-growing conifers with scaly foliage
Among actual junipers, Sam mentions Juniperus x pfitzeriana ‘Daub’s Frosted’ (Zones 4–9) and J. horizontalis ‘Pancake’ (Zones 3–9) as two easy-to-find low-growing options. ‘Daub’s Frosted’ hugs the ground, growing one foot tall, with branches that stretch its width to six feet. Fingerlike sprays of foliage—lime green when new, maturing to blue-green—accentuate its reaching habit. ‘Pancake’ has a similar habit but remains even lower, with gray-blue feathery foliage.
Upright conifers with scaly foliage
Among upright junipers, the popular J. virginiana ‘Taylor’ (Zones 4–8) impresses as a stand-in for columnar Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens; Zones 7–10). Sam touts ‘Taylor’ as “climate ready,” as it is a cultivar of an East Coast native species and it is winter hardy and more tolerant of regular rainfall than Italian cypress. Among other tall, narrow junipers, he says western native J. scopulorum ‘Blue Arrow’ (Zones 2–8) is gaining in popularity over the more familiar ‘Skyrocket’. The former stays narrower, at two feet wide and seven feet tall in ten years, and it provides a brighter blue foliage color.
In warmer climates, Arizona cypress (Cupressus arizonica) provides a few striking upright options for the garden. There’s ‘Sulphurea’ (Zones 7–9), a 15-foot-tall pyramidal tree with bright yellow foliage that stands out against its reddish bark. ‘Blue Ice’ is a very common choice, Sam says, but for a more interesting form seek a weeping variety, like the blue ‘Raywood’s Weeping’ (Zones 6–9), which grows tall and narrow, with drooping branches producing an irregular outline.
Fantastic false cypresses with scaly foliage
Among the false cypresses (Chamaecyparis), Sam calls out ‘Hage’ and ‘Butterball’ (both Zones 5–9), two miniature representatives of the species C. obtusa, best known as the hinoki cypress. ‘Hage’ is reminiscent of the better known dwarf ‘Nana’ hinoki, with its swirling fans of deep green foliage, tipped with lighter new growth in spring. A true mini, ‘Hage’ grows just over a foot tall and wide in 10 years, however.
‘Butterball’ grows a few inches larger, making a two-foot globe in a decade. This cultivar stands out with its bright chartreuse foliage that’s shaggier in texture than other C. obtusa varieties. Sam recommends placing it where it will receive some shade during the day.
While hinoki cypress tends to be rounded in shape, sawara false cypresses (C. pisifera) often display a roughly pyramidal silhouette, with branches beautifully outlined by their soft, scaled foliage. Sam mentions ‘Boulevard’ (Zones 4–8) as a frequent selection treasured for its silvery blue color. It reaches 12 feet tall and 8 feet wide at the base in 10 years.
For a less common and very different-looking sawara, Sam suggests ‘Golden Pincushion’ (Zones 4–9), a miniature that reaches one foot tall over 10 years. Its vivid yellow foliage coupled with its tiny size make it a good choice for the rock garden or a trough. It grows in full sun or part shade.
Awesome arborvitae
“Emerald Green is so common!” Sam can’t help but say of arborvitae or red cedar (Thuja). He steers gardeners toward more inspiring options, like T. occidentalis Sienna Sunset, or ‘Anniek’ (Zones 4–8). A variety of the eastern North American species, this is a colorful, round dwarf reaching 10 inches tall and wide in as many years. It boasts green foliage highlighted with amber and yellow new growth. The leaves are more needle-like than scaly.
For a return to scale-like foliage, Sam suggests the ‘Grune Kugel’ (Zones 5–8), a cultivar of Western-native T. plicata. True to its name that translates to “Green Ball,” this plant grows as a three-foot-round shrub with swirls of long, flat, feathery foliage in a velvety green. ‘Grune Kugel’ has an interesting relation called ‘Whipcord’ (Zones 5–8). While the former is pretty refined, ‘Whipcord’ lets loose with exuberant tassels of skinny foliage exploding from its arching branches. This three-foot spreader looks decidedly un-Thuja.
Companion plants for conifers with scaly foliage
Scale-leaved conifers are a delight to mix and match with companion plants. Try pairing them with needled conifers to contrast the two foliage types. Keep the colors similar for a subtle look, or pair blue and gold foliage to go more bold.
Scaly foliage looks beautiful next to broad-leaved evergreens, especially in winter. Or add a deciduous shrub with coarse foliage, like oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), to play off a conifer’s ferny texture.
Like any evergreen, these conifers make a fine backdrop for flowering perennials during the growing season, then carry the show over the winter. You can also keep the focus on foliage in the warmer months by choosing low-growing perennials with interesting leaves, be they grassy or broad, as in lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina ‘Helen von Stein’).
Photo credits (top to bottom):
Thujopsis by harum.koh/CC BY-SA 2.0
‘Daub’s Frosted’ juniper by F.D. Richards/CC BY-SA 2.0
Arizona cypress foliage by Sage Ross/CC BY-SA 2.0
‘Butterball’ false cypress by Megan Hansen / CC BY-SA 2.0
‘Filifera Aurea’ sawara cypress by F.D. Richards/CC BY-SA 2.0
‘Whipcord’ arborvitae by F. D. Richards/CC BY-SA 2.0/Flickr.com
