Columnar or Upright Evergreen for Shady Area?
zooba72
9 years ago
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zooba72
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Columnar Shrubs Along Fence
Comments (5)Emerald Arborvitae (Smargd) is my favorite go-to for green columns that don't get too too tall. They should top out at l0 to 12 feet, max. I grow them in full sun and nearly full shade and they do equally well in both places. I have a row of twelve of them along my house's back wall, planted three to four feet apart. I have never done one thing to them in six years except water and mulch and they are gorgeous. There's also a Blue Juniper called Blue POint that is pretty, but it gets very fat, and Junipers are very scratchy and make some people itch. The Arborvitae stays about three feet broad at the bottom and is very soft. Its only fault is the inner leaves will brown out this time of year and shed. It's not that big of a fault to my thinking when you consider its many attributes....See MoreCompact evergreen privacy screen
Comments (1)Emerald Arb has a bit of a reputation of being more prone to winter burn then others, though I haven't had any problems to speak of. It is very tightly columnar, so doesn't knit together as well as others. I think Techny probably has the best overall look of all the arbs, dense but soft, and grows quickly, but will get fairly broad, 8 feet or so. Holmstrup is nice but grows slowly. I also really like the upright green junipers, like Spartan or Hetz Columnar. They have good berries and and dynamic texture if left unsheared. Also investigate the columnar forms of Scotch and White Pines or even plain old Black Hill's Spruce as part of the mix. Ted...See MoreSeattle-area Nursery with Great Selection of Dwarf Evergreens?
Comments (8)No shade for pines, they are readily deformed by it, soon growing gaunt and reaching or leaning toward the light (when better light comes from the side). Generally characteristic of denuded sites in nature, where they are often the first or among the first trees to pop up after a big fire or other event clears away the vegetation. As other kinds of trees come in the pines gradually die out, being ill-suited to shady conditions. Maybe visit the Coenosium Rock Garden donated by Coenosium Gardens to South Seattle Community College for ideas of selections you might like. Here is a link that might be useful: Coenosium Gardens...See MoreScreen in shady area - Zone 4
Comments (16)Another question...I've heard white pines are prone to dropping large branches. Is that true? It seems to be the one that drops the least. That might factor into how much I want to spend. White pines drop more branches in heavy snow because they can hold more snow than a deciduous tree. Winter storms, same deal, they have their sail of needles and the non-evergreens are leafless. Regular pruning will save you a lot of downed branches, though there's always a risk of breakage, as with every tree. Our white pines don't drop the most branches around here, but they certainly have the biggest to drop when they do. The neighbors' hickory and maple drop more branches (and I'm not talking about twigs), but they are not capable of dropping the 35' branch the white pine did in the last wind storm unless the whole tree came down. (It's a 100' pine tree.) The other two pines were unscathed, and plenty of other trees in the neighborhood had branches or the whole tree go in that storm....See Morecyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
9 years agoLodewijkp
9 years agosc77 (6b MA)
9 years agozooba72
9 years agothewronghands
9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)