This month in Newfoundland I found a rose on the tamarack.
Tamaracks (Larix laricina) are North American larches whose name means “wood is good for fence posts” in Algonquin.
The “roses” are their immature cones. In summer the needles are green and the cones are red.
In autumn the needles turn yellow and fall off the tree.
And the cones turn brown and dry out. They persist on the tree all winter and are still present when the needles grow again in the spring.
You have to look in the summer to see a tamarack rose.
(tamarack immature cone photos by Kate St. John. Yellow tamarack and mature cones photos from Wikimedia Commons; click on the images to see the original)
Do you know if these are the same trees that grow in front of the phipps outdoor garden?
Mary, I seem to remember that those are cedars, not tamaracks. I’ll check and update this comment when I have the answer. ANSWER: See Tony Bledsoe’s comment; they are Dawn Redwoods.
I think Mary may refer to dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). Phipps has several near the outdoor garden, and the University of Pittsburgh (Oakland campus) has one near Heinz Chapel.