Any landscaper/gardener experts?
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piccrazy30
New member
We use to own a lawn care business and my brother in law did the landscaping part of it, he did some amazing stuff!!
My personal opinion don't get juniper bushes, they are ugly.
What about a blue spruce or fruit trees?
It could depend on what the yard looks like too……lots of hard work but totally worth it in the end.
My personal opinion don't get juniper bushes, they are ugly.
What about a blue spruce or fruit trees?
It could depend on what the yard looks like too……lots of hard work but totally worth it in the end.
Limbwalker
New member
You just want plant recommendations? or planting procedures?
Trees I like, that do well here: Autumn Purple ash, Autumn blaze maples (need a lot of room), Aspens are nice but are very hard to establish and can take over your yard, Canadian red cherries, Northern Catalpa, Spring snow crabs... etc. Scotch pines, Austrian pines, Bristlecone pines, Blue spruce, White firs (my fav evergreen)....
When planting, make sure not to bury the trunk flare at the bottom of the trunk (it will cause decay)
Dig the hole a good 6" larger than the root ball all the way around, and mix 20% compost with the native soil. (any more amendment than 20% can cause drowning issues from different saturation rates)
cut the upper 2/3 of the basket off, at least, and make sure to open up the burlap and remove the strings.
I like to fill the hole with soil half way up the hole and then water it in and let it soak before filling the rest of the way and watering again.
Mulch helps lock in moisture. A good berm of soil around the edge of the hole will help if you are watering them by hand (minimum of 2-3 times per week for a while)
Good luck!
Trees I like, that do well here: Autumn Purple ash, Autumn blaze maples (need a lot of room), Aspens are nice but are very hard to establish and can take over your yard, Canadian red cherries, Northern Catalpa, Spring snow crabs... etc. Scotch pines, Austrian pines, Bristlecone pines, Blue spruce, White firs (my fav evergreen)....
When planting, make sure not to bury the trunk flare at the bottom of the trunk (it will cause decay)
Dig the hole a good 6" larger than the root ball all the way around, and mix 20% compost with the native soil. (any more amendment than 20% can cause drowning issues from different saturation rates)
cut the upper 2/3 of the basket off, at least, and make sure to open up the burlap and remove the strings.
I like to fill the hole with soil half way up the hole and then water it in and let it soak before filling the rest of the way and watering again.
Mulch helps lock in moisture. A good berm of soil around the edge of the hole will help if you are watering them by hand (minimum of 2-3 times per week for a while)
Good luck!
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bofa
New member
I priced that out... too expensive considering our other up front expenses for new construction. I may consider it a few years down the road and after our dogs aren't around.
Funny you mention Junipers because I was considering getting a few of them for privacy. Our covered patio is right next to our neighbors with about 20' of separation. We are elevated about 3' higher but I thought a few Junipers would be just the ticket for year around privacy. My big question for those was if they would survive in 30G planters and if we would be able to maintain reasonable shaping and keep the height under 10'.
Thanks for the tips. For now, I'm looking for a few privacy shrubs like Junipers, a few smaller shrubs to plant around three utility boxes in the back, and two or three full size trees (potted - so they can be moved without being destroyed) . My wife wants at least 2 Spruce or Fur and the other is up in the air.
piccrazy30
New member
What about lattice with some type of ivy or morning glories on that side of the patio?
That was my thought too. Maybe a clematis if you can wait a year or two while it gets established. I have one which is called "Autumn something" I believe and it grows very fast, somewhere around 10' a year.
Get something with fall color if you go with bushes, burning bush does well here and looks especially great in the Fall.
bofa
New member
The lattice can't be taller than the fence supposedly (HOA) so I'm not sure that would work. Plus I don't want to have to wait a couple of years and need to make sure it maintains privacy in the winter.
The big challenge is that there will be a small retaining wall about 7' off our porch and there's about 3 feet between that and the fence. So I can't really fit anything between them still be able to get around it for maintenance. Plus that's where the utility lines are buried.
I think that's why I was leaning toward Junipers potted (at the top of the wall). I figure I can get them 5-6' and they will provide instant privacy and grow a bit for additional privacy. I just don't know if they will survive being potted or if I'm going to have issues on windy days.
They would need to be watered every day, things dry out fast here. Too bad the HOA has that restriction.
Limbwalker
New member
They will eventually get root-bound (making them slowly decline) in pots and are going to require a lot of water. The windy conditions we have so often here could also become a problem if they are upright junipers or cedars, but whatever you think will work for you (I dont know your layout). How about framing some Latticing in on the edge of your patio? If you wanted vines that grow fast, get Virginia Creeper... its aggressive as hell
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bofa
New member
That's very true. I'm not opposed to installing a drip irrigation system if need be.
Does maintaining the growth help mitigate getting root-bound or is that going to happen regardless? Yeah the wind here has been pretty strong so I could see it knocking potted pots over or off. That is definitely a concern. I thought about planting them right at the edge of the wall but would need some input on potential issues with that as well and get a good sense for how close they will end up to the structure.
I'm not sure I want to put anything on the patio. I'd really rather have that room to use and don't want to block the mountain views... just create a little screening between our houses.
I've been working this out in Inkscape - here's a quick look at what I'm talking about. The brown line is the 5' "privacy" fence (maybe for the lollipop guild) and I added in approximately where their patio is in relation to ours.
Limbwalker
New member
Kinda depends on how the wall was built. If its pretty short, theres a decent chance that it is free standing without drainage rock behind it which is fine to plant things in... if its more than like 3' tall, it may have geosynthetic fabric support under the surface which is not a big deal (just gotta be careful not to pull on it too hard, i.e. just cut a hole for the plant), but if there is a 1' area of drainage rock behind it, the soil will dry out quickly and will likely not have enough room to root in. The roots will grow regardless of pruning in a pot
bofa
New member
Well, the good news is the wall isn't built yet so I should know for sure before I need to decide. I've been told it will likely only be about 2'-3' high.
Limbwalker
New member
Are you doing this yourself? under contract already? If not, I can refer you to my brother for an estimate if you want. I was his GM for 14 years, doing everything from $60k custom residentials installs to $1million commercials. He is slow at the moment, so PM me if you need a bid... he can incorporate anything you need
bofa
New member
The construction is under contract and should be complete in April. The landscaping is the only part still up in the air a bit.
I may need someone to finish the basement in a few years but we just aren't sure when we will get to that.
bofa
New member
I figured a good way to determine what I want is to describe some characteristics...
Privacy Tree/Shrub next to covered patio
-Evergreen
-At least 4-5' Starting Height
-8-12' Mature Height (or can be trimmed and maintained at this height)
-2-4' Mature Width
-Okay in full sun
-Okay in dry/semi-dry soil
-Non-invasive roots
-Roots that tend to grow down instead of out are a plus
-Not poisonous to pets
Shrubs/Grass to hide utilities
-Evergreen (I may mix some color between to break it up)
-3'-4' Mature Height
-1'+ Mature Width
-Okay in partial or full sun
-Okay in dry/semi-dry soil
-Non-invasive roots
-Not poisonous to pets
-If it can survive in a pot, even better
I think we are in a Zone 5 for hardiness and just above 6,000 ft. Dry soil is pretty common. The area by the utilities will be watered so I can hit the shrubs if needed. The area by the patio can be drip irrigated if needed.
We used to have some kind of thorny shrubs when I was a kid (Holly?). We used to have to rock-paper-scissors to see who would retrieve the baseball or football. I'm not sure it's worth the hassle for me or the dogs.
Privacy Tree/Shrub next to covered patio
-Evergreen
-At least 4-5' Starting Height
-8-12' Mature Height (or can be trimmed and maintained at this height)
-2-4' Mature Width
-Okay in full sun
-Okay in dry/semi-dry soil
-Non-invasive roots
-Roots that tend to grow down instead of out are a plus
-Not poisonous to pets
Shrubs/Grass to hide utilities
-Evergreen (I may mix some color between to break it up)
-3'-4' Mature Height
-1'+ Mature Width
-Okay in partial or full sun
-Okay in dry/semi-dry soil
-Non-invasive roots
-Not poisonous to pets
-If it can survive in a pot, even better
I think we are in a Zone 5 for hardiness and just above 6,000 ft. Dry soil is pretty common. The area by the utilities will be watered so I can hit the shrubs if needed. The area by the patio can be drip irrigated if needed.
We used to have some kind of thorny shrubs when I was a kid (Holly?). We used to have to rock-paper-scissors to see who would retrieve the baseball or football. I'm not sure it's worth the hassle for me or the dogs.
MtnT4R
New member
Dont forget to install a championship beer pong table before you rough everything out and ruin the opportunity :beer:
side note, my buddy has been growing hops on the lattice around his back desk and by his front porch, and those suckers grow like crazy. He harvests the hops every fall and packs the vines away, and replants in the spring. I'll have to grab a photo when he puts them back up next spring. looks really neat actually. Also awesome if you happen to brew your own beer?
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bofa
New member
I thought about it (love the smell of hops) but it's fatal to dogs if they ingest it.
WFO_Racer
New member
We used to have some kind of thorny shrubs when I was a kid (Holly?). We used to have to rock-paper-scissors to see who would retrieve the baseball or football. I'm not sure it's worth the hassle for me or the dogs.[/QUOTE]
If you have dogs then don't plant Curare vines , highly poisonous plants. Painful way to croak. Cartels use this to eliminate their targets.
If you have dogs then don't plant Curare vines , highly poisonous plants. Painful way to croak. Cartels use this to eliminate their targets.
