Planting Suggestions

After pouring a new front porch, I have two new beds in the front of our house that are EMPTY and I am little confused! I see alot of Aspens planted very close to homes in our area, but everything I have read indicates that isn't the best idea. Any suggestions on trees or shrubs that work well close to the house?
Thanks! :)
KD

KD:
I recommend going for short, slow growing stuff. There's a cute little birch, Betula 'Trost's Dwarf' that would be hardy in your Zone, and will grow in full sun or partial shade. If your beds get lots of sun, try dwarf conifers (warning: they can become addictive). Look in the local Garden Center for trees and shrubs with 'Nana' at the end of the name, or buy plants from an alpines nursery. Stay away from the forest trees!

June.

. . . or, if you like the aspen look, go with them. But consider managing them as a clone, removing each old stem as it reaches a certain crucial size and letting it send up some replacement root suckers. The definition of "crucial size" depends upon your yard, proximity to the house, and your ability to handle the removal safely. Just save the logs for decorative, clean-burning firewood and place the tops somewhere for wildlife.

Guy S.

The best conifer close to the house is Serbian Spruce http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/76053/index.html
It is planted within 2' of buildings, in road meridians or anywhere a narrow tree is desired.

Littleton? You are right down the road. BigToolbox on Holly has some really nice lowgrowing shrubs. I am partial to variegated euonymous for a generic foundation shrub. Or, if you are willing to give it some space, a flowering quince. Both can tolerate a certain amount of benign neglect also. Or barberry, if you like purple.

Thanks for the suggestions!
Greenjay-actually I am also in Centennial-but for some reason zip code 80121 still comes up as Littleton. Last week was my first visit to Big Toolbox-it is only about 2 minutes away from me. My hubby sent me after a bolt-I was there quite a while-didn't realize that they had such a nice garden center. They had a really nice Japanese Maple(Bloodgood)-any thoughts on how well they would do in our area?
:)
KD

Japanese Maples are not necessarily hardy here. By that I mean you might get lucky and baby it through for a few years, but then you get an Icy Blast From Hell like last winter and it's Sayonara.

However -- the "Black Lace" Sambuca looks almost like a Japanese Maple, is quite hardy, grows faster, and has beautiful flowers. Check it out.

I know it happens a lot, but to be brutally honest, I can't see how so many people could consider any Sambucus as a synonym for Acer palmatum. Black Lace does have that murky dark foliage color, sort of like a few maple cultivars. But the architecture of the maple, and the more pleasant foliage of "normal" green cultivars, is nothing like any Sambucus. The maple is a refined tree that keeps getting better with age; the Sambucus is a caning, suckering shrub grown only for its stark foliage and flower effect.

Then again, I don't go for variegated Euonymus either -- I think it's a trite and artificial-looking scale entree -- and purple barberry makes me cringe like fingernails on a blackboard! IMHO all of them are gaudy and most at home in front of a gas station, fast-food restaurant, or trailer park. But different strokes make the forum a success, and many people just can't get enough of such stuff.

Regardless, I agree strongly with Greenjay that you need to be careful about long term hardiness. I've seen some pretty rough winter weather in the Denver area. There are some really neat native shrubs in the Rockies that will grow well for you with no extra care once established, if you match them to your soil, moisture, and sun exposure. Find a native plant nursery and check them out!

Guy S.

Bristlecone Pine (Pinus aristata) and Colorado Pinyon (Pinus edulis) would be nice small, slow-growing conifers; local natives too, so they'll take the weather well.

Resin

StarHill -- please tell us what you DO like, so we can return the favor of your thoughtful critique.

Yeah, that came across all wrong, sorry. I was just trying to express my own point of view, not dis your taste in plants. But here goes, so you can have something to shoot back at!

1. I prefer natural-appearing landscapes, where color is displayed in season (spring/fall) and does not continue all summer when we all expect to see "green" (or, during the current climate cycle, brown!). Foliage color should be a seasonal thrill, like seeing a deer used to be back in the 70s before they were ubiquitous.

2. I prefer natural planting patterns based upon the habitat needs of the plants and upon seasonal view management, instead of formal plantings that place a straight line, uniform spacing, monocultures, and architectural ego ahead of imagination and serious, thoughtful design. I think Capability Brown and some of his contemporaries of the Natural School had it right.

3. I generally prefer native species and diversity over exotics and monocultures. I am concerned about invasive exotic species, pathogen epidemics in monocultures, and wildlife interactions and ecological fit.

4. I prefer easy-care native plants over "pet" plants like roses and daphnes that can be difficult. I acknowledge that a plant collection is different from a landscape, and that most of us do collect our favorite things and then try to find places for them. But we were talking landscape on this thread, not rose garden or daylily bed.

5. I break these rules occasionally, if the situation or opportunity calls for it. But not very often.

6. And I realize that I am just one voice with one vote -- others think for themselves and act accordingly. Otherwise, the discount stores would not be able to sell so many of what I consider to be junk plants (like that gaudy combination of golden privet and purple barberry), and you would not see so many short-sighted, unimaginative, monocultural row plantings with one or two casualties missing from the formation.

So go ahead, take your fair revenge and feel better!

Guy S.

Given that the "natural landscape" for my area of colorado would be brown grass and tumbleweeds, I think there has to be some allowance made. KD probably wants to create a landscape that both conforms to local covenants (and yes, most of the developments here a covenant communities!), won't break the bank, and won't use excessive amounts of water. I really like japanese maples, but they aren't very practical. For the same money, you can get a sambuca and some companion plants that will be pretty, keep the Lawn Nazis out of your hair, and even provide some winter food for birds.

KD, I would be happy to point you toward many of the fine resources we have here, including Big Toolbox, Tagawa's, and O'Toole's Nursery. Final thought -- always buy the best you can afford that will still be alive a year from now!

Can't argue with any of that -- we're basically on the same page. But I think you can borrow natives from just uphill or just down creek and find something besides tumbleweeds that would be terrific. Rabbitbrush, mountain mahogany, Apache plume, desert plum, parkland meadow flowers, the pines that Resin mentioned, the aspens KD initially asked about -- all sorts of things might work there. And I hear you loud and clear about the lawn Nazis.

Guy S.

Drive over to the Denver Botanic Garden and look around (and ask). Contact your state's native plant society. Find some specialty growers that provide things beyond the mundane. Do something special and appropriate to maintain your sense of place.

Guy S.

Denver Botanic Gardens has a kiosk near the front desk of the main building where you can look up the location of any plant they have exhibited in their gardens. Including Sambucas, and thousands of other varieties to scope out.

Now now Guy
He's not George Ball, don't hurt 'im or 'er as the case may be - tee hee..

I agree on the gold anything plus purple barberry. The the avocado appliance and orange shag rug of our time. It only gets better when they add a blue spruce. It really dates the look.

But I rather like variegated euonymous and am glad to have it evergreen. I use it in 3 places that are difficult and have unamended soil. One planting has low growing green/white v. eu. with Patriot Hosta and hellebores in a wet dark shade area that gets a lot walk by traffic - which pretty much covers all the seasons. Another has it with forget me nots on a dry hillside and the 3rd is a 2-tone green one planted with leucoethoe and hakone grass. They're muted, no-care and can be interesting.
Shaved into a ball - well thats another story. Only microphylla boxwood should endure that.

KD - before you do anything, go visit some gardens, take some digital photos, go to the library and pick up some picture books. You can search on the net for the extension service that is nearest you for plant lists and descriptions that will thrive in your area. I think deciding on how much time you really want to devote to that space is critical to its long term success. There are plenty of low maintenance plant materials that look nice. Another item is standing back to take good look at your house and deciding what colors, shapes and heights will look good up against it. Digital photos can help a lot. I suppose you've got a good 45 days till fall planting season - will that be enough to do some research?

[quoteNow now Guy
He's not George Ball, don't hurt 'im or 'er as the case may be - tee hee..
[/quote]
Yeah, I got fired up again about the resurrection of that Heronswood thread and let 'er rip on a poor innocent bystander. Greenjay, I guess that makes you collateral damage, sorry. I dint mean nuthin bad.

Guy S.

No worries. But my roses are still huffy. Watch out for thorns!

Uh-oh. You mean you grow roses too? Hoo-boy! Whatever are we gonna do with you!
Guy S.

I personally like purple barberries, different strokes. In fact, was thinking they would look nice next to some Black eyed Susans and dark green conifers.

Funny story though, you know how crimson pygmy is everywhere? My Gramma had the straight species, it took me a while to figure out what it even was, cause I was used to seeing it a certain way. Duh. She is gone from this earth (or rather, has become a part of it), but she was not a fan of pruning plants into unnatural shapes, she liked them to do their own thing, and I'm like that too.

alyrics~that euonymous/myosotis pairing is lovely! One of the few shrubs that stays evergreen here, so I also like them too!

Here is a picture of one of my new front yard beds, it has ninebark, and sweetspire (my personal favorite) in it!

I heard a talk by a professor from a local college (?? maybe U. Penn or maybe one of the
many smaller schools in the area) who went through a variety of shrubs & trees he was
studying for invasiveness. He felt that barberry (any of the colored folliage types included)
were invasive! I have found plain-jane green ones in my little woodland by the pond and I'm
sure they weren't planted there. Do you suppose he is right?

He also said Viburnum Plicatum (double file) is invasive. Argh! Now that hurt. I love my
double file viburnum.

Tam

PS: Euonymous scares me. It seems to be rather territorial. I pulled out a ton of it from a front
planting area the previous owner put in... it was taking over the whole area.

Different plants have become invasive in different areas and habitats, and all of the above are on a list somewhere or another. That doesn't mean you shouldn't grow the least aggressive of them in areas where they do not spread, IFFFF you can monitor them for any potential changes in their recruitment behavior due to climate destabilization, etc. Part of that monitoring includes using only those plants whose seed distribution pattern can be contained (not spread for miles by wind or birds).

I grow Albizia and Sapium, here -- two of the worst invasives of the Southeast. But neither spreads locally, and one of them (Sapium) can't even survive outdoors here in winter. I grow it in a container for the fall color, then slide it into the cool greenhouse where I keep my tropical oak collection for the winter.

The best choice, unless you're a plant collector (or just gotta have some weird thing), is to use locally native species.

Guy S.

Guy S. grows "popcorn" trees? Say it ain't so! lol

Yeah, but it's like growing bananas in Alaska! They can't take it here in winter. The day one of them survives here, we're all in a heapa trouble climate-wise. (See, there are benefits to living up here in zone 5!)

Guy S.

Barberries do "escape" into the wild. Good to be aware of possible ecological ramifications. Just so you know, euonymous is in that category as well. Natives are your most responsible choice, and require less coddling as well. Here's a link to a mail-order nursery, I personally have not ordered from them, but they get high marks for their plant introductions and good reviews in the Garden Watchdog. http://www.highcountrygardens.com/

Yes, Musa basjoo would do ok in Alaska with some good protection. My friend ships banana plants to Ontario all the time. I know someone in Ottawa growing it against the house for a number of years.

The community I live in planted native plants and they are seriously regretting planting them. It looks like a neglected ditch in the sticks. They didn't take the drought, don't flower nicely, are carriers of rust, powdery mildew and other problems. A carefully planned landscape mixing native and non-native is by far the best.

I am so glad I learned my lessons w/"good growers" in my small city lot before buying my
current rather large rural property. I'm ruthless about getting rid of plants that are way too
successful in propagating themselves. I ripped out my buddlea after finding seedlings in
a bed 20' away from where it was planted. I've seen no signs of issue with the viburnum.

I'm currently battling tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima). It took me too long to realize what
it was. We got the mother tree out but now I've got to get all those babies out and pull the
seedlings for years to come.

Sorry about the segway into invasives but when seeking planting suggestions, its always
something to consider.

Tam
Tam

TamTam (!), a lot of us here share your concerns. It's sort of like being a professional electrician and hot-wiring a switch without first pulling the breaker. If you don't know what your dealing with you need to be a LOT more careful, but regardless, you have to show respect for the potential problem and take necessary precautions. If you don't know a potentially invasive plant very, very well, you need to learn it and watch it or select something else.

Guy S.

Prairiegirl - pretty Itea - looks very happy there. I like those dark sedums too - is it Vera Jamieson?

On the invasives - I've had a personal mission for a long time to remove barberry and multiflora rose whenever I can. I've got barberry the birds planted back in my woods that will be gone before it goes to seed this year. When I've had barberry I never let it go to seed - they're clipped off. The MF rose has been a longer term job - it looks like its been there for a decade - big ol bramble of a mess. I kind of hate to take up what I know is a good snag for little forest creatures and birds but we can't have those seeds running down the creek into the river below and getting deposited who knows where.

Oh - don't talk to me about those multiflora roses! I've dug out huges numbers of them at this place.
The property is very rocky and its really hard to get the roots out. It grows up trees and self seeds
EVERYWHERE. A friend of the family lost a sheep to a big patch of it... the poor sheep was munching
on the rose and got its wool got hooked on the thorns. It couldn't get out.

Tam

rose murderers!

Ya want some?

KD - Did you get the information you were looking for or did we totally
steal your thread?

Given that you are in PA, you betcha. Cuttings will do, preferable with a picture of the mature plant.

OK. They bloom for about 1hr a year and the white blossoms are about 1/2" in diameter.
The thorns are typically 2-3" long and the plant grows up to 20' into trees & shrubs. It roots
at the tip where they fall and leaps across tall buildings (or fields) in a single bound. I'll
get a boxload packed up for ya shortly

Cool! And I even have the perfect place to plant them!

Uh-oh. Watch out for that rose gardener! Before you send them to Greenjay, fertilize them well with Tordon!
Guy S.

funny fellow. no, really, I want the cuttings if you will send them.