I am hoping to get some recommendations re a good looking conifer that will not get much taller than 6 feet (or at the least, take a very long time to grow beyond this dimension) and can do its stuff in a location which gets very little direct sun. It is my understanding that Bentham's Sunlight does well in (much) less than full sun but given its rarity and extra slow growth I am thinking I need to expand my options.
Maybe a shrubby yew or Pfitzer juniper. Both are shade-tolerant, with colored-foliage forms on the market.
Thanks Ron. I do want to stay away from all things juniper but rather I am hoping to find something more upright, more conical like in shape. But I do know that the lack of sun does limit my options.
I've been trying to find something like this to use for some privacy screening under a very large oak on the property line. It is not easy. I'm needing something larger than you but in general, it's hard to find any type of evergreen that will grow well in shade. Since you only want a 6' height, I believe alberta spruce could possibly work. I'm pretty sure it tolerates shade better than most spruces but I'm just not sure exactly how much shade it will tolerate. It fits into your size and shape requirements though so might be worth looking into. I tried some thuja green giants. They are surviving going on 3 years but are not doing well and have barely grown. Obviously they need more sun so I will be trying them somewhere else in the spring. I think I may try the upright type yew next. My only problem with it is it grows slow but for you that may work well since you want a smaller tree.
The spruce will be more or less as affected as the arborvitaes. It is natural for yew to remain beneath other trees indefinitely, whereas although true firs, spruces, hemlocks and arborvitaes are forest species that can grow in the shade of other trees each specimen so situated is toughing the gloom out, in the hope that some day it will get up into the light and then develop fully - density of these is much less than when they have full exposure. Small, suppressed Pacific silver fir on a study plot in the southern WA cascades were found to be quite old - in some instances as old as more fortunate full-sized trees above them. Similarly, coast redwood beanpole trees growing beneath solid canopies of full-sized examples have been reported to be hundreds of years old. These may creep up toward the light for centuries, only to finally peter out if no significant gap ever appears and lets the sun pour in. So we have ability to tolerate shade and then we have the production of dense, attractive growth providing screening - these are two different things, one often not following the other. Even yew varies in density with exposure, although it probably has the best presentation of the common choices for darker locations. The inherent darkness of it (an indication of adaptation to shade) can be alleviated somewhat by planting colored foliage forms.
Check out Cephalotaxus harringtonia 'Fastigiata'; it is very shade tolerant. Might be at the limits of its cold hardiness in the Toronto area, but here shade and shelter work in your favour, protecting it from the worst of the cold.
