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Landscape Design Trees

Looking for tree suggestions

6 years ago

Zone 8b

I am looking for tree suggestions. I have an area on the side of my house that has poor drainage and is wet alot of the time, especially during the winter when it rains ALOT. I want something that is more tall than wide, so I can perhaps grow a few to look like a grove. I also don't want anything that gets massively tall, maybe 30' at the most. I like the look of white barked birch when planted together. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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Comments (5)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years ago
Where exactly in zone 8b? It makes a difference........:-)

River birch is a possibility although will ultimately get taller than 30' (most trees do :-)). Tolerates poor drainage/wet soils, is often available in clump form and has very nice exfoliating bark although more of a buff or flesh color rather than white. And river birch is very resistant to the birch borers that are rampaging across the country. 'Cully', aka Heritage river birch stays smaller than the species.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
I have an area on the side of my house

==>>> how wide is the area ... a pic is worth a thousand words ...

poor drainage or clay soil.. is a planting issue.. giving the plant time to adjust and cope with the situation ... have you ever perked the area???

see link for general planting guide ... the section on clay soil.. can be used to discuss and poor draining area ...

ken

guide

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

perk test

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=perk+test+garden+soil&t=ffcm&ia=web
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thanks for the suggestions. Right now I'm leaning towards a snow fountain weeping cherry but more suggestions will be welcome. I've come across pictures of pruning the weeping cherry so that the bottom edge isn't to the ground and still has a 'soft' look rather than a hard cut line like a bad bowl haircut! Snow Fountain Weeping Cherry
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I second Nyssa sylvatica! One of the most beautiful trees on earth. It is sometimes called tupelo here in GA, but also blackgum too occassionally. I am in mostly shade and my two have great color, yellows to oranges to reds, often on the same leaf. Yellowwood is also a great choice. Sassafras is good too, but I caution you that they are very slow growing and hard to find in the nursery trade. (At least they are hard to find in my area.) Kentucky coffeetree would be a great selection as well. If you are thinking oaks, I would recommend White Oak, Shumard Oak, Wilkow Oak, and Swamp White Oak in that order (swamp oak may also be known as Overcup Oak/Nutall Oak? They may or may not be all the same species). I have an Overcup Oak which has a great shape and it has pretty yellow/orange leaves in the fall. Tolerates a lot of water. Stay away from these: sweet gum (raises sidewalks), silver maple (branches are weak and break off in storms), pin oak (the bottom set of branches always droop downeven if trimmed, so it can be a pain the the ass to maintain.) Here is a link you may find helpful: http://www.kentucky.com/living/home-garden/article44419065.html Also, my vote would be for you to remove the pear trees, grind the strumps, and replace with the new trees. Those pears may compete greatly for water, so it may take longer than you think for a new tree to establish there. (The pear's root system may also be taking up a lot of room in the growing space there.) They also appear to be perfectly located for the “new/better" trees that you want to plant. Just make sure you get any permit needed if you are within a city limits and they require it. Maybe you could replace one tree with a 2-3" caliper tree, then wait a few years and replace the other tree, so that your shaded yard can adjust over time?
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Lesa Palmer
Original Author
6 years ago
Sorry for not enough details, I am a bit of a gardening newbie.

The house is located in Kent, WA about 20 miles south of Seattle.

I would give a picture...but the area is completely over-run with blackberries at the moment and just sad... This is my summer project to get it all cleared. The area is 25' wide x 34' long along the house.

The area USED to be a huge swamp for lack of a better term, but we put a french drain in and now it is just wet, during the winter the water pools.

We are at the bottom of a row of houses that go up the hill, so I think everything just runs down. My neighbor said she thinks there is an underground spring that runs under our properties as well, and yes the soil has alot of clay in it.

Thank you for the links to the perk test, will definitely read through that and try what I can.
Kaillean (zone 8, Vancouver)
6 years ago
Sounds like a great spot for river birch. You have enough room with good maintenance and pruning. They have beautiful peeling bark and grow very quickly. Here are a few photos. This tree was planted as a 15’ sapling in 2013.
PRO
Dig Doug's Designs
6 years ago
Bald Cypress, River Birch, Sweetbay Magnolia, Nyssa sylvatica

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