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tall, narrow shrub in sun

18 years ago

I'm putting in a garden of bushes and flowers in front of my house and have a problem edge. I want to plant something fairly tall (6-8'), but narrow (around 2' wide) to sort of anchor the left hand edge of the garden. The planter is not very wide at that edge. The other plants that have gone in are ceanothus, buddleia, agapanthus, tree mallow, and I plan to fill in with lots of flowers in front. Anyone have any suggestions for a tall, narrow plant for the edge? I'm not that particular about color, but would like something that blooms. The area faces west, so gets a lot of sun. A small tree in front provides just a bit of shade.

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Comments (4)

CA Kate z9
18 years ago
WE have Cupressus sempervirens ÂStrictaÂ and it seems to be staying narrow. WHen, if ever, it gets too big I'll pull it and repalce it.
wanda
18 years ago
I can't think of a flowering plant that would get that tall and not as wide, although, there are some shrubs in the genus' buxus, ilex, thuja to name a few that fit the bill.

Some other options are an upright rosemary (Tuscan Blue) that you could keep pruned to a slender width. Maybe a rose tree or other "patio-type" tree, or perhaps a Clematis or other smallish vine (Mandevilla, Manetta inflata, etc) trained in an obelisk.
Your bed sounds like it has fairly drought tolerant plants, so the rosemary would probably work best in a cultural aspect.

wanda
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pugsgarden
Original Author
18 years ago
I really like the idea of a rose tree! That would look really good in that spot and have all of the attributes I'm looking for. I can just make sure it's watered more than the rest of the plants in that long bed. Do rose trees do as well in the Sacramento heat as rose bushes seem to do? Thanks for the suggestions!
eric_sc
18 years ago
How about a planting a vine on a form? They grow quickly, lots of choices, and you can control the shape easily. Just avoid morning glory. Please.

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