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Disagree here. Growing up in CO (Black Forest) in a forest of entirely one species, Ponderosa Pine, you learn to appreciate them. Conifers in general are a more durable tree and tell more stories, they bonzai themselves in a sense:
Eh that doesn't impress me TBH, it's kind of shrubby. It's green in the summer, but there's no awe and the fall colors are short. I know that area in Chicagoland well.
Eh that doesn't impress me TBH, it's kind of shrubby. It's green in the summer, but there's no awe and the fall colors are short. I know that area in Chicagoland well.
Disagree here. Growing up in CO (Black Forest) in a forest of entirely one species, Ponderosa Pine, you learn to appreciate them. Conifers in general are a more durable tree and tell more stories, they bonzai themselves in a sense:
Too bad the picture no worky
I guess my problem isn’t so much that conifers themselves aren’t attractive, it’s that the fallen needles really crowd out a lot of variety. It can get a bit monotonous. I’m in the “piney woods” section of Texas, and even here there’s not huge variety unless you get into a city/suburb where folks have planted other things. That gets even more intense in places like western/central Louisiana. There’s a big, long belt of pines all through the south, and it gets monotonous. At least if you go far enough west you find a larger variety of vegetation in different areas, and if you head back East, especially in Appalachia you have one of the most species-dense old forests on the planet.
West Coast foliage is much better in my opinion. It stays green all year, not just conifers but broad lead evergreens such as Magnolias, Madrones, Eucalyptus, and so many more. All are commonly planted as street trees. As are many deciduous which give spectacular fall color. The climate can also support a variety of palms and subtropical foliage. If you're looking for landscape diversity that's green most of the year, definitely West Coast. From Vancouver to the Bay Area.
The nice thing about coniferous areas is you can hike in a trail like this below in the middle of January.
Own photo, Seattle burbs. There's also plenty of ferns and green plants underneath the trees. And as said earlier, the more established residential areas tend to have plenty of deciduous trees so you can also have fall colors and residential tree canopy. Best of both worlds IMO.
Depends on the time of year. The fall color of the eastern deciduous trees with the various maples, Black Gum, Dogwood, and Crabapples are far more colorful than our Big Leaf Maples, Alders and Cottonwoods. We do have unique fall color with our deciduous conifer, however, the native Golden Larch. I have one as a bonsai.
West Coast foliage is much better in my opinion. It stays green all year, not just conifers but broad lead evergreens such as Magnolias, Madrones, Eucalyptus, and so many more. All are commonly planted as street trees. As are many deciduous which give spectacular fall color. The climate can also support a variety of palms and subtropical foliage. If you're looking for landscape diversity that's green most of the year, definitely West Coast. From Vancouver to the Bay Area.
The sliver of Pacific coast from the Bay Area to southern Oregon is the greatest sweetspot for the vegetative combination that you describe. It has my second favorite foliage PNV in the continental US, outside of Florida and the immediate Gulf/SE coast.
I guess my problem isn’t so much that conifers themselves aren’t attractive, it’s that the fallen needles really crowd out a lot of variety. It can get a bit monotonous. I’m in the “piney woods” section of Texas, and even here there’s not huge variety unless you get into a city/suburb where folks have planted other things. That gets even more intense in places like western/central Louisiana. There’s a big, long belt of pines all through the south, and it gets monotonous. At least if you go far enough west you find a larger variety of vegetation in different areas, and if you head back East, especially in Appalachia you have one of the most species-dense old forests on the planet.
I wonder if the difference is the age and the wildness of the forest. If a lot of the forests in that area are planted timber stands that get harvested every 50 years, it's not as appealing. What makes conifers cool is how they age and snarl. I just moved to the SE, so I need to explore more and see how similar or different conifers are here from the Rocky Mountain trees.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScrappyJoe
The sliver of Pacific coast from the Bay Area to southern Oregon is the greatest sweetspot for the vegetative combination that you describe. It has my second favorite foliage PNV in the continental US, outside of Florida and the immediate Gulf/SE coast.
It's kinda interesting how on the west coast, most of the people live on the southern and northern tip of it, but the most naturally blessed piece of land is right in the middle there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prickly Pear
You know what I always say, you can never have enough ponderosa pines. I wish I lived amongst them, but Flagstaff will have to do.
But I appreciate all forests for what they truly are for me: filled with something I see so little of in my day to day.
Well, you can have too many , they naturally grow too thick and need to be thinned by fire or people:
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, they naturally grow too thick and need to be thinned by fire or people: 
