Help me identify a roadside evergreen tree... (1 Viewer)

[David Lawson]

Anyone who lives in my general area (Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, West Virginia, etc.) should know what I'm talking about.

What specific evergreen tree grows on the roadside rocky hillsides that have been dynamited to make way for the road? They pretty much grow straight up, like a tower. The shape is similar to a Moon Glow Juniper, but it's a much darker shade of green, and gets much taller:



They seem to be a good candidate for poor soil conditions, which is my primary concern. Something that grows straight up without much "spread" would also be ideal, since it will be planted somewhat close to a wall. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Jay H]

Some kind of Arborvitae?

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/forestry/...arborvitae.htm

You can trim them to make them as skinny as you like...

Jay

 

[andrew markworthy]

David, I mean this in the nicest possible way, but have you got the colour balance right (it's just that you say it's a much darker shade of green abd the tree looks quite light coloured)?

If it's quite dark, then I would hazard a guess that it's a Leylandii. They gained popularity in the UK because they are fairly 'straight up' with little spread, fast growing, and like a lot of soil types. They're also quite dark green. You can have a good-sized (10 ft or more)hedge within a couple of years if you're lucky. BUT: the snag is that they keep on growing and growing and growing. If you've got a large enough garden, this is fine, but in the UK where we generally have much smaller gardens then you guys (e.g. in most modern houses a garden longer than 20 ft long would be considered big by most people) they not only dwarf the garden but cause serious problems for neighbours by casting a large amount of shade and even interfere with TV reception. Following several neighbour disputes which led to court cases to have the trees lopped (and in one case a murder - we Brits take gardening seriously) the government issued restrictions on how tall you could grow a hedge and Leylandii became something of a dirty word amongst Brit gardeners. However, if height is going to be an issue for you, provided you cut the tops back when they reach the right height, you should be fine. The only thing I would caution is that any tree planted near a wall is usually bad news (tree roots and wall foundations are usually not good partners). I'd strongly advise you get expert local advice. You don't state the reason why you want the trees, but if it's to cover up something, then there are plenty of fast-growing bushes and climbers that might do the job that will thrive in poor soil (though equally, if you dig in some decent fertilizer you can of course improve soil quality).

 

[Kevin Hewell]

Okay, I know squat about trees but I've always been told those trees are a "cypress."

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

The "Italian cypress" is the one you want as it's relatively tall and skinny. Here's some discussion about it: http://www.botanik.uni-bonn.de/conif...mpervirens.htm
http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plan...pervirens.html

 

[David Lawson]

I think Dennis is right, but I appreciate the other guesses. I already have two Emerald Arborvitae in the yard, and I have looked into the Leyland Cypress. As Andrew said, they do grow much too tall (50'+). Thanks for the responses.