Conifers are wonderful ornamental trees to plant in your landscape. They are often (though not always) evergreen, and they can have spectacular foliage and flowers. When you’re choosing a new tree, the number of options can sometimes be overwhelming. One easy way to narrow things down is to determine your growing zone and stick only to trees that are hardy in your climate. Keep reading to learn more about choosing conifer trees for zone 9 and growing conifers in zone 9.
What Conifers Grow in Zone 9?
Here are some popular zone 9 conifers: White Pine – White pine trees tend to be hardy up to zone 9. Some good varieties include:
- Southwestern white pine
- Weeping white pine
- Contorted white pine
- Japanese white pine
Juniper – Junipers come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes. They are often fragrant. Not all junipers can survive in zone 9, but some good hot weather choices include:
- Mint Julep juniper
- Japanese Dwarf Garden juniper
- Youngstown Andorra juniper
- San Jose juniper
- Green Columnar juniper
- Eastern red cedar (this is juniper not cedar)
Cypress – Cypress trees often grow to be tall and narrow and make great specimens on their own and privacy screens in a row. Some good zone 9 varieties are:
Cedar – Cedars are beautiful trees that come in all shapes and sizes. Some good zone 9 specimens include:
- Deodar cedar
- Incense cedar
- Weeping Blue Atlas cedar
- Black Dragon Japanese cedar
Arborvitae – Arborvitae make very hard specimen and hedge trees. Some good zone 9 trees include:
- Oriental arborvitae
- Dwarf Golden arborvitae
- Thuja Green Giant
Monkey Puzzle – Another interesting conifer to consider planting in the zone 9 landscape is the monkey puzzle tree. It has unusual growth with foliage consisting of spiky, sharp tips growing upward in whorls and produces large cones.