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![\"Colleen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4414060_web1_Jpg-1_a-cast-of-intriguing-characters-with-sculptural-shapes-and-textures_Larix-decidua.jpeg\")
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Colleen Zacharias photo<\/p>\n
The weeping form of Larix decidua Puli is flanked by the red foliage of Jack Frost maple trees \u2014 a cast of intriguing characters with sculptural shapes and textures.<\/p>\n
\u201cIseli plants are as exclusive as it gets,\u201d says Veronica van der Meer, retail store manager. \u201cI would compare their key attributes to some of the esthetics that make a brand like David Austin roses so special. We have customers all the way from Calgary and places in Ontario who have driven to our nursery to buy the Iseli plants we sell, especially the maples.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lothar Behnke is the sales and customer service representative for Iseli Nursery for the Canadian prairies. He is actively working to convince Winnipeggers that Iseli plants deserve a place in local gardens. If his name sounds familiar, Behnke operated Behnke Greenhouses formerly located near Rose Avenue and St. Anne\u2019s Road for 30 years, until it closed in the mid-1990s.<\/p>\n
Behnke began working for Iseli Nursery in 1997 and lived in Dallas, Texas for 21 years before returning to Winnipeg in May 2023. Today he and his wife Erika live in St. Vital. To demonstrate the cold hardiness, adaptability and sculptural appeal of Iseli plants, Behnke has planted numerous conifers and maples in his front yard and backyard. The plants have overwintered successfully for two years. I was fortunate to be introduced to these fascinating plants with their distinctive characteristics on a recent visit to Behnke\u2019s garden.<\/p>\n
His front bed is anchored by a statuesque white spruce (Picea glauca) that was the only existing tree in the front yard at the time of purchase in 2023. Situated around the tree are several upright and low growing conifers from the Iseli product line.<\/p>\n
Monty (Picea pungens), a new Iseli introduction, commands immediate attention. A standout dwarf blue spruce that is hardy to Zone 2, Monty has a classic conical Christmas shape (think traditional fat shape) and extraordinary silver blue foliage with bristly texture. Mature height is just 2.4 metres.<\/p>\n
\u201cMonty is a cross between Hoopsie and Montgomery,\u201d Behnke says. \u201cThe structure is perfect and the growth is very tight. The needles are longer than any Colorado spruce you\u2019ll ever find.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nearby is Mother Lode Juniperus horizontalis. Discovered at Iseli Nursery in 1982, this extremely flat, ground-hugging juniper has bright golden foliage in the summer months. Hardy to Zone 3, Mother Lode can grow in full or partial sun. \u201cIt grows slowly and doesn\u2019t get out of control,\u201d Behnke says.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Colleen Zacharias Photo<\/p>\n Ice Dragon from the Jack Frost maple collection \u2014 hardy to Zone 4 \u2014 sports colourful lacy foliage.<\/p>\n Behnke also grows Juniperus horizontalis Gold Strike, a dwarf creeping evergreen groundcover introduced by Iseli Nursery that features vivid yellow spring foliage that matures to chartreuse. It grows to a height of 15 cm and spreads to about 90 cm. Gold Strike is hardy to Zone 3.<\/p>\n Then there is Picea pungens Moonstone, a globe-shaped little gem with bright blue foliage. Hardy to Zone 2, it is just 60 cm tall at maturity.<\/p>\n \u201cMoonstone has the same genetics as Monty,\u201d Behnke says.<\/p>\n The most unusual character in Behnke\u2019s front bed is a sculptural jack pine (Pinus banksiana).<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the hardiest of all pines (Zone 2) \u2014 an ugly pine basically \u2014 but this is a variety Iseli found and it grows every which way. There are no two alike.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, the jack pine wouldn\u2019t behave for the camera. Behnke has used bamboo sticks to train its unusual shape. Pinus banksiana Al Johnson and Uncle Fogy are character specimens that Iseli describes as \u201ceveryone\u2019s eccentric relative.\u201d Ah yes, to say the least.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Colleen Zacharias photo<\/p>\n Monty Picea pungens with impeccable silver blue colour stands behind Picea abies Pusch with tiny fingertip cones. Pinus mugo pine Wintersonne on the right.<\/p>\n Behnke also grows a Pinus mugo pine called Wintersonne, a German word that translates to \u2018winter sun\u2019. The foliage of this Zone 2 hardy upright dwarf mugo pine becomes a bright yellow colour that persists through winter.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a unique feature in the landscape,\u201d Behnke says. \u201cTo keep a mugo pine\u2019s compact shape, you have to prune them every summer by cutting the candles (new growth tips) in half.\u201d<\/p>\n Picea abies Pusch is a small Norway spruce with exceptionally tight foliage decorated with an abundance of tiny cones that look like fingertips. Hardy to Zone 3, this spreading dwarf is from the former East Germany (how interesting, Behnke\u2019s roots are in East Germany, too, where his family was in the greenhouse industry before coming to Canada).<\/p>\n Pinus strobus Niagara Falls is yet another unusual Iseli specimen in Behnke\u2019s front yard. Named the 2009 Collector\u2019s Conifer of the Year, Niagara Falls has a compact, weeping form and long, two-tone needles. It is hardy to Zone 3.<\/p>\n But let\u2019s dash into Behnke\u2019s backyard before I run out of space in my column.<\/p>\n Behnke grows three Iseli Jack Frost maples.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are not Japanese maples,\u201d he emphasizes. \u201cThese are pseudosieboldianums \u2014 a cross between the Japanese maple and the Korean maple. Japanese maples are hardy to Zone 5. Jack Frost maples are hardy to Zone 4.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Colleen Zacharias photo<\/p>\n Picea glauca Jean\u2019s Dilly, with its dill pickle shape, makes a unique statement behind Abies koreana Ice Breaker\u2019s silvery foliage.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is their third year. They\u2019ve already had two winters without any coverage, nothing apart from snow cover,\u201d Behnke says.<\/p>\n Of course, nothing rivals the colour of the lacy, dissected foliage of these coveted plants which we would only normally grow as potted annuals in our Zone 3 climate. Behnke grows Ice Dragon, a small Jack Frost maple with a chubby shrub shape and foliage that opens to orange red in spring. On my visit, Ice Dragon\u2019s foliage was a kaleidoscope of orange, red, and green colour. He also grows Alpenglow, an upright tree with astonishing red colour in summer.<\/p>\n Naturally, Behnke also grows an exquisite ginkgo \u2014 Ginkgo Marikan. The iconic bright green foliage turns an unbelievable yellow in the fall, he says.<\/p>\n The weeping form of Larix decidua Puli is texture you cannot resist touching. And what can one say about Picea glauca Jean\u2019s Dilly, a dwarf spruce with a dill pickle shape.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tWinnipeg Gardener<\/p>\n Monthly<\/p>\n What you need to know now about gardening in Winnipeg. An email with advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for Winnipeg Gardener<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cBut it needs protection for the winter,\u201d Behnke says. \u201cYou can protect it with burlap, and it will survive.\u201d<\/p>\n Ice Breaker (Abies koreana) has two-toned needles that recurve up and around their stems to exhibit a bright white, waxy underside. Behnke also protects this specimen with burlap for the winter.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Colleen Zacharias Photo<\/p>\n Scintillating colour in Lothar Behnke\u2019s Winnipeg garden. The Jack Frost collection of Zone 4 maples are a cross between Japanese and Korean maples.<\/p>\n Then there is Picea abies Cobra, a Zone 3 weeping tree with snake-like branching. Behnke is training its wildly unique character to go upright. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t need any special protection for the winter.\u201d<\/p>\n There are even more Iseli plants in Behnke\u2019s garden. Intriguing, indeed.<\/p>\n colleenizacharias@gmail.com <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Colleen Zacharias Colleen Zacharias writes about many aspects of gardening including trends, plant recommendations, and how-to information that is uniquely relevant to Prairie gardeners. She has written a column for the Free Press since 2010 and pens the monthly newsletter Winnipeg Gardener<\/a>. Read more about Colleen<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Colleen produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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Gardening columnist
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