Hello all, I've been an active "lurker" on this board now for a few years, but finally signed up. Recently I have bought a house in Victoria BC and am in the process of restoring it; that also means new landscaping (because, frankly, there's nothing but weeds and lawn at the moment). At the suggestion of many on this board, I have borrowed or bought most of the design books mentioned for us newbies, but as of yet haven't seen /exactly/ what I'm looking for. Here's my situation: My western property line is only about 10' from the foundation of my house. There's about 30' to the neighbour's place, and my house is a storey taller than his. There's no real landscaping at all on his side, just a some lawn and a concrete pad for his boat. On the side of my house is a huge bay window that, even in our mild summers heats up the house way too much. What I'd like to plant is an "allee" of trees planted every 15' or so along the property line for summer shading, but deciduous, so I'll get the heat gain in the winter. I'd like the trees to look on the formal side (ie, I've ruled out a nice paperbark maple because it's a little too "shaggy" for this spot), and I'd like them to be interesting in every season but without yellow autumn colour (any other colour is fine). And remember, there's only about 10' between the house and my boundary, so an upright column shape would probably be needed. Any suggestions out there? Many thanks in advance. Wil.
Columnar beech? Dawyck's gold and purple both available. There are also weeping varieties that stay fairly slim.
A fastigiate form of hornbeam (Carpinus) might work. I think I'd talk to your neighbor first, however, to make sure that branches that might eventually overlap the boundary will be ok.
The neighbour is okay with the idea; I think his property value has gone up considerably since we started to fix up our place. That said; I was hoping for a relatively "clean" tree; nothing like a willow (not that it would fit) that sheds a lot of branches just to ensure we keep the peace. Thanks for the quick replies and suggestions. Are there any flowering trees that may suit?
Your best bet may be to search for narrow varieties of flowering trees, often with the name 'fastigiata' attached. Narrow forms of Prunus (cherry, etc.) Malus (apple) or Sorbus are possibilities, though they may be difficult to source. Check out, for example; Prunus 'Amanogawa', Malus prunifolia 'Fastigiata', Sorbus aucuparia 'Fastigiata'.
As I live under a form of Prunus I can speak to the fact that it offers a different mess issue, that of falling petals - it is literally snowing on our block this week. The petals are more damaging than you would think to something like a boat (eg a car) and twig debris might actually be easier to deal with. Whichever of those you go for, you will be dealing with leaves in autumn. Some work is inevitable!
10' doesn't leave much room for trees. Most of those suggested may grow crowns double or even triple that width in time. How tall do you want? Maybe shrubs, contained or clumping bamboos (no fall color, but not has heavy as conifers) or even a structural solution, like a trellis would do it.
The trees will be planted just off of the property line; my neighbour is okay with branches going over his property. So this can allow a canopy of up to 20' or so before we need to look at pruning. I was hoping for about 30-40' tall total. The way I've figured it, that combination will give the most summer shade, as our window head is about 15' off the ground. We considered a hedge, or a fence for the privacy, but think the shade benefits outweigh the other factors.
Ron, are the columnar beeches among those you think might achieve 30 feet of width, or which do you think are the widest/narrowest of the fastigiates? I happen to be planting a Dawyck's Gold for my parents this weekend...
Karin, Both F. sylvatica 'Dawyck Gold' & 'Dawyck Purple' are seedlings derived from F. sylvatica 'Dawyck' & F. sylvatica 'Zlatia'. The original 'Dawyck' cultivar would seem to be the narrowest of these. "It is a columnar tree, remaining ca. 13' wide even when 50'-60' tall." Jacobson "North American Landscape Trees" (1996). I've seen 'Dawyck Purple' listed at 15' wide, 'Dawyck Gold' at 22' wide.
I'm off on a search through the neighbourhood nurseries this week - does anyone have any ideas if fastigate versions of the trees mentioned here are widely available on Vancouver Island? Thats something I'm learning about plant selection... the ideal solution in the book isnt worth much if there's no way you can source it. I suppose that's a problem you've all faced before.
Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata' Height: 57' Spread: 26' Date: 1988 Location: Seattle 2701 3rd Ave W Nominator: Robert Van Pelt Fagus sylvatica 'Dawyck' Height: 47' Spread: 21' Date: 1993 Location: Seattle, Lincoln High School Nominator: A.L. Jacobson Prunus 'Amanogawa' Height: 38' Spread: 32' Date: 1993 Location: Seattle, Washelli Cemetary Nominator: A.L. Jacobson Reference: Van Pelt, CHAMPION TREES OF WASHINGTON STATE I've you've really got 40' x 20' available most you are considering here should work for many years.
Thanks Gordo, and Ron, for that additional info. One thing that struck me about the tree we just planted was that it hasn't leafed out yet (handy for transporting it, that was); it was just starting to sprout, and I just saw another one planted along a city street that hasn't done so either. In shade tree selection, time of leaf-out is an interesting variable that you might want to consider, Wil. But I don't think all beeches are this late. Wil, you nailed that point on availablity. That's why I consider visits to nurseries an essential component of any planting plan. However, if you do set your heart on something, punch the name into an internet search engine, and chances are one of the first few hits will be a nursery that sells it by mail order. But having said all that, I know that David Hunter's in Surrey (72nd Ave at 152nd Street) had both purple and gold Dawyck's beeches in stock two weeks ago, if you feel it's worth a trip over. Failed to note the Carpinuses, sorry.
Karin, a side question regarding leaf-out. I found some beeches yesterday at a nursery that were bound in burlap, about 8' tall, and they were all buds, no leaves. What would a decent time for planting be? I have a few places to hit yet this week. A friend also mentioned that there may be some fastigate maples that I should look at, but I didn't see any this weekend. Everyone; thanks for the info - this forum is great.
Seems to me that with summer approaching, the best time for planting is as soon as possible. Ron and others are better at this stuff than I am, but I'm guessing that the tree is transpiring less before leaf-out and may benefit from being settled in early? The ones you found are about the size and stage of the one I just planted, so at least I'm not preaching anything I don't practice!
Fall is better. Spring is a poor time to plant, actually, but that is when nurseries have their fullest selection. (And you wouldn't plant tender plants, like annuals and subtropicals in fall).
This issue of planting times is going to drive me around the bend eventually. I've heard that sprouting stimulates root growth (thus, spring is best) and that plants spend fall establishing their roots. Then that in cold climates they need at least six weeks before it gets really cold. And so forth. I even started a thread to try to sort this out http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=19948 but am obviously no smarter yet. My comment here was intended to suggest that now was better than further into the summer. I was not comparing spring to fall.
Too true; reading info on another university's web site (sorry UBC) they mentioned that a lot of these very same trees are "sensitive to being transplanted in the fall" and "extra care must be taken .... to enchance survival chances during the first winter." Hopefully I can source something good in the next few weeks, and then it's in the ground before summer.
No need to apologize - we're not in competition with anyone. You'll note we link freely and often to other university sites.
