Thursday, February 18, 2010

Year Round Screening

One of my favorite year-round evergreen screens is Arborvitae Mission Techny.  In  my previous home, I used them to screen my vegetable garden from the front of the house.  Arborvitae is a member of the Cypress family and the leaves were once used to treat rheumatism.

Techny can grow to fifteen plus feet, (some sites say twenty-five feet but this is not typical) but can easily be kept much smaller by trimming in the fall.  They have very few problems with their only enemy being spider mites in areas where there is little rain.  Many arborvitaes spread apart as they become larger, Techny does not do this. There is a new one that has been recently introduced a gold variety of Techny.  You will probably pay a little more for this arborvitae variety but it is worth it for longevity and minimal care.

6 comments:

Lona said...

Hi Eileen.
The Techy Gold does have such pretty contrast. I love the spring path to your archway. I can hardly wait for the tulips to start blooming nut then again any green would do about now. LOL!
Lona

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Lona,

I know,I love the look of the gold. This was my previous home where I had Techny. I wish I had room for them at my present home. I really miss all the planting space I had!

Anonymous said...

Dear Eileen, I am so pleased that you have written, and illustrated, this posting as I am now clear about what you were kind enough to suggest as a possible replacement for my now defunct clematis.

What an excellent screen these make, especially to mask a satellite dish [lol] or worse. Unfortunately the space I have available is very narrow and does not allow for anything other than a vertical climber. I do appreciate your thoughtfulness, and clearly other readers with room may well find these ideal.

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Edith, I think you and I are in the same situation. I put these in at my pervious home. I would not have room in my present garden.

Eileen

Margo said...

Hi, Eileen. Liked your suggestion of American Cranberry instead of burning bush. How do you find the ones that the birds love? After ours grew, not a berry was eaten, and all fell to the ground in spring, to be followed by hundreds the following years.

Gatsbys Gardens said...

Hi Margo,

These were planted at my previous home, and I can't recall if the berries remained on the bushes. I trimmed them a little each year, and I do not remember seeing the berries.

However, you could try Amelancheir Regent, a smaller variety of Serviceberry. I know the birds love the berries from this shrub and it also turns red in the fall. They are a little looser shrub but lovely.