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.
Showing posts with label Hardscape. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hardscape. Show all posts
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Landscaping Time is Fast Approaching
Spring is the time most of us think about relandscaping or starting from scratch. I will try to share with you some of my mistakes and some successes. The more I garden, the more I believe it is important to have more than just one season of interest in our landscaping materials.
I am not a fan of Winged Euonymous even though it turns a beautiful red in the fall. It seems to be a favorite of landscapers but is susceptible to scale which can kill most of the bush before it's noticed. A better choice would be Cranberry Virburnum (trilobum'Bailey') which has interesting shaped leaves and is a brilliant red in the fall. I have learned to stay away from Spiria because of the care they take in pruning and clearing out all of the dead wood they seem to have each year. However, Goldflame Spiria (pink flowers in summer) is a more carefree one and is a beautiful color for three seasons.
I still see many Purple Plums planted in our area, but it is not recommended by the Morton Arboretum, very disease prone. A spectacular multi-stemmed tree is the Redbud (cercis canadensis). It is really a four season specimen heart shaped leaved and magenta flowers, large green leaves all summer, stunning yellow in the fall and a pleasing vase shape all winter. It is considered an understory tree or shrub (meaning it does well planted under large trees or closer to the underhang of the house). There is a tree form of the Redbud also, but it is not as pleasing of a shape as the multi-stemmed variety.
The White Birch is also prone to disease, so take a look at the River Birch, will take a moist area, and looks beautiful in the fall.
I am not a fan of Winged Euonymous even though it turns a beautiful red in the fall. It seems to be a favorite of landscapers but is susceptible to scale which can kill most of the bush before it's noticed. A better choice would be Cranberry Virburnum (trilobum'Bailey') which has interesting shaped leaves and is a brilliant red in the fall. I have learned to stay away from Spiria because of the care they take in pruning and clearing out all of the dead wood they seem to have each year. However, Goldflame Spiria (pink flowers in summer) is a more carefree one and is a beautiful color for three seasons.
I still see many Purple Plums planted in our area, but it is not recommended by the Morton Arboretum, very disease prone. A spectacular multi-stemmed tree is the Redbud (cercis canadensis). It is really a four season specimen heart shaped leaved and magenta flowers, large green leaves all summer, stunning yellow in the fall and a pleasing vase shape all winter. It is considered an understory tree or shrub (meaning it does well planted under large trees or closer to the underhang of the house). There is a tree form of the Redbud also, but it is not as pleasing of a shape as the multi-stemmed variety.
The White Birch is also prone to disease, so take a look at the River Birch, will take a moist area, and looks beautiful in the fall.
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