SPECIAL USES. Bog gardens; dwarf variety for rock gardens.
Cotoneaster Rosaceae
This is a small shrub; some varieties are deciduous, some persistent. Has small pink or white flowers in the spring. In fall has bright-red berries. Deciduous leaves are colored before they drop.
CARE. Sun, but will accept some shade. Cool and moist but never waterlogged. (Subject to red spider if hot and dry.) Use lime to produce a slightly alkaline soil; use loamy soil. Needs circulation of air and drainage. Prune only to remove dead wood or broken branches. Doesn’t transplant readily. Plant in permanent location.
PROPAGATION. Seeds, sown when ripe or stratified by layers in autumn; cuttings of young wood in late summer (root under glass).
SPECIAL USES. Bonsai, rock walls, hedges, foundation planting.
Cryptomeria japonica Taxodiaceae
This is a Japanese evergreen tree that grows to towering heights but has several dwarf varieties: lobbi, pygmaea, and nana. It has shreddy red-brown bark and distinctive root formations above ground, making it very appealing for bonsai work. Blue-green leaves.
Cotoneaster humifusa and juniperus sabina tamariscifolia