Hello forum members, I received the following email. I am sure that she would appreciate your feedback. Raakel Hi! I saw a May posting and would appreciate some hand holding on conifer choice in my new garden, if possible! We live in Tsawwassen, BC, and have just done a new bed on a south facing wall. The bed is filled 2' deep with a rich, barn based composted soil. As it fronts a bay window, we were thinking of dwarf Alberta spruce to frame the space...the tree really cannot be one that gets much over 6-7'. But we hear that spider mites will be a real problem. Is it possible to maintain healthy dwarf Alberta spruces in our climate and situation? Or should we go to another species altogether?
I'd get another species anyhow, because yours will grow SO slowly, and rich compost is not great for conifers, but drier, sandier soil is. You'd almost need something deciduous, but anything that only gets 6-7' tall is going to be hard to choose, otherwise I'd say get a thuja occ. (cedar), or have you looked into Tamarisk? They're beautiful, and if not a traditional conifer, still are very twiggy (for winter interest).
