Landscaping junipers you like the look of
karoliberty
20 days ago
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Comments (17)
artinnature
20 days agoOntario_Canada5a_USDA4b
19 days agoRelated Discussions
Don't like the look of edible landscaping/ lawn alternatives?
Comments (26)Everyone seems to look at the above picture and admire the thriving plants, but seem not to see that most of the area is bare soil. Will it remain that way or what additional planting will be required to finish this off and stabilize the site? I'm not familiar with that area of the country, but it seems that stabilizing the surface is really not a big deal due to lack of erosive forces and growth rate of invasive weeds. It would be very impractical to use a lawn there. It is an alien to that environment. In much of the country, grass is a normal naturally occuring part of the ecosystem - not monoculture turfs, but grassy fields. I think it is possible that people from arid regions may not appreciate what happens when soil is left exposed to the elements in the not so arid regions. Stabilizing soil is a high priority for the protection of the environment. It needs to be covered to keep it from eroding. In these regions you need pretty close to complete coverage or you will have erosion. That means having small patches of groundcover or spotty shrub plantings is not going to get the job done. You could have large areas of mulch, but this is subject to erosion and weed growth. The weed growth reintroduces "high maintenance" and the possibility of pesticide use. You have to plant the whole thing or mother nature will be working on that for you as she also tries to erode it away. Lawnless in non-arid areas has to overcome erosion by having some kind of surface that resists it. That can be trees, shrubs, herbacious plants, groundcover, pavement, or mulch (mulch will have the least resistance to erosion). It has to succumb to or overcome mother natures desire to reclaim it with a succession of weeds and grasses to thicket and eventually a forest. Going lawnless is fine, but you have to know that in most of the country it is not a matter of removing grass and planting a few drought tolerant plants. Most of the attempts that I see are done by well meaning people who do not complete the job in stabilizing the soil - I'm not even going to go into aesthetics. The result is usually spotty plantings and wood chips everywhere (the well meaning folks who tend to go lawnless tend to like to recycle wood chips as well). If you are going to do it, think it through and make a commitment to an end result. Don't remove the grass and then try to figure it out later. There is a sizable investment of time and money to do this up here in the northeast. I suppose wood chips might make some feel that they have recycled and removed lawn at the same time and they can sleep better at night. Again, is matching what you value to the conditions of the site. Don't under estimate Mother Nature. She won't treat you any differently just because you have her best interests in mind....See MoreDoes this mix of Junipers Sound Like a Good Plan?
Comments (4)I think the only concern I might have is the different maturing times of the different junipers. If one type were to outgrow the others, might it look odd. Too, the spread of one type, invading the space of the other would have to ensure the space is adequate. I suppose their care is pretty well the same. Thirty-five feet to the fence...and then the junipers taking up space ...will their mature size interfere with how you might use the space left. Just a quick note:....pay no attention if it doesn't apply. Do you have perchance any mountain ash, hawthorn, crabapple nearby to you or your neighbor? The reason I ask is that your choice of juniper is a host for a fungus disease that attacks junipers. Cedar Apple Rust.... if you have any of the plants mentioned, or your neighbor..or have one close by... I suggest you read about this particular fungus before making up your mind to buy juniper. It need not change your mind about such purchase....just be aware of it....See MoreHow do you like Tolleson's weeping juniper?
Comments (35)I have to chime in on the soil ammendments. The advice not to use them is just bad advice. The idea that tree roots will be "spoiled" by the good soil and not go further out is crazy. Tree roots do not think, they are not sentient, nor are they subject to emotions. Fact is, tree roots regularly go through varying types of soil, even through concrete, old pipes, almost anything. You think if trees could think and decide to stay in improved soil they'd bust through driveways and sidewalks? Now, in loose improved soil you might get more root growth, because it is loose soil and that makes it easier for roots to form, like if you were growing carrots or potatoes. This is not a bad thing certainly. The notion that "Trees will outgrow it quickly" also doesn't make sense. You might equally say "Time release fertilizer is worthless because it only lasts 3 months." Sure, eventually, the improved soil will be less beneficial to the tree as it roots out, that doesn't mean it is not beneficial for the first years of growth (you know, that period where a tree is most vulnerable). Personally I plant everything new in compost, and everything grows great. Compost is more fertile and more biologically active than other soils, and is only $1.50 a bag. I don't feel like I'm being ripped off buying it. I think the notion that native unimproved soil is best is the result of someone's bad intuition decades ago that unfortunately caught on and no one really questions....See MoreLooking for advice on a unhappy Hollywood Juniper
Comments (5)Ken, thanks for the input. I was hoping the berries were a positive sign for right now, but I know that I have to be patient and try to think in 'tree time'. I'm going to try removing the side shade in about a week and keep the top there for at least a few more weeks/month to continue to protect it from the noon-3 sun. There isn't any landscape fabric under the mulch. My front yard depth is just about what you see here -- it's extremely small. The bed is about 5.5' deep and in total about 20' wide. I know the square looks a little incongruous and we might round it off next year when we fix the edging as we decided on the circles after making that bed. We're experimenting and this is the first attempt to improve it and we are dealing with some irritating bermuda grass, awful (and very hard) clay soil, and very uneven landscape. What the developers originally put there was very much an afterthought. With our HOA, we are also limited as to how much of the grass we can get rid of. I am keeping it minimalist and plant to only plant a few things in that bed (right now there is a miniature gingko and a green mound juniper that I intend to keep small and shaped. In the fall I plan to plant a Feelin' Blue deodar cedar that I have currently in a pot in my backyard. On the far right (where the limestone 'river' continues), I have a dwarf hinoki cypress and a blue rug juniper that I'll also keep small....See Morebengz6westmd
19 days agoOntario_Canada5a_USDA4b
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