Hello! I am thinking of planting some form of evergreen hedge along the perimeter of our property. However, winters find this area quite wet - water tends to sit. Would any of the varieties of the pyramid-type cedars do well here? If not - what? I'm thinking low maintenance. Thanks in advance!
Cedars Cedrus need well-drained soil. Something like arborvitae Thuja occidentalis might work in this situation.
Or they could all drown or get root rot from water molds. Although this tree is native to moist places it is also subject to root rot. A swamp in the wild may have a quite different set of factors present from a wet planting area. Pyramid cedar would likely be T. occidentalis 'Fastigiata' (syn. T. occidentalis 'Pyramidalis'). There are many other T. occidentalis cultivars, but "pyramid" is typically used for the one variety only. Its habit is columnar rather than broad-based, in the manner of a pyramid. T. occidentalis 'Fastigiata' has been largely replaced by T. occidentalis 'Smaragd', the emerald arborvitae in outlets. Highly popular for narrow hedging, it is surely one of the most-sold outdoor plants.
So essentially, none of the above would work for my situation then? What if I were to dig out a number of small ordinary old western red cedar plants? Would they be happy there possibly? Although I was hoping to find something I wouldn't have to prune much and something that wouldn't grow out as well as up. How much would I have to build up the soil level if I wanted to attempt the pyramid cedar? Many thanks
You would get a more effective and attractive screen using the native species. T. occidentalis is the eastern relation of T. plicata and is used in its place because there are many more cultivars to choose from, and it is able to be cultivated easily over a much larger area of North America than the western speices. However, it is fundamentally not as good-looking as our species and should not be planted here in its place except when offering more compact growth or other desired attributes that overrule its tendency to discolor markedly in winter, produce small foliage sprays with spaces between, and large homely bunches of cones. (T. occidentalis 'Smaragd' is dense, narrow and richly colored, a green cigar or cone, making it highly attractive to those looking for narrow screening along property lines in suburban yards). Look at where the wild ones are growing and compare those spots with the prospective planting site. If the winter soil conditions appear to be similar then they may work out.
Thanks Ron. Would you be able to recommend any thuja plicata cultivars that have a fairly columnar or pyramidal form? I'm guessing the 'pyramid cedars' we see everywhere then are either T.occidentalis Fastigiata or T.occidentalis Smaragd and that there really isn't T. plicata substitute for this tall narrow ideal? If so, I'm gonna start digging up wild candidates, as they are plentiful. I'll just have to prune -ho hum!
Darker, more upright cultivars of T. plicata are sold. Names get mixed up, visit some outlets to see what they have that looks darker and more upswept than typical of wild seedlings. For example, last year a Home Depot here had some tagged 'Virescens'. Likelihood of these being the true item probably pretty low, but they did look to have the kind of growth you may be looking for.
