hey

i got rid of all my Wichita blue junipers due to tip blight .. in adrian MI ...

ken

copy/paste this link also:
http://www.google.com/search?q=witchitaw+blue+juniper&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#sclient=psy&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=dlG&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&source=hp&q=witchitaw+blue+juniper+tip+blight&aq=f&aqi=&aql=f&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=c3bb86640ae08969

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Yeah, I saw the comments about Wichita Blue in other threads. Oddly though both Bordines and Wiegands nursery folks seemed to indicate that in their opinion that Wichita blue junipers were no more disease susceptible than other plants......of course they are in the selling business but in the past, they have been upfront about the drawbacks of some of the other plants they were selling.

Any alternatives you would suggest with similar size/color?

hey

ask them if they are willing to provide a lifetime warranty if they are so sure ...

how about you reduce it to just two of them ... instead of 6 ... that way.. if they fail... then you dont lose both your corners ...

there is a fastigate picea pungens... see link .... you get a blue spruce.. without the massive footprint of the regular ones .... and again.. i would not want 6 of them ...

i will keep trying to think of other blue things to fit into the design ....

ken

ps: whats that window all about.. lol ... i remember that patio ...

Here is a link that might be useful: link

That Girard nursery link is surprising. It states that height for Iseli fastigiata is only 6ft. Surely that can't be right. Maybe at 10 years if starting with a tiny plant?

Funny you should mention cutting down the number of Junipers in the plan. Wife and I was just saying the same thing. In the right side of the plan, we don't care as much about the privacy so I am thinking of now planting a viburnum near the burning bush instead of the junipers. At the other corner, I would plant either 2 or 3 of the junipers.

Would love to get a spruce with a smaller footprint but budget is limited. I would end up with a 4-5 foot plant which would take years to get to a size where it would actually give me any privacy. On the other hand I could try to combine the faster growing junipers with the spruce in between but that might look odd for a couple of years till the spruce catches up.

Perhaps just plant two junipers there and the extend the bed towards the house and plant a small Sester's dwarf there?

Oh and I'm still hoping someone can help answer the raised bed question. We have clay soil so is it enough to plant arborvitae/juniper/conifers with the rootball half above soil (as landscaper #1 suggested) or do I need to have a raised bed (landscaper #2).

Since the bed would extend all along back of yard #1 is worried it would impact drainage while #2 wants to address this using buried pipes.