HEARTLAND COLLECTION OF GARDEN CONIFERS
The Heartland Collection of Garden Conifers is the largest and most well-known collection that the Bickelhaupt Arboretum has to offer. The idea for this collection came from the late Justin “Chub” Harper, Moline, Ill. He felt the arboretum needed to show these plants and make the general public more aware of them. He believed they had a lot to offer; many different textures, shapes, sizes, colors and low maintenance. The initial planning, bed layout, and plant selection was done during the summer and fall of 1990. The first plants were planted in the spring of 1991. We have a nice selection of older time-tested cultivars as well as some exciting newer ones. In addition to these cultivars, the collection has many one-of-a-kind plants that originate from witches brooms. These witches brooms have been discovered and made available to us by various collectors throughout the United States. “Chub” felt it important to include them so they could be studied and familiarize our visitors with witches brooms.
Today the heartland collection consist of 412 plants. The collection is continually changing as we remove plants to prevent them from crowding one another. We carefully select replacement plants that don’t have major insect and disease problems and are hardy to zone 5. One of the many interesting features found in the collection is the Alberta Spruce Grove located along the walking path as you enter the collection. There are 52 plants in the grove, which are supposed to imitate a miniature forest.
The arboretum hosted the Central Region Meeting of the American Conifer Society in 2001. We were also a tour stop for the 2008 national meeting of the American Conifer Society held in Dubuque, Iowa.
The collection is located at the northern edge of the arboretum covering approximately 1.5 acres of rolling terrain. It has a waterfall and several benches located in key areas allowing visitors the opportunity to sit and enjoy the views. When visiting, a listing of the plants is available upon request to help make your visit more enjoyable.