Coniferous trees help to structure and loosen up the garden space. You can plant trees of different types and sizes together, but also set accents with special solitaires. However, you should adapt the type and variety to the space and location conditions in your area - not every conifer fits every garden. That's why here you will find some suggestions for small, medium and large gardens.
Which conifers fit into different garden sizes?
Coniferous trees such as columnar arborvitae, emerald arborvitae, Chinese columnar juniper and blue maiden pine are suitable for small gardens. Larger gardens benefit from pine, spruce, European yew and Canadian hemlock. Sequoia trees and Douglas firs fit into large parks.
Coniferous trees for the small garden
Small coniferous trees or large shrubs that only reach a height of between two and eight meters are particularly suitable for small gardens and front gardens. But be careful: some of these species can grow very large! The numerous columnar-shaped conifers are particularly suitable. Although these can sometimes be quite high, they remain narrow.
- Columnar tree of life (Thuja occidentalis 'Columna')
- Emerald tree of life (Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd')
- Chinese columnar juniper (Juniperus chinensis 'Stricta')
- Blue cypress juniper (Juniperus scopulorum 'Blue Arrow')
- Lawson's Cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Columnaris')
- Snakeskin pine (Pinus heldreichii 'Schmidtii')
- Korea fir (Abies koreana)
- Blue maiden pine (Pinus parviflora 'Glauca')
Beautiful conifers for larger gardens
In a medium to large garden there is often enough space to plant a larger conifer tree with a height of ten to 15 meters (when fully grown). However, remember not to place such a tree too close to the house - otherwise in a few years you could no longer get any light into the windows. Furthermore, such large trees provide plenty of shade, which in turn can affect the use of the garden. The right location needs to be carefully thought out, otherwise the tree may have to be replanted or even cut down later.
- Pines (Pinus) – pay attention to the variety!
- Spruce trees (Picea) – pay attention to the variety!
- Occidental tree of life (Thuja occidentalis)
- European Yew (Taxus baccata)
- Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata)
- Canadian hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
- Chilean Araucaria / African Fir (Araucaria araucana)
Representative large trees for large gardens and parks
The following large coniferous tree species are not for normal gardens - these gems grow to over 20 meters tall and require a lot of space. They are therefore only suitable for parks or very spacious gardens.
- Pines (Pinus) – pay attention to the variety!
- Spruce trees (Picea) – pay attention to the variety!
- Fir trees (Abies) – pay attention to the variety!
- Sequoia trees
- Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
For the impatient: Fast-growing conifers
If you are looking for fast-growing conifers, for example for a hedge, these species are suitable:
- Occidental tree of life (Thuja occidentalis)
- Leyland cypress (Cupressocyparis leylandii)
- Scots pine / Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris)
- Weymouth pine (Pinus strobus)
- Scotch spruce / Norway spruce (Picea abies)
- European larch (Larix decidua)
Tip
When planting a tree, pay attention not only to the planting distance and location, but also the required boundary distance to the neighbor.
