I live in Maryland and I want to plant 4 Italian Cypress trees in my yard. I want a tall columnar plant for these locations. Is there a cultivar that will do well in Maryland? Can I still plant this year, or should I wait until spring? Where is best place to obtain the recommended plants? Many thanks.
If you search Italian Cypress in these forums you will come across some sad stories of dead cypresses planted in summer. Definitely wait till fall, or spring is even better if your winters are cold and dry. You can probably find a local nursery that carries these plants in a good size, and they would likely carry the best cultivars for your area (there is even a gold one, but don't know if it would do well for you). If the cypresses don't work well or you can't get them locally, there are also columnar or weeping varieties of juniper, Chamaecyparis, spruce, and even redwood that might do the trick. You might leaf through the book "Gardening with Conifers" by Adrian Bloom for ideas and info.
USDA 6 and warmer fall planting is much to be preferred, when dealing with hardy stock. Spring is actually decidedly inferior, but tender plants will of course die if planted in fall. Or the desired item may not be available (locally, anyway) in fall, the nursery industry being oblidged to cater to spring fever.
