What’s in Bloom

We have enjoyed an unseasonably warm fall as we continue our work out in the parks, but the winter chill has begun to descend upon us. As the very last autumn leaves fall the evergreen trees and shrubs are becoming the focal point. We have recently dressed up our containers with beautiful specimens of trees and cut greens just in time for the holidays, and the evergreens in the parks have cones, needles, and beautiful bark to display. Along with mass plantings of Yews, Hollies, and other shrubs in the park, we have some outstanding evergreen specimens that stand alone as ornamental landscape plants.

Lacebark Pine (Pinus bungeana)
The Chinatown Park is home to one of our larger ornamental evergreens, the Lacebark Pine (Pinus bungeana). This particular tree was recently rehabilitated after being damaged during the previous winter, and we are very pleased to see it looking healthier and stronger. The Lacebark Pine is a multi-stemmed tree with a broad and open form and medium length green needles. It produces ovular cones between 2 and 3 inches long with broad, spiky scales. Perhaps the most notable feature of the Lacebark Pine is its multi-colored exfoliating bark, from which the name is derived.

Lacebark Pine

Lacebark

The Tanyosho Pine (Pinus densiflora ‘Umbraculifera’)
The Tanyosho Pine  is a dwarf cultivar and another multi-stemmed Pine that has found a home on the Greenway. Dotted throughout the Fort Point Channel Parks, the Tanyosho Pine has a distinctive broad and rounded habit, with all of its stems forming an umbrella-like canopy at the top. These trees bear clusters of small seed cones prolifically, and also have attractive reddish bark that can be easily seen under their dark green canopies.

Tanyosho Pine

Tanyosho Pine Cones

‘Grey Owl’ Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana ‘Grey Owl’)
The Wharf District Parks are home to a particularly lovely native evergreen shrub, the ‘Grey Owl’ Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana ‘Grey Owl’). This Juniper rarely grows more than 3 feet in height, but expands outward in a spreading habit. The needles of the ‘Grey Owl’ Eastern Red Cedar are silvery-grey and filled with showy blue seed cones that resemble berries.

Juniper