I have a nice spot in my garden in full view of my front window, on the north-west corner of the house in Langley BC. In summer it probably gets about 60-70% of the day's full sun (in shadow of house in morning), about 40% in winter due to greater shadow from the house. There are no other trees competing for light, so when the sun is out from behind the house, it is full sun during those times. Area is almost a raised bed, well drained soil, and the clay layer common here is several feet down. I'd like a nice conifer, open in structure so it doesn't completely obscure my view of the front yard/street. I'm assuming recomendations would be Tsuga or Taxus, but I'm not interested in some of the very short dwarfs that seem to be available. Ideally 10-15 feet max, but no shorter than 5-6 feet. To be planted about 7 feet from the house (isn't much I know, but an 8-foot tall japanese umbrella pine that was there fit the space nicely - but it wasn't happy). The nurseries around me here in Langley seem to have good selections of interesting conifers, but somehow I'm stuck for ideas as to what to look for. So are there any specific recommendations for a particular hemlock or yew? Would a particular pine work in my location? Willing to try some aggresive pruning but nothing silly. Thanks in advance for any help!! Mike
Lots of small-growing Canadian hemlock cultivars that would grow as desired. Not all are congested, flattish or rounded dwarfs. Yews tend to have less structural interest. None maturing in desired size range will be quick to develop.
OK, I'll concentrate my searches with those. Hopefully I'll find something that looks fairly natural and tree-like (and not overly cartoon-ish). Thanks, Mike
