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Midwest Gardening

easy to establish trees/shrubs in zone 5

15 years ago

My father has a farm in southern Iowa. They just widened a road and removed all the trees that were creating a windbreak to a part of his property.

Any ideas for trees or shrubs that can easily be established from seed with minimal attention? He's getting older and won't be able to water them regularly and I live in Minnesota and only come down occasionally. So whatever I plant will be neglected.

I can start the seeds inside at my house and transplant them down there if people think that would increase chances of survival. Where do I get tree/shrub seeds this time of year? Is it too late to start seedlings for a spring planting?

I need to plant a large quantity and am trying to minimize cost. It's okay if they grow slowly. Immediate impact is less important than long-term quality. I also realize that without regular watering whatever I plant will probably have a low survival rate. I'm hoping enough survive to get a grove established over a few year period, planting (and neglecting) each spring.

Thanks for any suggestions!

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Comments (5)

duluthinbloomz4
15 years ago
Trees from seed might be a little ambitious for major results anytime soon - I get regular volunteers from my spruce trees, and some from sugar maples but have no idea how long the seed might have been in the ground before germinating and becoming a "real" transplantable tree. It's doubtful they will sprout and grow with the same speed as, say, a package of annual flowers.

For your purposes, maybe whatever money and effort you want to spend would get you farther at Menard's or any of the big boxes - Menard's especially always has a big supply of Black Hills Spruce, Austrian Pines, etc. in one gallon sizes on up - last season the BHS and AP's were $5 and change for the gallon size. 5 or 6 trees would at least get you started.

I'd pose this question on either/both the Conifers and Tree forums. Be prepared for them to tell you water, water, water is the key, though. (Seems like Iowa generally gets plenty of rain - so far we have too so I don't engage in any regular watering program for anything and stuff thrives assuming ground is prepared properly and the material is planted well.)
jillluvsgardening
15 years ago
Have you considered joining the Arbor Day Foundation? You get 10 free trees when you do. It's $10 for a 6 month subscription, and you get to select from a variety of trees that are suited to your area. The website is below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Arbor Day
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boyle014
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the suggestions!
cjbspokane
15 years ago
I believe the following plants are all native to Iowa and can tolerate dry conditions.

Northern Pin Oak
Inland Serviceberry
Smooth Sumac

I would recommend buying buying seedlings, if you can find them, and hiring someone to install a drip irrigation system.
roflol
15 years ago
Redbud, eastern I think, the regular purply pink one that's about to bloom right now here - we're zone 5/6, I see where it's good in zone 4... if you don't mind them popping up in other places later down the road. There are a few trees around here, and durned if there aren't a few more that show up every year without any attention at all. I like to cut the young ones for their zig-zag branches in vases (I'm weird, I know), and each year a new tree-let grows up again for me to cut down (3 feet or less). If caught early, I think they can be pulled, but I never noticed them soon enough. I imagine unwanted volunteers could be Round-Upped though. No trees have matured that weren't allowed to.

I don't know how long they take from seed, though; never planted them on purpose. If I find some pods with seed still out there, I'd be happy to send you some to try if you like.

Terri

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