HI;

I am in Neenah, WI USDA zone 4. Our soil has a fair amount of clay. I am on a large city lot close to 1/2 acre. In my backyard my primary trees are:

Mature (47 years) Norway Maple

Mature (47 Years) Green Ash

Curly Willow (47 Years)

15 foot tall Autumn Blaze MapleI also have some smaller willows, birch trees, Jap Maple, etc but they don't contribute a meaningful amount of shade.

I have a collection of nearly 50 varieties of Hosta's. I need some more shade, with warmer days, some of them have started to suffer.

The area I need to plant in gets about 1/2 a day of light, primarily afternoon / evening sun. This may not exist, but I would like to find a tree that grows very well with this semi-limited amount of sun. I'd prefer to plant a container grown tree, there is no way to get a spade into this area. I could wait till fall and plant a tree that is dormant if I need to. As tempting as large trees are, I know that studies show the smaller trees do better in the long run.

I have quality nurseries nearby that I can purchase locally grown stock from.

I'm tempted to try some Niobe willows that I found dirt cheap, but think there may be too little light for them to do well.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Jamie Dolan

Neenah, WI