I’m preparing to do a planting bed,dimensions are 8’x 20’.I’m putting in some Heller Holly…euonomous (sp?)…Rhodedendrons…mostly acid loving plants.I need a tall shrub or tree(10-12’at maturity) to set it off.I think something of that height but narrow at the base would look great.Maybe a pine or spruce of some kind.Any suggestions?((I live in northwest NJ…the bed will get full sun until 3pm in summer…winter lows average in the teens))
Rich “G7SUBS”
You might want to check with local landscape companies about dwarf trees that do well in your area. Several fruit trees come in dwarf forms, most notably cherry trees which have a nice spring flower to it. Likewise, there are dwarf flowering crabapples, dwarf redbuds and other things. You might also ask about althea and magnolias. I’d steer clear of most 8-10’ shrubs since shrubs tend to get as wide as they are tall, or at least fairly wide in general. A 10’ viburnum means a 8-10’ spread most of the time and trimming one up looks… erm… stupid. Stick with single stem trees if space is limited.
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
I totally left out evergreens. Certainly a dwarf spruce or pine might look nice there. There’s a great blue spruce cultivar called “Baby Blue Eyes” that I believe tops out at 12-15’ Nice icy blue color to it as well. It still might get wider than what you’re looking for though. Most conifers grow in pyramidal shapes, so that’s what you get. Well, there are “upright” evergreens, but they look better suited for hedges and screening then as a specimen plant in the focal point of a bed. Again, I’d stay away from “topiary” conifers… you know, the spirals, pom-poms and the like. They require a lot of maintenance to keep them looking that way, so if that’s not your thing… well, you get the idea. Of course, I never really liked the way they look anyway.
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
Pines…Pines…Pines…my vote is for pines. Pines love acid soil. Falling needles provide a protective acidic mulch. It’s a natural choice.
Hey, Joph, I got another question for you.
I have one of those #@%&%# female ginko trees right in front of my place. Every fall it drops its malodorous fruit, and we all have to make extra-sure that our feet are wiped before we come inside, so as not to trail that baby-vomit odor in with us.
I would like to saw off the limb that overhangs my stoop, making my sweeping chores easier. The big bastard is budding now. Have I missed my shot at it until next November? If I hack the branch off, will the whole tree wither and die?
Uke
Go to the nursery where you are going to buy the tree & ask them. They are going to know what you can grow there.
(1) Ike, nope it won’t die, though you probably won’t be doing it any favors either. If it’s an otherwise healthy tree and isn’t suffering from any lack of water, fertilization, etc then it should cope fine with the loss of a single limb. I have to advise though not to use that black tar you see people putting on trees over cuts or scratches. In my experience (and that of other horticulturalists I know) it actually causes the cut to heal slower since the new tissue has to push through that mess. As long as it’s a clean cut with no tears, it’ll be okay. If you’re concerned about insects or the like, use trunk wrap over the wound and remove it towards the end of the season.
By the way, I hope that tree was there when you bought the place. Anyone who’d knowlingly sell someone else a female ginko without warning them about it has no place in the business.
(2) Handy, you’re pretty much right on there. However, do try to find an established nursey Rich. Home Depot, Builder’s Square, Sears Hardware or whatever else isn’t really the place to get horticultural advice. Hell, I used to work for Frank’s Nursery & Crafts which was (in name anyway) a nursery center and the people there still had no clue and would pawn off whatever since they wouldn’t admit they knew nothing. Besides which, nursery plants tend to be in much better shape and are commonly handpicked from growers as opposed to being shipped en masse from the district office. Do some reading, call around and support your local nursery.
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
Where I used to live, I wouldn’t think of making any major move in the garden without consulting one of county extension agents. If New Jersey has an extension service that provides horticultural advice you might speak with them. They are less likely to recommend whatever tree is overstocked than are employees of a nursery.
Ive got around 30 years of experience with landscape work. First, look around the neighborhood to see what grows. Second, visit the nursery & ask them what to plant & compute one & two and youll have an answer.
Wow - lots of green thumbs in here. Maybe you can help me too…
You know those cheap landscaping lights that you buy in a kit? I bought some and want to install them, but I’ve run into a snag. I will need to get the low-voltage cable under my walk in a number of places. Obviously I will minimize the the total number of crossings, but I will still have to get under the concrete path at least twice.
How do you do it?
Jophiel:
It’s a Brooklyn street tree, about sixty feet tall. I’d assume it’s been there for at least forty years. My neighborhood has quite a few female ginkos; they’re popular here because the air pollution, acid rain, broken dreams, and general malaise don’t seem to affect them.
It gets watered when it gets rained on, and I don’t think it’s ever fertilized (it’s actually coming out of the sidewalk in front of my neighbor’s brownstone…he says to go ahead and chop with his blessing, as long as he’s not standing under it).
If you were in my shoes (wipe your feet!) would you have at it right now, or wait until the first autumn frost?
Another thing: I don’t have any sort of fancy tree-surgeon saw. I’m planning on standing on a stepladder and using an ordinary carpenter’s saw. When the branch comes down, I’ll probably lose my balance and be thrown heavily to the sidewalk, breaking several bones.
Should I reformulate my plan, or just wait until your next trip to NYC so you can watch?
Uke
Heh. I’ll go ahead and WAG that a street tree in NYC gets watered AND fertilized several times a day.
(1) Ike, you make a good point which is that the ginko is well nigh indestructible in some respects (pollution, drought, reflected heat, salt) and so I wouldn’t sweat it too much. Do try to keep the bark from tearing when you cut the limb off though, since a strip of torn bark invites insects, fungi and other problems. If it does tear, at least try to clean off ragged edges with a sharp knife then wrap the whole mess in trunk wrap. A basic saw should be fine as long as the blade is sharp. You could invest in a basic pruning saw, but if this is the only live wood you ever plan on cutting in your lifetime I guess you don’t want to buy one for a tree you hate 
You mention that it’s a street tree – if it was planted by the city, you might want to consult them as cutting it might have some legal repercussions. Then again, you might want to not call them and hope they don’t notice.
(2) Yeah, I don’t know how New York’s various extension offices are, but in Illinois they tend to be a bit under-staffed and over worked. And more worried about agricultural issues than landscaping queries. Of course, I take your “overstocked” comment with a grain of salt and a smirk; the company I work for currently has hundreds and hundreds of large trees in stock and I know from experience that by September, we’ll probably be still be getting in truckloads at a time to try to meet demand. “Overstocked” isn’t a word we use.
(3) Sdimbert, sorry but I only know my plants, not electrical and concrete work.
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
Hey, Jophiel, when/where did you work at Frank’s? Was Kurt Levy still picking up his winter tropical “specials,” shipped d’rec’ to the stores each February? Was Dave Schwartz still in the organization?
Tom~
Goodness, it was ages ago. Worked at the Frank’s in Woodridge, Illinois at 75th street & Janes. I was there from about 1988 through 1994 (although the last few years I was in college, so I only worked winters and summers). Dave Schwartz sounds familiar, but it’s been too long to recall. The main thing I remember about the houseplants is finding them laden with tree frogs, 15" slugs and anoles.
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
Hmmph, kids. I was in Birmingham, MI and Rochester, MI in 75-77. Dave was my manager (back when Birmingham was the highest grossing store in the chain) who got promoted to buyer.
I learned a lot there–such as: avoid a career in retail.
Tom~
Your local extension agent should be a good source of information–in urban areas they are much more attuned to horticulture than agriculture.
If you do have a problem with the local extension agent not being able to help, look on the web for the nearest land grant university. The university is the headquarters for extension and there will be specialists for horticulture that can give you advice for free.
For those of you who don’t know about land grant universities, they have a three part focus: teaching, research, and extension. The original purpose of the land grant institutions was to focus on practial needs of the populace–engineering, agriculture rather than things like religion or law like the private institutions. Research was oriented towards practial improvement of lives of citizens. Extension was the third arm of the university to provide a bridge for research to be disseminated to the common people to improve their lives. You pay for extension with your tax dollars–use them!