I recently tore out an old burning bush close to the house, and I wanna replace it with a pretty evergreen that is a nice Christmas tree shape. The thing is, it can't get over 10-12 feet high as there would not be room for it. I've been looking at spruce but can't find anything. Any ideas?
know of any small evergreens?
The alberta spruces are nice. They hold their shape well and are slow growing.
The are also many types of arborvitae that also have a good Christmas tree shape.
Just be sure to allow room for growth. I would plant both of these no closer than 4 feet from center of the plant to the building foundation. 5 feet would be better
All conifers grow forever- the ones that "stay small" do so because they grow so slowly, not because they magically stop at 10 feet. When you look at a conifer listing it will give you an average "growth in inches per year" and multiply that my your remaining years on earth and that is how big it will get in your lifetime.
What happens if it gets too tall?
Will it hit something?
You don't want to plant anything under the eaves as they will not get adequate rainfall and spider mites love that dry plant material.
And please leave room to walk between it and the house as it grows- homes need maintenance and plants need air circulation.
Are you wanting a conifer or a broadleaved evergreen?
Color? Texture?
What is the sun exposure?
Companion plants?
i personally love the look and texture of junipers, although i dont grow any
Thanks so much! New to Dave's garden and already such good advice! No companion plants that I wouldn't cut out to make room! I really just want to be able to decorate it for Christmas! I would say the spot is partial shade, but it DOES get really good sun all morning long! I have been searching the web, and now I know to look at inches per year! That's a huge help! Also, if I can figure out a slow grower that I love I can expand the beds to be further from the house, but not too far because of the Maple trees (that I hate BTW)! I have holly nearby and I am trying for a beautiful winter garden. Bulbs in front and mums and Lillies as the very front border, so that the front of the house can look beautiful all year round! Soon I won't even have to mow the lawn because there won't be any grass left LOL! Thanks so much again for your help! If you have specific plants I could look into that would be great too!
When searching you should also use the word "dwarf"
Klehm's has a great dwarf conifer selection
http://www.songsparrow.com/2012/searchnew2.cfm?pagetype=search&type=search
i just picked up sester's dwarf spruce and it get's 10ft and is a pretty blue.cost me $149.99 for a 3 1/2 foot tall though but worth it! this tree has front yard written all over it.i wanted another dwarf pine but $350.00 is to spendy for me.dwarf's=$$$
Since you already have some holly in your yard and you want winter interest, I'll mention Ilex opaca (American Holly). It's considered a small tree, but it definitely grows taller than what you're looking for. Still, it has spiny-toothed, evergreen leaves and a beautiful pyramidal shape. My reference book says that it grows from 15-40 feet tall, but that here in zone 6, it rarely gets over 20'. (And in part shade, I would guess that it doesn't reach even that.) If you search for different varieties, there might be a smaller one available--don't know. In any case, it's stunning.
Search the PlantFiles for key words relating to the plant you want.
'Nana' or 'nanus' always means small. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher[common]=spruce&searcher[family]=&searcher[genus]=&searcher[species]=&searcher[cultivar]=nana&searcher[hybridizer]=&searcher[grex]=&search_prefs[blank_cultivar]=&search_prefs[sort_by]=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search
'humilis' means dwarf: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher[common]=spruce&searcher[family]=&searcher[genus]=&searcher[species]=&searcher[cultivar]=humilis&searcher[hybridizer]=&searcher[grex]=&search_prefs[blank_cultivar]=&search_prefs[sort_by]=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search
You can enter these in either the cultivar field or the species field and come up with a whole group of plants that do not get very big. (just change the common name to pine, cedar, juniper...)
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