Help me pick 3 conifers please!

13 years ago

I have this lovely retaining wall in the front of my house. It is about 6 feet tall. I am planning on buying 3 conifers locally to place in front of it to cover it year round. I need your help in picking the right ones. I have gone to several garden centers and found several kinds that are narrow.

I have 11 feet from the back of the sidewalk to the wall. I don't care how tall they are.

About 40 feet long. South/West facing. Zone 5. Sandy soil.

I'm up in the air about whether I would like 3 of the same kind or a couple of different ones. That is where I would like your input.

I would also like them not to overwhelm the area. Meaning they need to be narrow enough that I can plant shrubs/flowers in between them to tie it into the rest of my front yard landscaping.

this is what I have to choose from

*picea orientalis 'gowdy'

*picea abies 'Frohburg'

*pine mugo "Dollyschoice" pinus mugo fastigata

*White pine Japanese 'Templehof'

*Serbian Spruce 'Riverside'

*Serbian Spruce 'Bruns'

*Norway Spruce "Hillside'

*Blue Spruce 'Totem' - this looked really common to me

*weeping white spruce 'Pendula'

*Bosnian Pine - this looked really common to me

*Weeeping Alaskan Cedar 'glauca pendula' - I asked the nursery guy specifically if this was going to get too big and he told me that this one would not. True?

As far as my preference. I would love to have some blue and green or some different textures. I also love weepers. This is just such a big part of my front yard that I want it to look really nice. Not like an ugly retaining wall with 3 big green blobs in front of it. Again I don't know if three completely different kinds would look too busy or not.

Any suggestions or ideas would be much appreciated as I am overwhelmed by the choices.

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
I have this lovely retaining wall ... and i want to .... cover it year round.

==>>>>

well i surely dont understand why you want to cover it.. its magnificent ...

-----------------
*Weeeping Alaskan Cedar 'glauca pendula' - I asked the nursery guy specifically if this was going to get too big and he told me that this one would not. True?

====>>>>> he is delusional ..... see link below for size potential .....

if it were me.. i would put in about 20 MINI conifers ... something like will had on his hillside ....

most of those you list.. will grow 1 to 1.5 feet per year .. once established .... and will easily outgrow that spot inside 10 years ....

where are you.. what zone 5 ... summer temps make a difference ...

any adversity to mail order of smaller stuff ....

is your local supplier able to order from iseli now for fall delivery.. or in spring ...

look into CHAMAECYPARIS nootkatensis 'Green Arrow' .. for somthing EXTREMELY narrow .... and tall .... maybe two on each end .... with something yellow in between .... copy paste this into your browser:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=l4N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&&sa=X&ei=KL92TLPwNoGxnAeW0uWcCw&ved=0CCMQBSgA&q=chamaecyparis+nootka+green+arrow&spell=1

i would go to great lengths.. to avoid covering any of that great wall ....

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link
dcsteg
13 years ago
Picea pungens 'Glauca Pendula' planted in center

Picea 'glauca 'Pendula' Either end plus or minus 6 ft. In from edge of wall also include ....

Picea omorika 'Pendula' Bruns' or Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Aura ' as optional choices for the end of wall.

There are plenty of other choice's to choose from but I know these will work as I am growing all of the above in restricted areas.

You did not give distance from side walk to wall. I am thinking around 10 ft. Give or take.

Fill in the areas between the three focal point conifers with low growing dwarf conifers.

Download Iseli's catalog at their web site for additional conifer offerings.

Dave
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I want to thank everyone for their input. I did some thinking and came to the conclusion that the Wintergreens will eventually get too big for this space. I mean there's nothing overhead but anything over 15 feet high would be just excessive for this location. I will only be living here for about another 6 or so years so the Wintergreens wouldn't be a problem for me but i don't think i'd be right to leave the next (more than likely ignorant) home owners with such excessively big trees. I think I'm going to go with emerald greens and plant a bunch staggered 2.5-3 feet from the fence so that when they're 4 feet in diameter,they'll have airflow and some light on their backsides. This should be reasonable? I'm also keeping in mind that because EGs are so common,they're relatively inexpensive compared to more exotic trees. I'm already spending quite a bit this year on goodies for my front yard ;)
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dcsteg
13 years ago
Picea pungens 'Glauca Pendula' planted in center

Picea 'glauca 'Pendula' Either end plus or minus 6 ft. In from edge of wall also include ....

Picea omorika 'Pendula' Bruns' or Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Aura ' as optional choices for the end of wall.

There are plenty of other choice's to choose from but I know these will work as I am growing all of the above in restricted areas.

You did not give distance from side walk to wall. I am thinking around 10 ft. Give or take.

Fill in the areas between the three focal point conifers with low growing dwarf conifers.

Download Iseli's catalog at their web site for additional conifer offerings.

Dave
firefightergardener
13 years ago
If we're selecting strictly from the list you have available, I'd go with

Pinus parviflora 'Templehof(blue, nice size, shape and probably nice cones) left or right,

Picea omorika 'Bruns', a semi-narrowish conifer with fantastic year round appeal, silvery-green-blue needles and great habit center and

Picea glauca 'Pendula'(weeping white spruce), left or right.

Gives you three nice conifers, not too overwhelming but will present a nice look and they are quite different from eachother in color, shape, form and texture.

If you had no restrictions I would probably suggest something similar to Dave, though a couple alternatives.

Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph', left or right,
Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns', center
Picea abies 'Acracona', left or right.

Acracona is a really neat Spruce with TONS of great looking red cones every year and 'Chief Joseph' is a fantastic bright gold in Winter, so a nice pick-me-up on a cold snowy/rainy day.

-Will
Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
13 years ago
My apologies in advance for the spelling. I'm playing on my new cell phone at the in laws.

I am less of an expert than the rest by far. Most of what i would know about your choices comes from the internet so i defer to them.

the two biggest eye catchers i have seen are:

metasequoia glyptostroboides ogon aka gold rush. It looses its needles in the fall. Seems more polite and bald cypress like than regular metasequoias. It is BRIGHT. Ppl notice. Even thought i have never seen one over twenty feet it probably gets big though. Zone 5 is the northern limits of its range. Perhaps that will slow it down a bit if you are out in the country away from urban heat.

I also want picea orientalis skylands for myself.

Both are yellow themed so if u just want blut or green move on.

Help me pick 3 conifers please!

Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

dcsteg

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firefightergardener

Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis

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