Dalton, where are you located?

Here if anything besides blasted invasive honeysuckle was planted there it would be a battle to keep the honeysuckle and weeds out.

Is anyone willing to do that maintenance?

My vote, labor available, is to thin the saplings to some desireable species and plant some aggressive native ground cover around them expecting to have to pluck weeds 3 times a year.

Edit:

I should add, I have two hosta beds slightly over packed which really are relatively low maintenance. Now getting the hostas there was a thing and I still need to reach in and pluck the occasional invader out. That slope may or may not be suitable.

opps NE PA

I would take plugs from the Vinca minor and plant them all over that slope. After awhile the vinca will win, especially if you plant trees and shrubs on that slop. Vinca wins out when it's shady and fairly dry in the summer. Maintenance is at a minimum now.

Here's what I did. Slope faces east, looking south.

Eventuually it will thin itself out..not soon, though...Naturally that doesn't happen until a few huge trees grow and shade out the others. No way to keep it from being brushy that isn't labor intensive. You could plan chokeberry/ aronia, one of the few things that could choke out poison ivy. You could plant a carpet of spreading yew, but you would have to either spend money on a lot or weed for years while it spreads,.

The complaint that I am trying to figure out how to remedy is that unit owners want to SEE their neighbors down the street while on their patio. I am interpreting that to mean they want a long view instead of the view being blocked by opaque trees and brush at 50 ft. right now, noone can see the 'front, downward part of the slope except at the corner. The building is parallel to the edge of the parking lot sorry for not being clear enough. i will digest all suggestions.

To keep the view open, remove the seedlings and seedlings, keep the trees you want but limb them up, and spread the low groundcovers you've started - vinca and lily of the valley. Seems like a recipe for minimal upkeep soon. I would suggest planting a shrub to conceal the airconditioner outside the complex..

They want to see their neighbors down the street. That's different! In that case, I agree with kitasei, limb up the trees and plant more groundcovers.

Toronado - Thank you for the input! it seems that thinning the saplings and starting aggressive groundcover is in the majority. I will keep the hosta in mind for the area where the tree is removed.

Mike - Thank you for the input! Thinning and vinca it is, but we can't weed, it would be impossible. The ground portion of the slope in the area in question is not visible to anyone. I initially misunderstood, thought the remedy was to add interest and a screen - planted red twig dogwood at the top of the slope. will remove. ugh. I didn't believe the goal was to actually SEE the neighbors... But it is not going away, causing a divide. Discussing landscape goals, conservation, erosion results is literally laughing in my face. There is a hiking trail going up this year behind the townhouses, and privacy is our goal. Thinning seems a good compromise. Our slope faces south.

edlincoln -Thank you for the input! The slope is about 15ft tall, 100 ft long, including where the tree is that has to be removed. If it would help the situation, I can plant chokeberry 7ft from the bottom... Thinning of saplings is in order

Logan -Thank you for the input! I do love rhodys! Would a few take over a lot of space?

kitasei - Thank you for the input! thinning and ground cover seems most practical. They seem to be moving in without weeding. The 'air conditioner' is a shed attached to a townhouse that is not part of our condo complex, nor is the yellowish house with the gray roof, nor the pavement at the lower part of the slope.

plan: choose saplings to keep, I assume more dense than would like final product as some won't make it. For tree in center section can I lasso it, cut low as possible, apply concentrated roundup? Limb up ones we are keeping. repeat end of season.

What about throwing shade loving annual wildflower seeds? Some reseed?

Thank you ALL, once again, for your help. April

DtB, Rhus aromatica 'Gro-Low' is the low growing form of fragrant sumac. It's available and just what the doctor ordered.

Sam_md - very cool!2 to 3 ft high with 6 to 8 ft spread. good for the spot where the tree is now... after it gets cut down, hopefully next week

"Thank you for the input! I do love rhodys! Would a few take over a lot of space?"

If you go with rhododendron maximum (straight species), most likely. You could, of course, plant hybrid rhododendrons, or maybe japanese azaleas. Look at some of these:

Rhododendron 'Scarlet Wonder'

Rhododendron 'Christmas Cheer'

Rhododendron 'Roseum Elegans'

Rhododendron 'Olga Mezitt' (these stand out to me because I have seen them and their early bloom time in person)

Azalea 'The Robe'

Azalea 'Conversation Piece' (I have one, they really are that beautiful)

Rhododendron Calendulacem

Rhododendron Austrinum

Rhododendron Canescens (common here, but probably not where you are. Beautiful flowers)

wildflowers... hosta...sumac...rhododendrons...... what happened to the simple concept of your grove of desirable trees set in the low groundcover of evergreen vinca and lily of the valley? Now if Logan suggests importing that McDonalds sign as well, please don't jump!

Sorry, I didn't realize the goal was to let the unit owners SEE their neighbors,. I suggested black chokberry because it is one of the few things that ca outcompete brushy weeds...but it can get 6 feet high. (although there is a dwarf cultivar...). Would that be too high? You'd have a similar problem with rhododendron maximum.

Seeding a weedy area with wild flowers seldom works...the weeds usually smother them. I'm impressed it worked with lily of the valley.

You could dry ostrich fern or cinnamon fern.

If you use wildflowers or pachysandra, check the species you against your state's invasive species list...pachysandra is invasive in some places.

Visit the neighbors who want the view...sometimes sight lines aren't what you'd expect. Maybe you I'll luck out and only have to cleR one spot,

lol. I will keep ALL info in mind as we have MANY, TOO MANY slopes. Here, as noone will see anything but what grows above the slope, I will keep it simple.

Thin, limb up saplings

remove gigantic weeds only

Remove new red twig dogwood strategically

Start groundcover.

Might have to do more when I see the vacancy created by the tree all the way to the left. Keeping Chokeberry towards the bottom of the slope in mind if failure demands more work.

The group is treating these as front yard trees, they have always been treated as wedge of the woods, or wilderness tree. I can see that point and try to make it more attractive, but privacy should be a priority.

I want to thank everyone. The post helped me wok out the problem and make me better able to compromise. April.

This is Dalton. He likes to garden