Need tree ideas to correct my driveway monoculture

Yeah, sounds like somebody woke up to a frozen garden this morning . . .

I turn a lot of things, I don't know if tough is one of them though :)
.

Corners?
Heads?
Blue?
Tricks?

Terry, I'm the first one to admit I'm a cyber-Neanderthal, and I'm very resistant to change. Lordy, I obviously know everything else in the whole wide world, so give me a break on this one tiny little imperfection!!!

Anyway, the f_rt thing was just funnin with ya. So, did your place freeze last night? You must have been close to the line.

Bad, Guy, bad.

All those and then some, Guy. Mostly heads though :o)
Now come on, if my 69 yr old father can upgrade and keep with the times, surely someone as young as you can too! He knows at least a thimble and a half full when it comes to computers. And I know you were teasing.
Nope, it didn't freeze here. Weather bug says 34 was the low. It was actually pretty nice today with the sun shining so bright. John (my husband, not VV) and I started working on the path I want. BTW...when should the witch hazel I bought leaf out? It's Hamamelis virginiana. It's not really doing anything.

Terry

New plants are unpredictable. They get their sleep upset by the digging, and the shipping, and the storage in cold dark buildings, so they sometimes stay grumpy in the morning for a while like a teenager who was partying too late. As long as it seems flexible and green, just give it time. (So your father is only 69? You must be a mere pup!)

I wish I could be down in New Orleans the first time LOL says that word and all those upity high muck-de-muck socialites in her audience gasp! Just give me a good head start when it happens! Hee-hee-hee!

Guy S.

Guy, I bought it at Possibility Place....so no digging, shipping or storage in cold dark buildings. When I was a teen and stayed out partying, I wasn't grumpy in the morning...probably coz I didn't get up till 3...lol....

I think the road work is finished, and we can take down the detour signs and get back to the thread topic.

I strongly support Stretchmarks effort to emphasize the entryway to his property, and diversify the components of the design.

Next post will have an ample array of arboreal assets.

Right now, Arctic char, Caesar salad, and a sassy Sauvignon await attention.

I believe every place as nice as this needs a very strong entryway. I do not know how cedars grow in your area but before the diesel fuel in the insecticide killed my cedars they were like magnificent sentinels.
I still have not replanted because Katrina got in my way, but I will.

Just a thought - Magnolia grandiflora Bracken's Brown Beauty http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2821/index.html and is mentioned as successful south of Chicago. When I look at these trees I think of a southern estate. They are evergreen, lustrous, blooming, stately. This cultivar seems to be successful to 5a. The other tree I forgot is Pawpaw which would be double-duty of producing fruit but tends to sucker alot.

I want to thank everyone for the suggestions.

VV, I found a Google Earth image (rather, my 14 year old did), but they don't let you cut and paste the images, and I don't want to post the link since it includes my address. Also, it's pretty fuzzy. I'll keep working on that. SB

It seems Fulton, MO is replete with clayey droughty soils and success will be dependent on species selection that will tolerate these conditions over the long haul (which I take it includes how far moisture will have to be brought). If you owned shares in the local water company, I'd offer an entirely different list.

This part of the middle west is rich in tree species that fill that bill, and there are many introduced species that can cohabitate. Sphygmomanometer has to pick/choose which ones to line up along that drive, providing a potentially pleasant pastime. I offer the following as a series of groupies:

Carya cordiformis
Carya glabra
Carya illinoiensis
Carya laciniosa
Carya ovata
Carya tomentosa

Fraxinus americana
Fraxinus pennsylvanica
Fraxinus quadrangulata

Acer rubrum
Acer saccharum
Fagus grandifolia
Ginkgo biloba
Morus rubra

Celtis occidentalis
Cladrastis kentukea
Ulmus americana
Ulmus rubra
Zelkova serrata

Aesculus glabra
Aesculus flava/octandra
Catalpa speciosa
Liriodendron tulipifera
Magnolia acuminata
Platanus occidentalis
Quercus bicolor
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus muehlenbergii
Tilia americana

Nyssa sylvatica
Quercus coccinea
Quercus palustris
Quercus phellos
Quercus shumardii
Sassafras albidum

Prunus serotina
Quercus alba
Quercus imbricaria
Quercus prinus/montana
Quercus rubra
Quercus stellata
Quercus velutina

Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis
Gymnocladus dioicus
Juglans nigra


Or you could reproduce that time-tested happenstance result, left over from the old days of livestock containment: Maclura pomifera

These are general groupings, according to criteria like form and texture. You may find other similarities more useful (fall color, leaf shape, bark, etc.) and create your own affinities. Long term survival in order to achieve a mature allée needs to be the critical threshold.

Stress, here's an example for you. This is the Nebraska home of Julius Sterling Morton, founder of Arbor Day.

I had more of this http://rurallife.lsu.edu/html/alhfam2006/check_1.jpg on my mind with the pendulous Junipers.

Thanks, folks. I like the feeling of depth in the rows in both examples. Growin, PlantFiles says that the 'Tollesons' gets to 20 feet, but the examples look maybe bigger than that. Growth rate? I wonder if it would get big enough for this application.

Guy, that pic is looking like what I'm getting after. Similarity of habit, diversity of species.

I think I'm going along those lines with VV's Celtis, Zelkova, Ulmus group above.

Thanks, again, folks. SB

Growth rate is slow-moderate, 20' is about right. The examples may be older specimens than the one I've observed for 10-15 yrs.

idea: formal line of matteuccia bordering the drive - not sure how they do there but I believe they are native. I've seen a formal line of them and its impressive.

Just FYO, when I started investigating the Tolleson juniper I heard lots of bad reports about it being disease-prone here in the humid Midwest. I've never tried it here, but other cultivars of that species do suffer in high humidity.

Guy S.