gold pine suggestion - companion for skylands?
Comments (31)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoamidheliot
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
non-rated invasive companion plants
Comments (56)I have a north facing hillside that I'd prefer to not have to weed. Bermuda grass and sheep sorrel (two really horrible rhizome spreading nightmares) are endemic in my neighborhood. So I've planted all tough plants that can compete back, and with each other. Some posters complain about rudbeckia black eyed Susans being invasive, but mine are struggling against the evening primrose and Bermuda grass: This was in May, when the primrose was all in bloom. Now daisies and echinacea are blooming, and they are too large to go down in the sea of invasives. The grasses as well are quite tough and hold their own. Gaura is the one plant I wish I could get to thrive here, but it's had trouble. Summer heat and drought tends to beat down the smaller invasives and lets the larger, tough grasses and coneflowers and daisies cement their place. I've released mint on this hill, as we churn through the fresh herb for cooking, but it has had trouble taking off. A month later, the beginnings of the echinacea flowers:...See MoreCompanion Plants
Comments (12)Cynthia, clematis will do good on azaleas only if they are grown not in a considerable shade. Here in CT we could grow rhododendrons and azaleas almost in full sun if adequate moisture provided, though I don't think this will be a case in TX. Yes, I have clematis on azalea whole summer and combo blooms like this: May-azalea, June and September-clematis. They don't have a bloom time overlap, so no color clashes issue exists. Most clems need a fair amount of sun to bloom, though some are more shade tolerant than the others. You know better your azaleas particular growing conditions, so you have to decide if clematis will get enough sun to bloom. I would definitely look for group 3 clematis for one and only reason, they bloom on new wood, so they could be cut in early spring and their first flush will NOT coincide with azaleas, thus making azalea interesting AGAIN in early summer and in early fall. You have there gorgeous TX native Cl. texensis (scarlet) which IMO will be more appropriate on azalea than more flashy large-flowering cultivars. There are some other cultivars of C.texensis (C.coccinea) in different than scarlet colors if you are looking for particular color scheme. Duchess of Albany (pink), Countess of Onslow (violet-purple) to name a few of the most readily available. Good luck. Sounds like you going to have a nice bed there....See Morecompanions for jap maples
Comments (6)Hi Wendy, Pretty yard--may I suggest three golden cypress to be planted near your Japanese maple. They will give you great contrast. If they get enough sun they will turn a beautiful golden green. If less sun they are still quite a pretty green colour. In my front garden (which is about three-quarters of the length of my home) I have a very large weeping Japanese Maple in the centre of my garden. On the right I have a very large weeping Norway Pine for height. For medium height I have a Corkscrew Hazel and a Sandcherry. For the lowest height I have three Golden Cypress. At the back of this garden, to conceal the foundation, I have a hedge (which I keep trimmed to the height of the foundation) of Japanese Boxwood which stays green all year. Interspersed among the above I have two Hostas and right now lots of Daffodils. In the summer I will plant some annuals for colour. In the fall you can always "hide" pots of mums. Hope this gives you some ideas. CR...See MoreQuestion regarding site selection for Picea orientalis "Skylands"
Comments (13)Good morning and thank you all for sharing your knowledge. I am inexperienced in planting and caring for conifers, but I have been doing a lot of reading for almost a year (I know this is not a substitute for hands on experience) and hope that if I select proper specimens for the sites I would like to have them in and take the correct steps to care for them that I will succeed. I am trying to screen out the houses across the street, as well as create some privacy from all of the cars that drive by. I am from Alaska and miss the privacy and seclusion that I just cant get here in the suburbs. I want to be able to look out of my front window in 10 years and only see trees and shrubs instead of the street. Or at least something close to that... The sidewalk is 35' from the house, and the site I am considering for a large yellow conifer is 22' or so from the driveway. I like that Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Ogon', but agree that the diameter when it is older could be too much. I've read that "Kools Gold" might be a more narrow option, does anyone know if this is correct? I think that my site might be too exposed for a "Skylands", and I would be heartbroken if something happened to it after all of the effort that I plan on putting into it. Here is the front yard portion of a drawing I made of my yard and what the previous owners have planted in it. This drawing is to scale, one square is one square foot. Perhaps this will aid in determining what my options are. Thank you all for your assistance and suggestions....See Moremidwest_dave
14 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
dcsteg
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
gardener365
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agomidwest_dave
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoevansgm
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agogardener365
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agodcsteg
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agomidwest_dave
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoarceesmith
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoarceesmith
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agosprucebud
14 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
FrozeBudd_z3/4
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agomidwest_dave
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agostevemy
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoI love 'Golden Ghost', of all the dragon eye pines I have it's a favorite.
From draft RN Photo
From draft RN Photo
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agomidwest_dave
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoconiferjoy
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoThis is the 'Louie' I have in my collection.
It's yellow all year but at his best in Winter.
Pinus strobus 'Louie'
Pinus sylvestris 'Gold Coin' and 'Aurea Nisbet' (aka 'Nisbet's Gold) are a more green-yellow in Summer and bright yellow in Winter.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agogardener365
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoI've never seen (in person) a good Louie. In fact it was one of the worse-looking conifers I've ever seen. I was looking for a photo from Bickelhaupt Arb. Iowa I took several years ago and cannot find it. Anyway, the tree is in mostly-shade and is ragged, not dense but open, and big-time dull!! Looks like a chlorotic specimen all the way. No good gold but rather looks to be dieing. A lot of shade though.
You ask what's #1, #2 and so on.
Pinus sylvestris 'Aurea' - Extremely impressive. I have walked up to a 40 or 50 footer at a private garden that Rich Eyre brought me too (Ken's suggestion to visit Rich's Foxwillow Pines) during very early spring/late winter and it's incredible is the only word to define this tree.It's smaller rival 'Gold Coin' exactly as impressive. There stood one of these about 10 feet from the 'Aurea' and it was only seven feet tall, about half as wide.
Pinus virginiana 'Wate's Golden' Looks like a wide-spreading and not as tall tree over time. I've walked across a few at Rich's Foxwillow Pines that were possibly 15 feet wide and only 8-9 feet tall. School bus "yellow." It glistens off the snow on a sunny day.
Chief Joseph, Very slow to get anything of size. You'd need to buy a large plant to get anywhere or you'll be waiting 15-20+ years for a plant less than 10 feet. Quite Narrow. Sylvestris 'Aurea' is a big sucker. We're talking 50 feet tall and 25 feet wide. The Chief, 10 feet tall and 3 feet wide at the base and halfway up two feet wide.
'Nisbeth's Aurea' I'd scratch that for the areas you're looking to fill. Dan has one, maybe he could post a photo, Dan?
Something that makes a lot of sense to me now are plants like Skylands. Gold all year. Well I guess you already found that idea, anyways:
Abies nordmanniana 'Aurea' (available in the US, I don't know) fir
Chamaecyparis nootkatenis 'Variegata' Alaskan cypress
Pinus strobus 'Golden Candles'
{{gwi:640234}}
I had written on my notes that this was exceptional.^Pinus strobus 'Dragon Eye' aka 'Bennett' aka 'Bennet's Dragon Eye':
{{gwi:640243}}'Dragon Eye'
{{gwi:640242}}Pinus jeffreyi 'Gold' - Buy a larger one should you choose. It's been hardy for me despite the zone 7 they say about.
Pinus koraiensis 'Dragon Eye'
Pinus parviflora 'Fukai' not as attractive of a plant but nice regardless.
Pinus resinosa 'Aurea' (A+ in my book). Ken, photo please?
Best-suited pine for Illinois/midwest with humidity.Hope I made your decision more difficult ;-)!!!!!!!
Dax
midwest_dave
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoamidheliot
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agogardener365
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years agolast modified: 9 years agomidwest_dave
14 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
dansgrdn