28 City Trees
in the region, has increased the
number of species of conifers it
grows from three in 2010 to over
two dozen and counting today. We
enlist volunteer arborists to help
with fall cone collection from nota-
ble specimens throughout the city.
Conifers have also garnered a
tremendous amount of interest
from our volunteers. We have avid
birders and wildlife watchers that
genuinely appreciate how conifers
contribute to their hobbies and
the ecosystem. We have exposed
volunteers/residents to many new
species of conifers that had not
been previously grown in the city,
and they are now interested in
growing these new species in their
gardens. Finally, we have heard
from folks who are just excited
about a conifer's instant ability to
hide a building/dumpster/parking
lot, something that improves the
aesthetics of a park or neighbor-
hood immensely.
The American Conifer Society
and its members are a fantastic
resource for learning more about
conifers. Many members offer
tours of their private gardens and
freely share information from their
decades of growing experience.
They can point you to hardy sourc-
es of conifers and very interesting
trees that you might not have con-
sidered planting otherwise.
—Matt Erb, Director of Urban
Forestry, Tree Pittsburgh
Deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara) is known to tolerate
poor, compacted soils. Photo by Gordon Mann
