Evergreen trees and shrubs: which trees are evergreen?

Even in winter, some locations require a green element. Traditionally, the easy choice is for conifers, however there are many other options. You may wish to consider holly, holm oak, Portuguese laurel or various rhododendrons. Evergreen species can provide structure all year round in private gardens as well as in public areas. They are also handy for camouflaging things you would rather not see or creating privacy. Some evergreen plants are cultivated as trees and as shrubs. There is a choice of several options available, depending on the planting site and the desired effect.

It is important to add a small caveat at this point: a number of popular evergreen plants such as Quercus ilex and Quercus suber originate in warm, Mediterranean climate zones. This can have consequences for winter hardiness in other parts of Europe. It is preferable to plant these species in sheltered places that protect them from the effects of cold, drying wind. Patio gardens or courtyards generally offer suitable conditions for these species. For colder places there is a very wide range of evergreen conifers.

Rhododendrons: perfect, low-maintenance evergreens.

There are many benefits to using rhododendrons in gardens as well as in public spaces. They provide a green image all year round (apart from the azalea varieties) and give the green structure a distinct shape. They are can be used for bed planting and as they are green throughout the year, weeds have hardly any chance to grow and there is no loss of leaf in autumn. All this makes them extremely low-maintenance plants. Rhododendrons can also be planted in a wide range of locations as they can tolerate shade and are more resistant to frost than most other evergreen plants. They retain their shape, are compact, long-lived and lend themselves very well to pruning.

Flowers

These are all very practical reasons for using rhododendrons, but the most attractive feature of these plants has to be the overwhelming beauty of their flowers in spring. Rhododendron is a large genus and there is an enormous variety of flower colours and markings. In other words, there is a lot to choose from. This also applies to size because there are species that grow to no more than a metre, whereas others can reach four or five metres in height and width.

Rhododendrons from 70 cm to 4 meters

Van den Berk’s rhododendron nursery offers a huge variety of species and sizes. Our bushes vary from 70 cm to 400 cm in height and width. The excellent peat fields in Northern Germany combined with the skills at this nursery yield plant of the very highest quality. They can be used as solitaires or for bed planting. Since they are nicely compact, they also look tidy outside the flowering season. The trained multi-stem rhododendrons are perfect for using as green solitaire elements. Even when not in flower, their irregular stem shapes mean they are truly eye-catching.

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