Betty Rose HW1.5Fx1.5F Canadien Hemlock
Botanical Reference: Tsuga canadensis
 
A miniature evergreen conifer with a flattened-globose form when young, eventually growing more tall than wide. Dark green foliage is variegated with white new growth at the branch tips. Prefers AM sun/PM shade in well-drained soil. 1.5' tall x 1.5' wide in 10 years. Hardy to -40 degrees. USDA zone 3.
 
American Conifer Society Details:
Tsuga canadensis 'Betty Rose' / Betty Rose Canadian Hemlock
RECOMMENDED HARDINESS ZONES:
4 (-20 to -30 F / -28.9 to -34.4 C)
HORTICULTURAL STATUS: Established
COLOR: 
TRINOMIAL TYPE: Cultivar
GROWTH SHAPE: Globe or Globose
GROWTH SIZE: Miniature: less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) per year / less than 12 inches (30 cm) after 10 years
 
Tsuga canadensis 'Betty Rose' is a very slow-growing, irregularly globose dwarf selection of Canadian hemlock with two creamy white flushes of new foliage, in spring and again in late summer, very untypical and quite striking. Branchlets are very pubescent near the tips. Leaves are very irregularly arranged and forward pointed. After 10 years of growth, a mature plant will stand approximately 8 to 10 inches (20 - 25 cm) tall and slightly wider, suggesting a growth rate of less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) per year.
 
Origin:
The original plant was found in the wild in 1973 near Vanceboro, Maine by Francis J. Heckman of Ambler, Pennsylvania and named for his wife. At the time, despite being quite old, the plant was only 24 inches tall and 26 inches wide (60 by 90 cm). The small size and double flush of white growth was the reason why this cultivar was featured on the cover of the first issue of the American Conifer Society's Bulletin.