ERC is a problem here and I would never plant it (maybe not in your area), however, as a general rule, I would do potted (but not root bound) small plants for evergreens.

erc is a a rampant self sowing nightmare .. and the suggestion that it is somehow touchy when it comes to transplant is ludicrous on its face ... and if you send me a shiny penny ... i will tell you how i really feel .. lol ...

before i knew better ... i literally pulled a 3 footer out of the ground.. bare handed .. and replanted it in august in 100 degree heat.. and forgot to water it .... and it lived ... it was in deep shade... and that is why it came out so easily ...

anyway ... you can do a whole lot better than this plant.. please try harder ... and btw.. find a better source of info.. than the one you quoted ...

my MI soil conservation district has an annual sale.. and i just got the mailer on it last week ... try this link.. and see if you can track down something in VA ...:

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/soil-water-conservation/native-seedling-sale

erc is interesting ... it is a near invasive in some areas ... and further south ... a native .. go figure on that ... in my MI.. you can see them lining the shoulders of roads for hundreds of miles ... [those and olives .. but dont get me started on those.. lol...]

ken

It's a native here, but it's also highly invasive because fire suppression has allowed it to get way way out of control, Ken.

Once it gets in a mono-culture environment, almost nothing else can grow due to shading and it's water uptake leaving nothing.

Lol, well like I said, I've never intentionally tried to plant one, so didn't have any real experience with the species. I try to cut them down and pull them out instead.

I usually start them by digging up small seedlings and keeping them in pots till they are about a 8-12" high, then transplant out. They seem to have little problem growing. Down here they make a fine evergreen. One of the few conifers that grow here reliably. That said I would not recommend planting just them. Why not alternate with some other conifers? The color changes in the foliage of the different species will look good.

Ditto what Scotjute said.

What other conifers might be recommended? Zone 7a. Any hollies that are all female(for berries)? I will be staggering 3-5 rows of trees to make a real thicket over time.

I like this particular tree for its wildlife value. I am in search of the Emerald Sentinel which is only female so has the berries. seems only wholesalers have them online? Any advice how to get my hands on 50 or so?

Well if every other post saying don't plant ERC, doesn't make you blanch, I really do like American holly (Ilex opaca). Assuming you are in the native range (OR) a town, you can probably expect enough males around to get berries by only planting females .However, to be on the safe side, you could certainly plant one male somewhere.

If your climate suits it, Canadian hemlock is far preferable to cedar to me (ornamental value). Even mock-evergreens like dawn redwood, bald cypress, larch (for the northern range) are good, they lend surprise because most people don't expect needle evergreens to drop leaves.

As to wildlife value, I have to add, every berry that birds eat is a potentially bad plant that will grow somewhere, semi-invasively. Don't make surrounding people curse your name. If you want berries, plant the deciduous (or evergreen) hollies, like winterberry, other berry plants like american beauty berry, black berries, raspberries, even some of the magnolias (like sweet bay). Don't plant a problem intentionally.

Consider planting a variety of evergreens. American holly is good, grows densely but is rather slow. Alternate with Nellie Stevens holly -- very fast (birds love it!). Then consider filling in with Skip laurel (may need additional watering during drought years). Osmanthus x fortunei might work. Cryptomeria and Thuja 'Green Giant' grow very quickly, but get really big....40 feet in 8 years or so and so they are best used in the back of the screen.

It's hard to know what to recommend without seeing a pic of the site, and knowing dimensions of the potential planting area, drainage issues, sun/shade issues, exposure, etc.

I have staggered several Arizona Cypress among my ERC for blue color contrast to green. These trees are from the southwest and do well in drier climates and do well here. They should be good up to Z7. Must have good drainage however. There are conifers that do well up there also and may be a better choice. I have always liked American Holly but they do not do well here.

Follow on question if anyone is around: I am ordering 5 yards of 50/50 topsoil/leaf mulch at $40 /yard. Does that sound reasonable and would that be enough for a 100'x20'x3" (100ftx20ftx3in deep).

I am going to put some Emerald Sentinel ERCs, followed by hollies(I love the nellie Stevens, wow!, but according to what I read, it is very well liked by deer. True??). Then, I will fill in with winterberry and Juneberry serviceberry.

Merry Christmas, everyone!! Is it crazy that all I am thinking about is my spring garden??!!

5 cubic yards is the equivalent of 135 cubic feet. The area you are wanting to cover or fill is 500 cubic feet....so you are a bit shy :-) You actually need 18.5 cubic yards.

So maybe a bit underestimated;-) So if I just did a depth of 2" I could get a way with 10 cubic yards? Does the price of $40/yard sound reasonable? Thnx!

Yes, the cost seems pretty reasonable although here, the greater the volume you get, the lower the price :-)

It's not that tricky to figure out required soil volumes. The length times the width times the depth will give you the cubic feet you need (100' x 20' x .166' = 332 cubic feet). And there are 27 cubic feet to a cubic yard, so divide by 27 to get the volume in cubic yards you require (332/27 = 12.96). So you would need about 12 and third yards to cover the area to a depth of 2 inches.

Why do you need topsoil? Doesn't your yard already have a top?

I also don't understand why you're adding topsoil: you selected plants that thrive in VA clay so adding amendments is unnecessary.

Red cedar is a native tree valuable to wildlife here on the east coast. This is not texas where draining the ground water is a problem, and I also dont see it taking over large areas around here (Fire management is used). It can turn out to be quite a nice looking tree and its toughness is an asset in a windbreak or privacy hedge. If you have deer problems try Ilex opaca, the deer avoid the prickly leaves unless they are really starving.

adding topsoil and compost because have erosion issue. hoping once i plant it will help with this issue as well. I could just leave as is, but the truck will just dump it right where i need it, don't need to haul it at all!

American holly is definitely one i will add too. I saw some large ERC Emerald Sentinel and they have an amazing fragrance as well. I do worry cultivars are not as good for wildlife as the straight species, but berries look the same. I will probably mix both to be safe. Loving the winterberry idea as well.

BTW, is it true that Norway spruce is considered "invasive", as in it is replacing too many native species in Zone 7? Don't know if what I find in the literature sometimes is true or not...

I will post pictures once I get started. Lots of great advice here,thanks!!

Adding stuff on top isn't going to help an erosion issue. Adding plants with roots will . . . eventually. The clay will stay put much better than fluffier added compost or topsoil, so you are planning on having $400 go whooshing down the street this winter. If you really want something to work now, there are things sold for that purpose. Something else that works well is dead sod if you can get that for free.