Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: The dilemma of decision making in landscaping
I have a corner of my house where I’d like to get rid of a very large and impressive yew. One of my friends thinks I’m crazy but the darn thing is at least 7 feet in diameter and about 3 ½ ft tall. I’m looking to replace it with something thinner and taller which would allow me to place other plants around it
There are plenty of small crabapple trees that could work. I have ‘Royal Raindrops’ in the front yard, it’s gorgeous.
This corner I’m talking about is in the back of my home – the southeast corner. I was really hoping to put in a Witch Hazel but after more research, I’m just not sure it would work the way I want it to!
Oh but therein lies the fun of perusing plant catalogs and surfing the internet to see what’s out there while we can’t go plant anything!
While the Japanese tree lilac is a nice choice, I already have lilacs. It would also become wider than I want.
I want something different! Dashing! Daring! Doable!! Gingko ‘Goldspire’ is certainly a “say something” columnar tree.
I’m a little concerned as I don’t see any local nurseries, at least at this time, selling it.However there are plenty online. That’s an option.
I love the Chinese Fringe tree but it would get too wide and it’s a zone 5 tree.
Oh, and then there’s the Smoke tree! Yowza… this could be The One!. ‘Royal Purple’ grows to 15 feet tall and about 10 feet wide and is dazzling to look at.
Dark foliage, smoky blooms, and warm fall colors PLUS it can be under planted with dwarf black-eyed susans for some extra drama!
There’s another cultivar named ‘Grace’ that’s gorgeous too. I would prune it to be more tree form than shrub.
