Evergreen Parking Strip Tree

11 years ago

Hello,
I live in Seattle, and have a 10 foot wide 100 foot long parking strip running north to south that gets a decent amount of sun. A phone wire (not power) runs 15 feet above the parking strip at its lowest point. I'd like a number of evergreen trees to provide a screen against a neighbor's house across the street that sits up on a hill and has many windows that look into two bedrooms. A complete screen would be about 15 feet high, but could be effective at a slightly lower height. I think I want a classic tree shape, but I am open to other ideas or to light training.

The options I have seen by my initial searches are arbutus marina (though I've heard it's difficult to start and may not grow straight), magnolia grandiflora, or certain azara varieties. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

As background, I just bought a house and have nearly zero gardening knowledge, but I am excited to learn and to turning the yard around over the next five years or more.

Thanks!

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Comments (6)

Embothrium
11 years ago
You're supposed to work with the city on street tree plantings there.

Here is a link that might be useful: Seattle Department of Transportation ï¿½
PRO
George Three LLC
11 years ago
Quercus Ilex is what I would pick from that list if I was you.
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:-) Of course they do, Andrew, but I didn't see a landscape design question in the opening post. Did you? I didn't mean to be offensive. It just seemed to me that the Trees forum was a better place to ask the question, which is not to say or imply that members of this forum couldn't offer good suggestions too. From the start page of the Trees Forum: This forum is meant for the discussion of trees--how to grow them, recommendations for selections, sources for plants, etc. If you are implying that I have contributed to the flight of design professionals from this forum, I must say that surprises me. I think if you read over my posts about the design pros here, I have repeatedly been supportive of them and expressed my gratitude for what I have learned from them. I had not idea I was stepping on your toes.
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Hi, I have about 200' of parking strips which I have put all into flowers. The parking strips are so visible that you should try for year round interest. I have something blooming in mine from December until frost. I use a large selection of spring bulbs that bloom from Dec-May. I have perennial flowers blooming from May until frost. I use a combination of evergreen and deciduous perennials. I plant the early spring bulbs around all the deciduous perennials so they bloom and grow while the perennial is dormant. Some of the bulbs I grow are cyclamen hederifolium, cyclamen coum, winter aconite, snowdrops, iris reticulata, crocus, scillia, glory of the snow, hyacinth, muscari, anemones, species tulips, appledorn tulips, bluebells, and allium moly. This is the order that they bloom for me also. The spring bulbs are easy care and drought tolerant, as they go dormant soon after they bloom. They multiply quickly and really are beautiful. I pick easy care drought tolerant perennials that bloom at different times. I use some evergreens and some deciduous. Some of the evergreen perennials that I use are Pacific coast iris, bergenia, creeping phlox, candytuft, euphorbias, hellebores, lamb's ears, New Zealand flax, dianthus, campanula, sedums and sempirvions. Some of the deciduous perennials that have done well for me are daylilys, lady's mantle, coreopsis, rudbeckia, asters, salvia, golden margarite, red plantain, ornamental grasses and hardy annuals like hens and chicks. I do have 7 plum trees planted in the strip as well. I do have clematis vines growing up each one and they have done very well also. I use different varieties with different bloom times so I have clematis blooming from April until frost. Your trees are very small still, so you should wait a few years before planting a clematis vine on them. Make sure you plant one that won't overwhelm your tree. It is true what gardengal said about the negative aspects of growing flowers in a parking strip. I wouldn't let it discourage you though. I have had so many people tell me how much they enjoy the flowers over the years. Neighbors plan their daily walks along my sidewalk, cars have stopped in the middle of the street to tell me how much they love the flowers, people are always asking me what this and that is. You'll get much more postive feedback than negative. Good luck with your garden. Karen
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Yes, you can plant a lot of things in the fall, especially in the early fall. That will give things a chance to settle in before the ground freezes. Then, next year, they will really take off. What is the drainage like in your parking strip? Sun exposure? What is your elevation, and how cold does that strip get in the winter? Things like sedum and ice plant are perfectly happy with low water and hot sun. They are groundcovers which may also bloom. There are a ton of flowering plants that would be relatively low maintenance in those conditions. Have you checked out the lists at the Plant Select website? Also, look at the online catalog for High Country Gardens to see a lot of plants that love hot, dry conditions. They have many pre-planned gardens, too, which again can give you some good ideas. A lot of nurseries are having good end-of-season sales now. It's a good time to acquire perennials, grasses, groundcovers, etc. Also, there is the plant swap near Denver in a few weeks, a great time to pick up starts of very sturdy plants that are known to survive in this climate.
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hoovb, you'd be surprised, there are a lot of smaller trees suitable for 24" strips. That's the most common size in my town and they are home to many Crape Myrtles, Maytens, Eastern Redbuds, Flowering Crabapples, Trident maples, Tristania Laurina, and standard Photinias (probably my least favorite of the bunch and sadly they happen to be in front of my house). These are the trees offered by my city, so they are everywhere here. The key is it can't be a tree that gets taller than 25 feet. Interestingly enough, in my own town I've even seen people plant rose standards in these strips, and while I wouldn't choose that, it looks pretty amazing! But a rose bush would not be ideal, you're right about that.
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luke242
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks! The Quercus Ilex looks nice, but it might be too tall given that I am planting under wires. I had seen the Seattle list, which is where I got the arbutus marina and magnolia grandiflora ideas. The web site says Seattle may approve off list trees, which I why I was considering an azara (or specifically, an azara microphylla). I got this idea from the "Great Plant Picks" web site.

Luke
Embothrium
11 years ago
That often produces vertical, vigorous growth when young - having it pointing at the wires might be psychologically bothersome. And, as with the arbutus there is the hardiness issue. There are numbers of both around right now, but the last serious thinning of the herd here was in 1990.

A good way to check on Seattle presence and performance of particular trees is to get a copy of the handbook Trees of Seattle - Second Edition by Arthur Lee Jacobson. He describes each tree, comments on its behavior here and gives locations of multiple examples (when that many are known) that can be viewed in person.

He also often measures the larger ones here, in addition to mentioning champions known elsewhere in the world. For instance, he reports that the California tree that the 'Marina' cultivar was based on was over 46' tall by 1994 (it is believed to have been brought from Europe in 1917!).

The azara does have heights of local plantings given, most of the figures probably dating from 2005. These range from 19' (Good Shepherd Center) to 40' (Arboretum).
OregonGrape
11 years ago
That list doesn't give many good evergreen options. Does the city really check to see what you've planted? Or will they only care if your tree is touching power lines or buckling the pavement?

If not, and you want something to grow in quickly, some of the smaller arborvitae (Thuja sp.) are easy to find at Home Depot and will work well. If you get at least 6 hours of full sun in this spot, the native Coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica) will get about 8' tall quickly. Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides) will get about 8' tall fast. If you don't waiting 5 years for 8' of growth, Austin Griffiths Manzanita would probably work well (will get to 15' eventually).
Embothrium
11 years ago
There is an impressive Arctostaphylos manzanita in Montlake. If you want to try something less usual and more interesting, such as this shrub/small tree have a look at the Desert Northwest web pages.

Evergreen Parking Strip Tree

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Embothrium

George Three LLC

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Evergreen Parking Strip Tree

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Embothrium

George Three LLC

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luke242Original Author

Embothrium

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luke242
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