|
| I want to plant a couple of small upright conifers on the south side of my house. They will be about 18 inches from the house (brick). One site is about 3 feet by 3 feet, surrounded on two sides by concrete sidewalk and driveway. The other site has a concrete driveway on one side and gravel mulch on the other two sides. The soil is clay and quite alkaline. I also have alkaline irrigation water, so many conifers will not survive here. Ideal size would be 4 to 6 feet tall and 18 to 24 inches wide. I'm thinking of either Juniperus scopulorum Medora, or Juniperus communis Miniature. Will Medora require too much pruning to keep it under 6 feet? Will the Miniature take too long to grow to the desired size? Any suggestions on where to buy these. None of the local nurseries currently stock either one. |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by tsugajunkie z5 SE WI (My Page) on Thu, Aug 18, 11 at 2:42
| No conifer will stop growing so you may need something that takes to pruning. Perhaps one of the many narrow Taxus baccata cultivars. tj |
|
- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Thu, Aug 18, 11 at 13:00
| 18 inches is too close to the house ... god i wish i had a nickle ... conifers are trees.. they NEVER stop growing.. link to intro to conifers ... apply annual growth rate info to previous sentence .... most size estimates are at 10 years ... and they will be twice as big in 20 years.. etc ... finally ... in this statement, define too long: Will the Miniature take too long to grow to the desired size? really now.. the faster it gets to size.. the faster you are going to have to start cutting it back to maintain the size ... planting trees/conifers.. usually is not about instant gratification ... welcome to GW... and good luck ken |
Here is a link that might be useful: link
|
| Thanks for the comments. I only expect to be in this house for 10 to 15 years. If "instant gratification" means the shrubs are the appropriate size in 5 years or less, then yeah that's what I'm looking for. I wouldn't mind doing some annual pruning. The question is could I keep the shrubs the desired size without making them look ugly. tsugajunkie: Since these shrubs will be planted in front of a south-facing brick wall, with no shade, and lots of heat and reflected light from nearby concrete, I would be surprised if any Taxus would do well. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Conifers Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.