Conifer Choice for Screening/Beauty

12 years ago

We need to choose a conifer for a grouping of three to screen the southwest corner of a garden we're making. We're in southwest Michigan and the soil on our property is light clay. This corner is full sun. We plan to use a lot of native perennials and shrubs in this particular garden and also will eventually incorporate a bog or pond within sight of this conifer grouping. In addition to screening, we want a conifer that contributes to the beauty and, hopefully serenity, of this garden.

Our entire property is about 6/10ths of an acre; this particular garden area is 45' X 120'. Our neighborhood is an older (1940's) suburb, with rather large lots and well-established trees. Lots of people enjoy walking around here. The corner we want to screen is between a sidewalk and our neighbor's driveway to the west. A fairly busy street is about twenty-five feet south of the location. Arborvitae are perhaps the natural choice, but we already have a dozen arborvitae in other places on the property and would prefer to find something less commonly used--around here, pretty much every house in the neighborhood has a screening of arborvitae somewhere on their property. We also have more-than-enough Norway spruces on the property already!

Some of the trees we're considering are Canaan firs, Serbian spruces, Canadian hemlocks, and balsam firs. We especially like the gracefulness of the Serbian spruce. We also like the fact that Canadian hemlocks and balsam firs are native to this area and balsam firs are fragrant.

In your collective conifer experience, would any of the above-mentioned conifers be appropriate for this location? Or can you suggest something which might make more sense? We're envisioning a grouping of three of whatever we select--it's a large corner.

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Comments (5)

Snowden_Yesteryear
12 years ago
Are you sure you're zone 5? If you're close to the lake you may well be a zone 6. Other, more knowledgable people will have better suggestions I'm sure, but you could probably grow giant sequoias there, especially if you're close to the lake (milder winters and summers, lots of snow in the winter). Your neighbors probably don't have any of those, though they are obviously not native. If you're planting small stock, you could probably plant 3 sequoias and 3 serbian spruces close to one another and then decide what's looking best in 5 years and remove the other 3.
gardeningmusician
Original Author
12 years ago
Snowden Yesteryear (great username!)--thanks for your reply. We're definitely Zone 5; we're almost one hour from Lake Michigan.

We might plant a dawn redwood in another part of this garden--another obviously non-native choice--but one some family members think is pretty cool.
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So ssmdgardener, about this little area of yours...what would you say the drainage is like now? Is it still a bit sunk, is it level, or is it now higher than the surrounding areas? If it's higher, my advice would be to go ahead and plant the blue arrows in the clay. Three trees in some kind of triangle seems about right. Another clay-friendly option would be a narrow columnar yew such as taxus x media 'beanpole'. If it is flat, with decent drainage, then I would suggest creating a mound or raised bed of better-draining soil on top rather than mixing it in with the clay. I think this strategy has more merit than amending because it emulates nature, where in most areas you will see a layer of organically rich, loose soil on top and the soil gets more compacted the deeper you dig. If you do this, I think you can pick from a wide range of conifer species, and the blue arrows should work fine also. If it is still somewhat sunken and mucky, I think you should not plant conifers there unless you can bring the level of clay soil even higher. I have had good luck so far with Fine Line Buckthorn(rhamnus frangula 'Ron Williams') in a mucky spot in my own yard. This is a plant that looks a lot like a conifer during the growing season, and while it won't give you winter color, it does have a nice sculptural look in winter, as you can see in this photo:
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to get the permits to build the house.. a survey had to be done ... no use building on the neighbors property ... eh ... then... when and if you converted from a building loan to a mortgage ... presuming it wasnt all paid for by that time... you had to submit the survey to the bank for your mortgage ... by irrigation .. as i noted.. i do NOT mean a system of drippers, etc ... i simply mean a few spigots strategically place around the property ... whether the water is handy and close ... or 500 feet away ... you will use the same amount of water ... its just a question of how far you drag it ... how big is your property? i will try to get a picture for you.. after the snow melt ... IF I REMEMBER ... DAX!!!! .. prioritize your project.. so you do NOT have regrets in the years to come .... what you are able to do at the age you are now.. may not be within your capabilities ... 10.. 20.. 30 years down the road ... invest in the superstructure of your garden ... at the expense of immediate gratification ... you got the fever in a bad way.. don't you.. lol ken
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Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica 'Glauca Nana' is a good one but it may become larger given time than say Abies concolor 'Archer's Dwarf' which makes a pyramidal shape sort of similar to Picea pungens 'Sester Dwarf'. About the red and yellow twig dogwoods. They form colonies with their roots and are better used for projects such as erosion control or on large properties where they are beneficial to nature. They are a burden, otherwise... and often do they succumb to leaf diseases. Substitutes for consideration might be hollies with persistent red-berries; Acer circinatum ‘Pacific Fire’; Hydrangea quercifolia; Regarding a smaller flowering tree, the problem with crabapples, again, are leaf diseases. I'd probably stay clear of those and use Stewartia pseudocamillia or another species. I won't mention it again, but Cornus officinalis is a great candidate. Dax
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A grouping of arborvitae 'Yellow Ribbon' would look great in there, these are fast growing and very hardy. I think I've only seen any bit of browning during their first winter or so and nothing for years now despite some mean nasty Canadian prairie conditions. I originally purchased several 18 to 24 inch specimens at Walmart for a very reasonable price and all have developed very quickly, even one situated in almost full shade. 'Jantar' is another excellent yellow selection, though I believe that 'Yellow Ribbon' is a bit sturdier and better at handling snow loads without splaying apart ... oh, and an occasional sheering will get these looking especially nice and full. 'Yellow Ribbon' arborvitae, photo taken in December
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greenhaven
12 years ago
I happen to LOVE Tsuga canadense, and feel like you can't go wrong. Front them with a couple Ivory Halo dogwoods and throw a Physocarpus 'Coppertina' or 'Center Glow' into the mix and you have a fantasticly delicious vignette.
greenhaven
12 years ago
Err, that would be Tsuga canadensis....my bad....
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
if screening is the goal.. a conifer that losses its leaves is not the prime choice..

otherwise.. personally.. i need a picture to think of ideas ...

to avoid confusion.. you ought to start using the latin names ...

though you have a rather nice sized lot.. please review the linked intro to conifers.. and learn about the annual growth rates ... most estimates are simply at 10 years ... so if something grows one foot per year.. it will be 10 at 10.. 20 at 20 ... etc ... as trees.. conifers never really stop growing .... in your lifetime ..

so if you do not want to be swamped in the future.. you might want to look into things with slower growth rates ...

e.g. ... the omorika ... shows an growth rate in excess of 12 inches per year ... and then suggests Large: > 15' (4.5m) at 10 yrs .. which i read to mean at least a foot and a half per year ....

frankly put.. with that growth rate.. it is a forest tree ...

use the database at the link.. to go to picea ... then omorika.. then peruse the various named cultivars.. and see if you can find something that has a slower growth rate.. but still looks like the momma ....

then.. once you find the name.. the hunt begins.. lol ...

next PROPER planting time in MI ... [i am in adrian MI] .. is early october.. so you have plenty of time to search ... even if you buy in the heat of summer ... we do not recommend planting in summer ... we would hold them .. in shade.. in a pot until planting time ...

there is a great conifer nursery and arboretum .. just north of jackson ... gee tree farm ... and a great collection at hidden lakes gardens ...

your list .. seems .. on some level to be limited to generic stuff at the bigboxstore ... if so.. you can do so much better ... and you have plenty of time to track down some really special stuff ...

and though the goal is a screen.. buying big is not the best option .... its all about how long it takes a fully leafed out tree to get re-established ... and begin to grow vigorously ...

good luck

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Conifer Choice for Screening/Beauty

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Snowden_Yesteryear

gardeningmusician
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greenhaven

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Conifer Choice for Screening/Beauty

Comments (5)

Snowden_Yesteryear

gardeningmusicianOriginal Author

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greenhaven

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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gardeningmusician
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