Breeder’s Hall of Fame

A brief story of 250 years conifering

Currently at the year 2011, I think it’s best to divide cultivar-history into different stages.

The first conifer age happened since the botanical beginnings of Linnaeus 1753 to 1959, I name it Classical Conifer Age. That time any cultivars were described by botanists. After a while it was clear, that this job must be shared with the gardening.

The ’second stage’ as a result of the publication of (’The World Checklist of Conifers’ Welch/Haddow) in 1993, showed all of us that there were men and women on European and North American continents, that had really created a name for theirselves... some of these people include: Krüssmann (Germany) - Horstmann (Germany) – Grootendorst (Holland) – zu Jeddeloh (Germany) - Barabits (Hungary) - Iseli (USA) – Lundell and Johannson (Sweden) & Jerry Morris (USA); It’s appropriate to let the reader know that these men and women may be regarded as „heroes” - for their outstanding work in the field of conifer-discovery. And, now gardeners have many options to go to in the general overall use of dwarf & miniature conifers & cultivated tree-forms, as selections. This is the Conifer Hero Age (1959-1993), when great persons were able to work, their names are well known overall the world. This age looks to be unfinished, the documentations are rather poor, even lost. We have to learn, save and develop further the achievements of Welch in detecting conifer cultivars, as I’m following him in this work.

The 3rd Conifer Age has come upon us, now. More and more „enthusiasts” wheather at the propagation level, or just the adventurous level, more and more conifers of color and shape are being brought to us from the wild as well as - the „urban forests.” The numbers of these people are increasing. Some of today’s most-well-known, include: Jiri Holata, Ján Sláma, Vladimir Valenta (Czech Republic), Edwin Smits (Netherlands), Stephen Grubb, (United Kingdom) – Greg Sampson (NZL) – Jörg Kohout (Germany) - Hodi Toth (Hungary) -etc. I am writing their history before there is a chance that it could become, lost. The same will apply to others, whom I believe their „life monument” should be recorded before the paper trail, disappears. Some include: Jerry Morris (USA), (Justin) „Chub” Harper (USA); Larry Stanley (USA); Greg Williams (USA); Sidney Waxman (USA); Ed Rezek (USA); Randy Dykstra (USA). These men are coming to this age where I believe it becomes important that their records are not lost, forever. They all join to the Breeder’s Hall. We need living heroes to learn their secrets. We need botanists, who bring down the forests from the mountains to the people as likely dwarfs or any forms, colours. And we need to be informed about conifering news throughout the world as soon as possible.

The first 3rd Conifer Age experimental book is published by me about the Hungarian Conifer Treasury. More than 890 hungarian breeded cultivars with full documentation are in. The breeders are staying now in the middle, fully description, photos from the www, and the plant story, of course. As anybody is reading the book on a computer, will have all possible available informations about the subject.

Yours sincerely

Mesterházy, Zsolt

Editor of Conifer Treasury

zs.mesterhazy_at_chello.hu