I would love some help on selecting a hardy small to medium size tree to plant in soil that is not the best. It is between two hedges which are about 15 feet apart. It should have attractive foliage and be able to thrive in light to full shade. Thanks.
Two problem-free, shade-loving, evergreen shrubs I would recommend are cultivars of Pieris and Acuba japonica. I have been very pleasantly surprised by how my Pieris shrubs have thrived despite minimal watering in this very dry summer.
"Small to medium-sized tree" would be something taller and more tree-like than those two, if an apt use of the terms is what was in mind.
Yes, we have a large yard and close to the ocean. I was looking for a small to medium size tree that had interesting foliage. I love the leaves on the Silk tree. It I don't have enough sun for it.
i'm with Ron B on the Acer circinatum (Vine Maple) I have several near the beach in Greater Vcvr BC drought and all. to make it a little more interesting - I thread a clematis (a couple of diff ones) thru my vine maples (alpina and some big floral ones) - and then at this time, I have some hanging basket fuschia in some of my vine maples (I use kitchen sink water for the fuschia baskets) also - I thread some LED "warm white" exterior lights year'round thru my vine maples - looks great summer/winter 4 seasons.
Sounds intriguing. Would you mind to share your creation with us and post some pictures Georgia Strait? Must be looking especially enchanting on the background of the ocean.
hi Sundrop - I will post some photos - it might take me a few days - the other combo I have is vine maple and pale pink single petal (like a good old wild rose / nootka rose) mediland rose - it looks great! I like cottage country UK style tho on the green side (ie lots of green background with some color - I am not the crazy quilt all-colors English border person) - I think the varied green "look" suits the BC countryside where many of us live adjacent to magnificent forest/ ocean (or large lake) / mountain "borrowed view" backdrops. Admittedly, I have not perfected my design tho I am working on it gradually!
Hello Sundrop - I am hoping that I can figure out how to post some photos in this message - here goes .... oh - I should explain some of the details - I am not sure which order the images will appear in this msg - so bear with me please all of these photos are near Vancouver BC - near the ocean (you can see some ocean in background) - hot dry half day /// deep shade other half of day. Damp winter ---- strict water use in summer (esp this summer stage 4). Garden is steep slope, hence some of the photos looking up to sky. 1. photo - Stargazer lilies threaded up thru what used to be a live curly willow - in a large pot (plastic fake terracotta) - large meaning it would take 1.5 bags of potting mix to fill it - I keep the stargazers in here permanently and I like how the willow helps stop them from flopping over and looking sad :( 2. photo - wooden salvaged gates propped against retaining wall - plants in this photo include vine maple (Acer circinatum) with (near the top) a Clematis alpina (little blue down-facing flowers in spring) growing thru it (still lots of leaves on the vine) ---- the lower vine is some sort of "shopping mall rose" - a mediland maybe? it was pink til the heat and some rain and more heat did it in, now it looks like old Kleenex! that is the big downside of these roses - they go brown and it ruins the entire effect. 3. & 4. hanging basket in vine maple ---- now this is a lightweight plastic basket approx. 12 inch diam - it is full of annual fuchsias (blue eyes etc) - now I know some people like a dense floral display --- I am more a woodland display - so I like it like this "look" where there are fewer blossoms. You can also see a tomato cage (just the plain old grey wire tomato cage) - that is protecting the stems of a gorgeous large-petal pink clematis (name I can't remember but picture a jackmanii except burgundy-pink) - anyway- it is a secret highlight to find the blooms in the vine maple - this is an ideal combo because the vine maple roots are gentle (non-invasive) and the tree creates shade for tender clematis roots (as do some nice ferns I have around the vine maple) - yet allows the clematis to scramble up gently and reach its "face" in to the sunshine. Note that I would never plant a "Montana" clematis over a vine maple --- they are too scrambly and aggressive (instead I have one that scrambles up a 50' tall cedar tree - looks great for about 1 week ; ( each spring. these are the vine maples I thread "warm white" exterior LED lights thru - more noticeable in winter - early spring, of course (foliage blocks it in summer) --- make sure you look for "warm white" --- the other "white" colors are too glaring for a country garden, I think. 5. this is yet another vine maple (yes, we like them as they are easy care, low water (drought), native etc - and this one has a pale pink mediland rose growing UP thru it - this is in deep shade, nice rich soil and I think it looks great. I have to use a bit of plant friendly "tape" (the green tape at the nursery store) to keep the mediland stem from flopping over. and that should do it for now - enjoy!
