Friends of the Arboretum Lecture

"Conifers in the Landscape—Thank You Dr. Raulston"
Tom Cox, Cox Arboretum

  • Thursday, October 2, 2014 – 7:30 pm9:00 pm

One of Tom Cox's earliest recollections of conifers in a Southern collection was at the JC Raulston Arboretum and J. C. was a part of that discovery. Learn how conifers have become a major plant group for the South and how they can be used in the landscape.

Lecture Outline

  • What is a conifer?
  • Conifers in the landscape
    • Specimen trees for accent
    • Mixed use in combination with maples, rhododendrons, viburnums, etc.
    • As container plants
    • Rock gardens and around water features
    • As houseplants
    • Screening
  • Conifer attributes
    • 12 months of color (foliage effect)
    • Interesting and colorful fruit and bark
    • Fall and winter color (five deciduous conifers and some that change in winter)
    • Myriad forms (pyramidal, globose, spreading, upright, weeping, flat)
    • Easy to care for
    • Numerous dwarf forms for even the smallest of properties
    • Habitant for wildlife
    • Oldest living organism, tallest tree, biggest tree—all conifers
  • Hardiness zones of North Carolina with emphasis on heat zones
  • New conifer book
  • Suggested conifers for North Carolina

Book Sale and Signing

Tom is a co-author of Landscaping with Conifers and Ginkgo for the Southeast. He'll be selling and signing his new book before and after the lecture.

About Tom Cox

Tom Cox and his wife Evelyn started Cox Arboretum and Gardens in 1990 when they purchased an undeveloped 13-acre parcel in Canton, Georgia. Over the ensuing 24 years, the garden has evolved into one of the premiere collections of woody taxa in the southeastern United States. In 2002, and again in 2014, the arboretum was selected as one of the host sites for the American Conifer Society's national meeting and is now a frequent stop for gardening enthusiasts as well as those involved in serious plant study. He is a pioneer in the evaluation of conifers for adaptability in the Southeast and is recognized as one of the leading authorities on growing conifers in the region. The arboretum is now a site for the preservation of rare and endangered conifers from around the world.

Tom Cox is a frequent lecturer on the subject of conifers and is also a member of the prestigious International Dendrology Society. He is a past president of the American Conifer Society and has been published numerous times in their journal. He is now retired from the U.S. Army and devotes full time to the collection and evaluation of rare plants with a specific focus on conifers.

Tom holds a B.S. degree (cum laude) from The New York Institute of Technology and a M.S. degree in psychology from Georgia State University.

Cost
Free for Friends of the JC Raulston Arboretum members, NC State University students (with ID), and Department of Horticultural Science faculty and staff, all others $5.00.
Registration
Advance registration is not available.
Location
Ruby C. McSwain Education Center, JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University, 4415 Beryl Road, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Directions
Need directions? Click here.
Parking
Free parking is available at the JC Raulston Arboretum and along Beryl Road.
Questions
Please call (919) 513-7005 for more information about this lecture.