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kadasuki

Advise re: plant choice

kadasuki
16 years ago

Hi Forum

I'm interested in learning to garden and landscape my steep slope which is bare but for weeds. I've always loved azaleas, rhododendrums, and camellias but never had time to garden. I live in NW AR 4 mi. south of MO border where we get really extreme weather shifts in just a few hours time, not just big shifts between seasons. From hot to cold, wet to dry so plants must be able to withstand quick changes in the extremes. As a consequence, this past spring, we had an ice storm which devestated the entire Ozarks region, killing so much including even full grown oaks.

I'd love to be able to plant evergreen rhododendrums and azaleas around my naked home foundations and down the slope under the hardwoods into a ravine. The ground is also very rocky so planting into the ground is difficult and I'd probably need to plant on the ground instead.

Is there a way to learn if such plantings are feasible here?

Any and all advice and help would be very appreciated.

Thanks,

Kat

Comments (7)

  • kadasuki
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Here are a few pictures of the house and slope which may help forum folks to give advice. Except for 1 lone Norway maple, some clumps of daylillies overgrown with burmuda grass, a fig, 2 or 3 perennials, weeds, nasty railroad timbers and a patch of 4 o'clocks, the yard is bare.
    {{gwi:398516}}

    {{gwi:398519}}

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    {{gwi:398529}}

  • rhodyman
    16 years ago

    One comment, don't try to put rhododendrons and azaleas near the Norway Maple. They all have shallow roots and are not compatible together. In fact there is not much that will grow under a Norway Maple when they mature. Norway Maple is considered an invasive plant in some states because it produces prodigious amounts of seed and nothing will grow under it, even grass won't grow under it. Yours is still young, but they get very large and create dense shade which when combined with their shallow roots creates an environment that few plants can tolerate.

    Trees that will work well with other plants include:

    Â Ginkgo biloba "Maidenhair tree"
    Â Metasequoia glyptostroboides "Dawn redwood"
    Â Nyssa sylvatica "Sour Gum"
    Â Quercus rubra "Red Oak"

    For a list of good rhododendrons and azaleas for Arkansas and Missouri visit: Proven Performers

    In case you are interested, there is a National Conference of the American Rhododendron Society in Tulsa, OK, next spring, from April 16 to 20, 2008. Details are at: 2008 ARS Convention, Tulsa, OK This is a great opportunity to visit other people's gardens and see what they grow. There are also great educational sessions on rhododendrons and azaleas for the Ozarks.

  • kadasuki
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks Rhodyman
    I had no idea of the problems the maple might cause. That may cause me to rethink it. Are all maples such problems in the small yard? They have such a beautiful color in the fall, but I don't want to do without grass or other plants.
    What about replacing it with magnolia little gem?
    KK

  • rhodyman
    16 years ago

    Japanese cut leaf maples have much better fall color and do not have this problem. They stay fairly small and are gorgeous all year long.

    Norway maple is the worst of them all.

    Magnolia should be a very good choice in your area. You can probably grow camellias also.

  • alina_1
    16 years ago

    I second Rhodyman's suggestion: get rid of Norway maple while it is still young. Unless it is the only plant you want to grow...
    Both Japanese Maple and hardy Camellia will need dappled shade/filtered sun. Unfortunately, the choice of Camellias for zone 6 is somewhat limited, but there are some really nice varieties. Magnolia 'Little Gem' needs ful sun for heavy blooming. All of them are much better than Norway Maple, IMHO.

    Hardy Camellias

  • kadasuki
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Japanese maples tend to die here when we have the severe cold followed by warm then cold again. Lost them all over the area the last 2 years in a row, it even killed full grown oaks last spring. Also, the summer heat can also kill especially when we go weeks without rain.
    The Norway maple was just pretty, cheap, at Walmart. We can did it up and relocate it to the scout camp. I'm loathe to try another Japanese maple in ground having lost 1 and my neighbors also. It is so sad to see the devestation the weather causes on our trees and shrubs here in bad weather cycles.
    Various maples are planted all over in this area as they are so beautiful. Do they all have such root problems? The back is full of oak, sassafras, dogwood(@ least 2 types), black walnut and various other hard woods common in Ozarks. Fall color tends to just brown except for the dogwoods, and they are it. Hence the maple as they tend to lovely fall displays.
    Guess I'll try the Little Gem, I love magnolias, and that will certainly fit the front yard without the complications of roots the Norway will cause. Now I just need to convince my hubby to start diggin, lol.
    Thanks all for your advice.

  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    16 years ago

    Magnolias are generally good choices as trees you wish to underplant.

    Rhododendrons and azaleas also both do well under mature oaks and many pines in woodland gardens. These two types tree generally are not surface rooted, so offer little competition for water and nutrients; the shade they provide is filtered not dense, and their leaves and needles decompose slowly providing a long-lasting acid mulch.

    Other non-competitive trees; magnolia as noted, Liquidambar, Dogwood, Silver Bell (Halesia), Snow Bell (Styrax) and Sour Gum (Nyssa sylvatica as Rhodyman mentioned)

    Avoid planting rhododendrons/azaleas under dense or surface-rooted trees. Among these are ash, beech, elm, maple, poplar, pin oak, sycamore. Black walnut can be toxic to rhododendrons, while lindens, tulip trees, and some other walnuts harbor insects which secrete a honeydew which may become a foothold for fungus diseases if it lands on rhododendron foliage underneath.

    Birch trees are both surface rooted and a host for aphids which secrete the bothersome honeydew - so that one is out too :)

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