Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: BryanP on August 24, 2013, 09:00:37 AM
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I need to plant an evergreen tree to block something. My wife generally doesn't like how most of them look. On a recent walk we encountered this one she likes. I'm hoping one of you can identify it for me.
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Green.
Chris
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Green.
Chris
<thread drift>"It's green" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWEDZFoLmyA)</thread drift>
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Bald Cypress.
Do read up on them before you plant. They can be messy. It's also deciduous, so if you want an evergreen, it's the wrong tree. They usually look nicer in other people's yards.
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Bald Cypress.
Do read up on them before you plant. They can be messy. It's also deciduous, so if you want an evergreen, it's the wrong tree. They usually look nicer in other people's yards.
Well crap. The whole point was something that didn't lose leaves in the winter. Thanks.
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Yep, the green bulbous thing you photographed is NOT part of the tree it is a chrysalis for a moth.
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Well crap. The whole point was something that didn't lose leaves in the winter. Thanks.
I dont know where you are, so this may be pointless, but an Ash Juniper will do nicely as a low cost, low maintenance, low value screening tree. It does tend to cause a "my head is on fire and I'm going to die right now" allergic reaction in some. Ask me how I know.
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I'm just outside of Nashville, TN. There are tombs if evergreen trees I can grow here, but finding one that meets my wife's aesthetic approval is the catch.
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There are tombs if evergreen trees I can grow here
That's a new one. Must be a Tennessee thing.
Brad
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Yep, the green bulbous thing you photographed is NOT part of the tree it is a chrysalis for a moth.
Its a Bald Cypress cone.
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I'm just outside of Nashville, TN. There are tombs if evergreen trees I can grow here, but finding one that meets my wife's aesthetic approval is the catch.
Long Leaf pines are pleasing to look at when they are middle aged. They are at a grass stage when they are immature and like most conifers in their older age they will loose their lower branches and develop a long trunk.
Frasier Fir might be another choice for you, they have a nice form and are native to Eastern Tennesee.
If you want a faster pine, look at Loblolly or Slash Pine.
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Bald Cypress.
I was going to say some kind of cedar =|
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If you wanted to go not native a Radiata Pine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_radiata
It is a fast growing conifer and has a similar form to a Cypress.
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I was going to say some kind of cedar =|
Sort of- all the North American "cedars" Red, Port Orford, Alaskan Yellow, etc, are in fact cypresses.
We have no native true cedars like the Atlas, Lebanon, etc.
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What does she think about yew?
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What does she think about yew?
Tallpine, stop hacking other member's accounts.
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Tennessee? Go traditional with a magnolia. While they do drop leaves, they do not go bare. The flowers are pollinated by beetles rather than by bees, which may be a feature. Leaves, when they fall, are sharp-edged as well as sharp-pointed, and leathery. Cleanup is easier by spearing the leaf than by trying to rake them. Trees vary from tall with spreading branches that start close to the ground to xmas-tree looking, to short and bushy, so they do a good job screening.
http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/brackens-brown-beauty-magnolia.htm Check out all the varieties.
stay safe.
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That's a new one. Must be a Tennessee thing.
Brad
Aaaahhh hates autocorrect.
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What does she think about yew?
A son of a beech ? =|
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A son of a beech ? =|
That kind of language may ruffle some people's fir.
Brad
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A son of a beech ? =|
Kiss my ash. :laugh:
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Tennessee? Go traditional with a magnolia. While they do drop leaves, they do not go bare. The flowers are pollinated by beetles rather than by bees, which may be a feature. Leaves, when they fall, are sharp-edged as well as sharp-pointed, and leathery. Cleanup is easier by spearing the leaf than by trying to rake them. Trees vary from tall with spreading branches that start close to the ground to xmas-tree looking, to short and bushy, so they do a good job screening.
http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/brackens-brown-beauty-magnolia.htm Check out all the varieties.
stay safe.
A major punch on my "Southern by the Grace of God" card, but I hate dealing with magnolia trees. They shed leaves near year-round, which are difficult to manage with rake or blower, and they are tough and leathery enough to last longer than most Hollywood marriages.
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Kiss my ash. :laugh:
Pining for a better class of aquaintance?
Brad
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I would suggest Scotch Pine but they are not poplar.
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Around here (Grand Rapids, MI) a stock item for making a privacy fence or blocking something off is an Emerald Green Arborvitae. They're not fancy but they work. Does your wife have an objection to something like that?
How high and wide do you need this to be? That might help us a bit.
Stuff that hasn't been mentioned yet:
Holly. Castle Wall / Castle Spire will get up to 12 feet tall. Not sure if that flies in your zone though.
Grasses might work. My favorite suggestion is Erianthus Plume Grass. Grass itself gets 5-6' tall but it shoots up plumes that get near 9-10' off the ground. It goes dead in the winter but the grass and plumes still stand. Even here in Michigan. Just chop it down come spring and it'll regrow. A single plant, when mature, will make about a 4' wide circle.
Miscanthus Gigantus is a grass that'll shoot up to 13'. Unfortunately I have no idea where you'd get it as it's under patent and it was bred to be a fuel source and not a landscaping tool.
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Talk to County Ag Extension Agent.
One of the few truly useful functions of government.
Besides coining money, delivering the mail, and suppressing piracy on the high seas.
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Episode Three: How to recognise different types of trees from quite a long way away
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Thanks for all the info guys. The short & sweet is that my wife & I put a shed in our back yard this summer. It's nice looking, painted to match the house etc... per HOA guidelines. The one thing that may prove an issue is the stupid clause about not being visible from the street. Right now it's not thanks to all of the trees we've already planted, but come late fall that will change.
I don't know if they'll say anything (the head of our HOA is an obnoxious little woman), but we have a specific spot we're going to plant an evergreen of some sort. It can't be too big, it can't be too small, it has to meet my wife's aesthetic tastes. I also want to be careful about what kind of roots this thing will put out as it's going to be not too far from where the gas line comes in to my house.
Watering it shouldn't be an issue as it will be about 20 feet downslope from my AC unit and I plan to trench a little french drain from the condensation line to the base of the tree. Heck, I may extend and bury the line so it actually comes out underground right next to the tree.
vaskidmark, GigaBruist, thanks for the suggestions. Another magnolia off that same page looks like it might fall in the right size range. I'll show some of Giga's other suggestions to her too.
http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/little-gem-magnolia.htm