Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Canadian Hemlock, Eastern Hemlock

Description:

This is a beautiful dwarf cultivar that is compact and dense with brown tipped dark green needles; spherical in shape when young becoming more pyramidal, but very slow growing; prefers acidic moist soil; versitile for many garden and landscape uses

Ornamental Features

Stewart's Gem Hemlock is a dwarf conifer which is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its ornamental globe-shaped form. It has brown-tipped dark green foliage which emerges light green in spring. The needles remain dark green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Stewart's Gem Hemlock is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a more or less rounded form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and usually looks its best without pruning, although it will tolerate pruning. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Insects

Stewart's Gem Hemlock is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Stewart's Gem Hemlock will grow to be about 5 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selection of a native North American species.

This plant is not reliably hardy in our region, and certain restrictions may apply; contact the store for more information.