Tree suggestions wanted

My sister, in an unbelieveable stroke of luck, landed the gardening position with the premiere golf & CC in Eau Claire. They recently built a new club house at the opposite end of course from where the original building was, and there is a substantial amount of tree & shrub planting to be done this year. She's worked up a nice plan for the area around the club house, but is wondering what to do with an island near the main entrance. As you can see, it's surrounded by asphalt and will get pretty much full sun. It will not be irrigated and the soil is sandy and very well drained. Its about 50' in lenth, with the widest part around 30' and narrows to about 15'. She's looking for something that will provide seasonal interest, but yet be able to handle the exposed conditions and not require a lot of maintenance. She's open to all suggestions at this point, but she starts on Monday and wants to have this addressed ASAP. My suggestion was Crateagus, with 'Winter King' or 'Crusader' being likely candidates. She was thinking of going with a single larger specimen tree, but my feeling is it would look better with a grouping of smaller trees. What do you all think?

Here's another view of the island.

Metasequoia?

There's space there for both a specimen tree and some shrubs around its base. With sandy soil, my suggestion would be Quercus ellipsoidalis (Hill's Oak a.k.a. Northern Pin Oak). The shrubs will help protect the trunk from careless drivers who go over the top of the island. Maybe some Ilex verticillata (Winterberry) would be nice there.

Resin

Does the premier golf and country club of Eau Claire have a theme? Does the planting plan for the new clubhouse have a unifying element? See where I'm going...

I do appreciate the "...stroke of luck..." line.

It is more than a little hard to believe that the institution would invest in a new facility like a brand new clubhouse (guessing multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars) and not have a planting plan already devised for the whole project. But, it's not unheard of (but that is usually in government, where there's never enough $$ to go around and landscape is first to be cut).

This is really an overall design issue, more than a tree/shrub/whatever issue. With no irrigation available (but stated desire for seasonal interest and little maintenance), it almost sounds like a prescription for disaster.

If this island is the very first thing to be encountered by people coming to the course (before the smaller island with the signage), then it sets the tone. It doesn't need to be a collection of fun plants.

This looks like a circular kind of drive, with a turnoff to enter the club, right? A good planting plan ought to engage the edge experience as well as what happens in this big island and the smaller island with the sign, NOT do them independently.

Minimally, it needs to begin the experience that the golf course wants its clientele to have. I see a utility cover in the front of the first picture; is that for lighting, since you said no water? Site amenities like light poles, vehicular wayfinding signage, etc. (I see a mailbox in the second pic) all need to be accounted for in the planting plan.

Do I sound like a landscape architect yet?

When I think of golf courses and country clubs I immediately think if tall pines, that's all they use here.

The design she initially had to develop (and the top priority) was an area near the club house where they hold weddings and related events. This would be a mixed border type planting I suppose, and as hard as it is to believe, they are leaving this up to her. She asked my thoughts on a few trees to put in this area, but otherwise I really haven't spent much time studying it. I have absolutely no design skills and am in no position to critique her work. I personally think she may be in over her head on this, but she's never been afraid of making mistakes and she's moving ahead with it.

As far as your skepticism, John, I completely understand it. But, you should realize that Eau Claire is not Louisville, or maybe even Paducah. It's a pretty conservative area and while it may seem implausible to you, I'm giving it to you straight. Having said that, the company I work for held our regional agency meetings in the clubhouse last fall, and I'm guessing this building is pushing $1 million. You'd think they'd simply hire a landscape contractor to design and install, but I guess the modus operandi is to have the gardener design and the grounds crew install. I'm in no position to judge the efficacy of this, but as a LA I can see why you would question it. Now, can we move forward? Next time you're in the area let me know and I'll introduce you to their gardener. ;)

The island is actually a city (Altoona) owned street, but the golf course can plant as they wish within the island, except for trees that are specifically banned, such as Black Locust. Resin's choice of Hill's Oak is understandable, since that it the dominant deciduous tree growing in this area. What you see in the background is mainly NPO and Jack Pine. She wants something a bit more intersting than the NPO, but the Ilex sounds like a great idea. The Metasequia is probably a non-starter due to its marginal hardiness in this area. I've got one (Ogon), but I don't think I could recommend this in good faith.

Bob

I would add another element of criteria. With vehicular traffic surrounding this island you want good visibility in all directions across the island from the driver's view. I wouldn't reccommend an evergreen but a deciduous tree that would allow the canopy to be limbed up.

Cotinus obovatus? I don't know the hardiness zone of the planting area.

Resin,

That seems a bit sarcastic, but I'm OK with that. Yes, I'm well aware you knew it was the dominant deciduous tree in this area. I was simply replying in a general sense. Hill's Oak can be a pretty nice tree, but they do not always age gracefully, are very susceptible to wilt, and she has already told me she wants something different. :)

I keep forgetting that Maacki is from the warmer climes of WI. Conifers need not be either fat or tall, they can be dwarf and definately will add winter interest to the group. Ken

All my statements above were intended to stimulate a holistic approach to the design/planting situation. There was no intention to besmirch. Not being afraid to make mistakes is good, if supported by the institutional hierarchy. I get to do that all the time, especially if I fix them and they don't cost anything. Except during elections.

Moving Forward!

Sandy and very well-drained soil with no irrigation -- that makes me think very drought tolerant plants, kind of like what you have described having to deal with on your property. True?

Winterberry seems like it might be borderline, potentially a sightline hazard unless grouped modestly in the middle, and not much seasonal value when folks are golfing. It would sure show up well in the winter, though. I'd vote for that as one of the edge effect species, to bring the woodline down to street scale. In big drifts, in the wettest spots.

Winter King hawthorn might similarly obscure views, so it too might best be used to reinforce the arc of the exterior circle. It certainly offers more seasons of interest with flowering and good persistent fruit; use it in the higher drier places.

Dwarf conifers...ditto. You have got a great list for the strolling garden being developed for the great circumference of this entryway.

How much money they got? Beaver Creek's got 4" and 5" caliper KY coffee trees; that'd make a statement. Big ginkgos, too, which would make a different style of statement. What about a big purple European beech (sure to make Resin scream).

In that wide open an area, typically institutions like this want immediate effect. If permanence (oak-like) is desired, then Quercus alba, Quercus bicolor, Quercus macrocarpa, or Quercus muehlenbergii have the massive spreading crowns which could anchor that center in time. Beaver Creek lists all those species in the 4" to 6.5" range. One could risk one great specimen, and hope it thrives....or mass 3 to 5 individuals in a grove where loss of one or two wouldn't be the end of the world. These are all white oak group members; I think they are less prone to wilt. Don't grow fast, though.

I'd bed the whole thing out, so you have no turf competition or mowing damage to the trunks. An underplanting for additional seasonal interest would guarantee that the soil would remain regularly worked for a free root run to help the oaks establish. That could include a bulbous season; perennials; and some short or cutback shrubs.

That wasn't so hard after all.

Hi Maackia,

Sorry for being testy...I apologize.

The dryness of the soil will depend on the year. I guess a bur oak would be the best species for a dry area since bur oak is very drought tolerant.

A yellowwood would look superb there, but a yellowwood wouldn't like the dry conditions.

I like the Kentucky Coffeetree suggestion also.
Mike

What about an American Elm or maybe an Acer Nigrum. I would check to make sure any tree used there has some degree of salt tolerance. To me that road just screams tons of winter salt, with plow drivers throwing it and whatever snow is in their way all over that island.

Viburnum, landscapes don't get cut on my projects in government. I should have some nice pics for ya this fall of a design I did to be put in with a new cul de sac. Guess what, its conifers baby. My site is a little more protected than the one in this thread. Also got a nice Carpinus going in elsewhere. I'm gonna throw that guy doing the tree inventory for a loop.

Willis

Thanks to everyone for your ideas on this. There's a lot for her to mull over and hopefully it will make her decision making a bit easier. Several things were flushed out that I certainly would not have considered, such as edge effect, peripheral arc, and visibility/siteline hazards. Snapple, I like the idea of Smoketree and if up to me I think I'd somehow work it into the picture. It would seem to have everything she's looking for. The only concern I have would be its long-term viability. We're way north of its native range, and I'm just not certain it has proven it can handle our rigorous climate over the long haul. Mine is doing quite well, but I've only been growing it for a few years.

Just one more question before I put this to rest. It sounds like most of you would lean towards a single large tree such as Bur Oak, White Oak, or KCT rather than a grouping of smaller trees. While only the White Oak is reliable for decent fall color of the three, I think any of them would make a great choice. Furthermore, she's got enough budget to work with that she could spend several hundred dollars on a single specimen to make a more immediate impact, which I think would be important. My question is would it make design sense to plant two trees in the island? In other words, a larger specimen towards the back (i.e. wider part of island), with a smaller ornamental tree in the front (i.e. narrow section) of island. I often read that trees should be planted in groups of 3, 5, etc., but wouldn't this be a situation where maybe two makes more sense? Anyway, thanks again for all your ideas.

Crabby Bob

Hey Bob (who is always misunderstood) we have large long established Smoke trees in Evart Michigan. They are more bush like but over 5" diameter and 20+ ft in height. They do well there.

Yes, Steve, that's it...I'm just misunderstood. I'm not familiar with Evart, but I see it's in the central part of lower (?) Michigan. Is that your boyhood home? I'm guessing its z5 and a bit milder than up/over here. Cotinus is an option, but It'll be her decision to live with.

Bob, I like your thinking on the grouping, but I have what is possibly a dumb question? The sign that is already there appears to be behind the island, wouldn't that need to be visible?

I also like the suggestion of including winterberries, as they look great with fountain grass, which is already planted by the sign, and should definitely be repeated. I second the Washington hawthorn, see your winterberries, and raise your fountaingrass. Your deal.

Just a thought here, have no ide a for a tre e but won't it have to be somethign on the evergreen side and not messy. Who has to do the clean up and ya don't want people's car or feet stepping in somethign messy.

starlight, If it was Hawthorn, you definitely wouldn't want to clean up under it. But it is a golf course, they have an entire crew of people that live for maintenance. I don't think the customers would ever walk around out there, it would just be for show, like a planting at a mall.