A Rose in the Garden: Conifer Cones - Spring Growth on a Korean Fir Tree

The new growth on conifers (cone-bearing evergreens) is one of the bonuses of spring that I enjoy here in West Michigan, where all the trees are strong and the conifers are good looking. The variety of contrasting greens that are sprouting now are part of what gives that fresh newness to the world at this time of the year. The beauty of spring is sometimes fleeting; for example, a few hot days and a rain can turn pink magnolia petals into a mushy brown pile at the base of the tree. But these bright greens (bright blues of the spruce, too) that we see only in spring, set against the bold red and yellow tulips and the pinks of the crabs and the redbuds, are all together making quite a scene this week. Some of the new growth on conifers can be considered to be their flowering. There are male and female "flowers"--but I don't pretend to understand conifer sex or know which growths are which! I do know that they can produce a varying amount of cones from year to year, sometimes producing a plethora of cones when they are under stress in a dry year, perhaps working harder to propagate, "hedging" their bets on survival!

I took pictures last week of one very interesting specimen (a Korean fir - Abies koreana, to the best of my knowledge), found on the bank of a small waterfall pond overlooking a larger pond on my aunt's property. It is probably not "stressed" (although I did string a strangling strand of Christmas lights around it last November), but it seems to me to have produced an abundance of what I thought at first glance were conifer candles. This new growth on many conifers can be pinched back to control height and encourage branching. However, the pictures I have of candle-like growth are actually the developing cones which later turn a bluish-purple, a very desirable feature for the tree lover who looks for the unusual. It has budding new growth as well, but those buds are not the stars of these photos.

In the background to the left behind the pond are river birch and to the right are fairly young dawn redwoods, (Metasequoia) which happen to be deciduous conifers, with a large developing patch of butterbur (Petasites) underneath.

These photos are cropped slightly and enhanced only by upping the contrast a bit for a more dramatic appearance. This small (dwarf?) conifer is stunning and has lots of stuff going on this spring. I think it deserves a post of its own here. I don't know all the technical names for what is happening with these new spring sprouts, but the pictures hopefully will tell the story well enough.

Do I have your attention yet with this stunning display? It reminds me of candles on a birthday cake, or perhaps a choir standing to sing. But it is just this fir's bold and celebrative declaration of a start of a new year of possibilities for growth and propagation. At the tips of the branches you can see the actual buds, looking somewhat like the pupal stage of an insect.

Here is another branch with a different kind of growth which I am at a loss to explain. They crumble when touched so perhaps contain pollen--male parts?