salt tolerant, deer tolerant, 3 shrub (tree) grouping

16 years ago

Hi, all I'm new here. I am landscaping my renovated garden. It is completely barren right now. I am on the water in the Pacific Northwest, on an island, where no landscape advisor will venture. I need advice on what to plant in my driveway bordered beds. I want a threesome shrub or tree group that I can plant down the south facing, steep driveway - a total of 3 groups. I'd like something that is attractive all year long, and that doesn't grow taller than about 12 feet. It has to be deer and salt tolerant. Any suggestions?

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Comments (7)

gardenerkarin999
Original Author
16 years ago
Okay, this is in addition to my first request for help. I've been looking all over this website, and it is fabulous the amount of information available. I take my hat off to you all, the real gardeners!

I have moved to my new property and brought lots of my old garden in pots. The old garden was well fenced so I don't know much about deer resistance.

My short list, so far, is:
crabapple
hawthorne
rugosa roses
mountain ash (too messy?, and can it be grown in a large container?)
split leaf sumac (the deer ate the top of this the other day, but I'm told it's poisonous?)
birch (too big?, but I love the white bark)
corkscrew willow (too big?, but again so totally cool)
lilac (california and ordinary)
boxwood
iris ( I have lots of this available)
kerria (I have lots of this available)
yucca (I have two on the beach if I can move them?)
mock orange
daylilies (although the deer keep munching them and everything says they are deer resistant)
clumps of chives ( I have tons)
heuchera (I have tons - is this deer resistant, I can't find that info)
Japanese Maple ( I like Ozakasuki, will it live here in the salt, and is it deer tolerant, and will it be happy living in my 36 x 36 container?)

My driveway is quite steep. The bed beside it is about 8ft wide and 10 ft long at the top (this is where I want to plant one threesome of shrubs), sloping down and around to a corner at only 18" wide for about 20 ft, then widening at the corner (I have a 36" wide and deep pot waiting for something sitting on the curve) then around the corner it widens to about 6 ft for about 20 ft. This is where I want to put the other grouping. In the narrower areas I will put perennials. The back of these garden beds are all fenced with trellis type fencing, so I could grow vines up the back, perhaps.

Advice? Remember that I am on the ocean, and have a large deer population, and this area cannot be fenced. If I plant rugosa roses in the skinnier areas of the driveway, will they get huge? Also, I've been reading on this website about Montauk Daisies, will they grow in the Pacific Northwest, I've never heard of them before but they look gorgeous. I'm hoping to do groupings that I can spread around my whole property, trying to get some theme going.
It's also important to have something blooming pretty much all season, so I'm trying to stagger my flowering times.
Most other gardens I've ever had have had one of everything, and that really doesn't work!
I know I've asked way too many questions, but any help will be very much appreciated!
bindersbee
16 years ago
I'm not as familiar with zone 8 BUT I do have very alkaline soils in my area and I have to frequently plan for 'deer resistance' for clients. In your shoes, I'd look into perhaps some 'Tiger Eyes' Sumac or any of the Sambucus such as 'Black Lace' or 'Sutherland's Gold' etc. All are tall shrubs with a bit of 'airyness' at the base. Another possibility is a Purple Smoke Bush but some of them get fairly large so check sizing carefully.
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Obviously, this suggestion is schematic as I can't see all the property & am making a lot of guesses. Also, this is a "bare bones". It needs more plantings to make it truly interesting. The scale is too little and too vague to work out here. Check with county extension agency on specific plant recommendations. To be sure, you also need shade trees at back, trees left side of house/drive & probably some tree form large shrubs at perimeter other places. All of this should be laid out on a plan for it to be accurately placed. Trees 1 & 2 are a matched set of street trees. (Maybe they should match other street trees in neighborhood if they've picked good ones.) Suggestions are Red Maple, various Oaks, Ash (Fraxinus), Zelkova & things like that. If you could get a patented variety, it would definitely be worth the extra money. Tree 3 is a smaller, flowering or character tree: paperbark maple, Eastern redbud, crabapple, saucer magniolia, Japanese tree lilac, etc. Tree 4 is a specialty or character shade tree. First thing that comes to mind is Ginkgo. They take a while to get going, but they're worth the wait. Make sure to get a patented male variety...but not 'Sentry'. (The female variety is really not that horrible as long as it's not anywhere you'd walk on the fruit. It would be workable here.) Others might be tulip poplar, Brioti Horsechestnut, pin oak, Redmond Linden, Lacebark Elm. If you wanted a large specimen conifer here, reconfigure placement scheme. I would probably create planted beds of low shrubs or groundcover around most or all trees. Shrubs (green) are just to show general form. Annuals (red) Groundcover (blue) Perennials (yellow)
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Melissa, broom is a pain in the neck. I used to love seeing it by the roadsides driving through the Italian landscape; so bright, so perfumed! But I think that is the only good context for it, in a way. It would be OK where it is on my property, if it didn't attract those effing beetles so wildly; in fact, IMO, the beetles exist precisely to keep the broom from taking over the entire world, since they suck the flowers and render them infertile. But the beetles are engineered to be wildly attracted to the colour yelow; that is, the stamens of ALL flowers,and due to the geography (or morphology???) of my land (sharply sloping down from the rose garden into the broom field and below that, oak woods,with a south-west orientation),having broom down there is like rolling out the red carpet for the beetles (well, the yellow carpet). Broom has strong, fibrous tap roots that can push their way through/ between rocks, etc. I think the only way I can do anything with this area is by hacking up the ground with my pick; I can't see just planting baby trees amongst that thuggish broom and hoping them to survive.Also, I'd have to water the babies in their first year, and I think the broom would just flourish all the more. Probably I'll try a mix of things and see what works best,but it will be necessary to work the soil before I plant anything. I probably should saw down all the broom in the area I wish to start cultivating, and maybe put black plastic bags over the stumps of the ones that are too deep rooted to dig up; for shade it might be better to rig up something artificial. I don't think your land was as abused as mine was; this area in question has been so badly eroded; I have to hunt out spots where it will be possible to dig down deep enough to start stuff. The rose garden area was similar when I started about 15 years ago,but I am not going to lug all this heavy clay, etc. all the way down there. To plant the first Leylandii I prepared an area,digging out rocks, putting in organic matter and kitty litter, etc. I'll certainly be watering it in it's first year at least! but the thing about Leylandii is that it was cheap; it's as tall as me and cost me all of 13 euros. So, if with some effort I can get it to establish,I might have a nice start.The thing is, even on the subject of drought resistance, people's experiences and opinions vary greatly with ALL plants, as far as I can see. To me,for example, roses are very drought-resistant once established, but many, many people heartily disagree with this opinion. So I will see what this Leylandii does before I make any decisions. Criteria for a nurse crop would have to be : economic ,(not to say, cheap) and fast-growing. But even for that, I will absolutely have to work on that soil ; as it is now, nothing new can start growing there, I think,except baby broom and maybe brambles (if they manage to compete with the broom)...bart
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Eastern White Pines are very intolerant to direct salt spray. There are other pines to plant that are more tolerant such as the Austrian Pine. Spruces are probably better at tolerating the conditions you describe. As you said, Eastern Red Cedar is an excellent choice. Just about any other Juniper will work, too. Crabapples and especially Hawthorns should work. These would give you blooms, and fruit for interest. The latter would also give you thorns unfortunately. Just about anything with thorns will grow well in the conditions you describe, though. Anything in the Elm family should work. The wood is cross-grained so it's very resistant to splitting. The related Zelkova is a tree that I've seen in the situations you describe and they are doing fine. They have nice fall color. Even though they aren't native, Ginkgos will survive just about anything you throw at them. Their unusual leaves create a lot of interest. They are the best for brilliant yellow fall color. I don't live right on the water but I do live within view of the ocean and oaks are everywhere particularly members of the red oak family. I would suggest a scarlet oak for your situation. They love terrible soil and have great fall color. You can buy your average run of the mill red oak at Home Depot or Lowe's for a very cheap price. Bur Oak is another good choice but they are harder to find. The other tree prevalent in my area is the tupelo or black gum tree. While normally associated with wet soil. They are very adaptable to dry, infertile, sandy soil. They have wood that is cross-grained like elms so they absolutely will not break in the wind. They have great fall color. Sweet gums would probably work for you if you can handle the spiky gumballs that they drop. Fall color is excellent. I've seen Larch trees near the ocean around here especially in Plymouth and they do just fine. Honeylocusts would probably do OK. The Kentucky coffeetree is not common here but I have seen some around and they do just fine. They would be very tolerant of the conditions you describe. Their long pods are interesting but messy.
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karinl
16 years ago
Can you deer-fence individual shrubs if you can't fence the area? With 12 feet to grow to, you've got some room above where deer can reach.

KarinL
duluthinbloomz4
16 years ago
Deer have never touched my mock orange, crab apple, boxwood, lilacs, iris, peonies, heuchera - or anything with a strong scent such as chives, nepeta, perovskia, etc. They will eat the roses from the rugosa deftly avoiding the spikey canes. In hard times, they'll nibble buds on daylilies, but they're not known to do serious damage to Japanese Maples - they're considered deer resistant but certainly not deer proof - which is always the caveat with much plant material.

Montauk daisies (Chrysanthemum Nipponicum) show hardiness for zones 5 thru 7; salt wouldn't be an issue since it's quite popular in the Northeast coastal regions.
annzgw
16 years ago
Have you posted on the forum below? Since most of the folks there are in the PNW, you'll probably get more feedback.

Here is a link that might be useful: NW
gardenerkarin999
Original Author
16 years ago
Checking to see that this works
mjsee
16 years ago
Deer will eat heuchera. I have to spray mine with Tree Guard or I Must Garden to keep them safe.

And they'll munch on Japanese maples. I keep them sprayed as well...in fact, today I noticed that there were lots of little green shoots under my Waterfall...they were small limbs the deer had nipped off and then spit out because they tasted bad. Must have been youngish deer or new deer...because the ones that have been aorund awhile usually 'taste test' just once or twice and give up.

Additionally...deer will RACK JM's. I have little chicken wire fences around their trunks to protect them until they are of a size that the racking isn't an issue.

As to plants...I am unfamiliar with your zone...but pittosporum or myrica cerifera should work. As should Japanese ternstroemia (Cleyera) if you have a shady spot.

melanie

salt tolerant, deer tolerant, 3 shrub (tree) grouping

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gardenerkarin999
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bindersbee

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salt tolerant, deer tolerant, 3 shrub (tree) grouping

Comments (7)

gardenerkarin999Original Author

bindersbee

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karinl

duluthinbloomz4

annzgw

gardenerkarin999Original Author

mjsee

COMPANY

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GET HELP

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gardenerkarin999
Original Author

gardenerkarin999
Original Author