How bad are deer and rabbits? Rabbits nearly killed my Aronia melanocarpa.

tj

Deer yes but they tend to stay outside the yard except for those darn bucks that manage to hit a tree before I get out there!

Rabbits not so much. Too many coyote and hawks in the open space around me.

Turkeys yes...they stole my crop of hybrid oak acorns this year.

No Cornus florida or Cercis? I'd certainly want a few of those.

Nothing evergreen? (And I mean evergreen, not necessarily conifer.)

I like Laceyveil’s suggestion of Cercis. The Minnesota strain from Bailey’s has been hardy here for me.

Is C. florida hardy in your area? I have one Cornus kousa that dies back every few years and I will eventually need to remove it (the other is fine) but you may find some C. florida that will work, IDK. They are on the edge of hardiness here like the kousas. They offer flowers, fruit, and glorious fall foliage. Consider also Cornus alternifolia, pagoda dogwood, which has short season clusters of spring flowers, summer fruit that the birds and critters love, and peachy autumn color and won’t have any issues with hardiness for you. I also love the gold early spring glow of Cornus mas. I know that red-twigged dogwoods are common as dirt in many parts of WI, but I still love that red glow in winter. If you don’t have them occuring naturally, I would definitely add a mass or two of them. I do find that voles love all the Cornus that I have tried and killed several, so if you have severe vole infestations, you might want to only grow those that sucker enthusiastically to improve likelihood of survival.

I would never plant another Viburnum dentatum. Mine, Blue Muffin, was not attractive in any way - no fall color, poor flowering, densely twiggy in a way I found unappealing and extremely disfigured by Viburnum beetles so that the leaves always looked like Swiss cheese. It was in a shrub row in a fairly out of the way spot, but I shovel pruned it after 4 years (and I rarely remove things for under performing) because it was just so totally homely in all seasons that it detracted from the neighboring plants. I have at least a half dozen other types of Viburnums, both cultivars and two types that occur naturally on the property, all of which I love for flowers, fruit and fall color, but IME dentatum is a dud that was seriously over-hyped by the nursery industry.

Many of the plants you are considering occur naturally in my woodland which is old pastureland, ungrazed since some time in the 1940’s and is well drained, acid, fine sandy loam. I have native Hamamelis virginiana and have added one H. vernalis and I like both. As discussed on the marcescence thread, they are far more attractive if you find ones that drop all their leaves. I especially love the clear yellow of the H. virginiana foliage in fall, which will stand out from a distance, and many of mine have a beautiful branch structure that provides winter interest if placed against a backdrop where that can be appreciated. The flowers of both are best appreciated from close in.

I like both the hornbeam and hphornbeam that you are planning on. The hop hornbeam seed clusters are ornamental from across the back field in early summer and I like the slightly shaggy bark. The hornbeam/musclewood has a nice winter form, beautiful trunks and bark, and good autumn foliage.

Both Aronia and Corylus americana grow here as well. I like the flowers, fruit, and autumn color of the Aronia, but the Corylus isn’t anything I would plant for any reason other than wildlife food, though the very early spring catkins are interesting from very close in. I rarely see fruit since it is removed by the critters even before it fully develops and there is no autumn color at all. If you plant it for wildlife, consider putting it in an out of the way spot since the structure is a bad hair day of dense twigs. I am happy to have it here because it is native and I have acreage, but I don’t think I would choose to plant it as part of my view.

I will also add suggestions:

I second the idea of at least some evergreens which will provide shelter to wildlife as well as contrast to the deciduous plants. I doubt that any broadleafed evergreens will stand up to WI’s almost constant wind in winter in such a relatively exposed spot, but surely there are some conifers you can add that will be deer resistant.

Fothergilla has glorious fall foliage and sweetly scented spring bloom that the pollinators love. If it does OK with your soil I would recommend it, though mulch to help even out moisture for good bloom and fall color will help. Several of mine are planted in an area of quite clayey soil and are happy there.

Physocarpus/ninebark has ornamental bloom and seed capsules and there are a bunch of cultivars with red or gold foliage if you want some variety to your summer color. Choose mildew resistant types.

You also might want to consider Amalanchier/shadblow/serviceberry for early spring bloom, fruit, and fall color, and any of the native birches in your area.

If you are looking for a lower shrub, you might also consider the bottlebrush Buckeye. Spicebush is another native, but I'd have to check if it's Hardy enough where you live.

Spicebush/Lindera benzoin is one shrub that I planted because I like the really early haze of its blooms (I grew up seeing it in Ohio) and the stunningly bright yellow-gold autumn foliage plus it’s a good wildlife plant. Unfortunately, it’s likely not quite hardy enough unless whaas can find a locally adapted source. In the 9 full winters my two have been in the garden, they have been severely damaged by cold twice and needed a lot of pruning out of dead branches. They really don’t respond well to winter temperatures below -20F IME, even just for short time periods, though they have regrown each time.

I don’t have bottlebrush buckeye, so I don’t know how hardy it is in the cold end of zone 5.

Lacey, good call on Cercis. I have access to small Columbus Strain that I can plug into a the dry locations. Generally Dogwood doesn't do well in my soil type. I have a one C. kousa that does OK. Cornus alternifolia does alright so I can put that on the list with at least one Cornus mas.

floral, I'd love to plant broadleaf evergreen but there isn't a single one that work for me. At best I could get away with Taxus. I do have a variety of spruce, pine and fir in the forefront there. Gpod suggestion though to get some evergreen in there.

NHbabs, I'd agree Blue Muffin is one of the worst Viburnum cultivars out there. For a dwarf variety Rasberry Tart is superior and then Red Feather for a larger grower cultivar is close to the perfect cultivar. Thanks for the reminder on Viburnum beetle. I need to dial back the use of this genus in general I'll have to use more Seviceberry as one particular species does well here. Love Fothergilla but can only perform in a more moist east exposed site. I'll certainly get the H. paniculata in there for the are that has a bit more moisture.

Are you aware of any mildew resistant ninebarks? I've only had success in mostly full sun with good circulation otherwise the mildew is a sure bet. I

Vaporvac, bottlebrush buckeye is a good one. I'd do more of a mass planting (hard to find and expensive) if I could but still plan to use it in the more moist sites with H. paniculata.

Thanks for all the suggestions! If you have more would like to hear them. The tricky part is hoe to lay out such a long linear line. The plant don't have to be native they just need to perform in dry, windy, neutral soil. Drainage is out of this world. It literally can rain 7" and I can plan within 2 days.

Right, I clearly don't have much conception of how cold it gets there. BLEs of many kinds are standard fare here.

The fall color is the only thing that keeps me here! I suppose I will move one day somewhere west or east. Need somewhere with low humidity, ample precip, mild winters, mild summers with stunning fall color and widespread evergreens among the hill or mountains. I wonder if a such a place exists.

I

Is too dry for Sambucus, Cornus Mas, Parrotia or one of the Doublefile Viburnums? Excuse me if these have already been mentioned. I could send you seeds of C. Mas. It's been planted in my garden since the 1920s and makes a lovely little tree if left to its own devices, but can also be trimmed to a lower hedge. The berries make great jam if you can beat the birds. I also grow a really nice spreading bush dogwood called a Dwarf Red Osier Dogwood. It's really pretty and I think it's hardy up your way.

P.S. you might consider NC or Ky, but Wi is beautiful and Ky isn't exactly dry.

Gray dogwood Cornus racemosa, blackhaw Viburnum prunifolium, Fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica and Bayberry Myrica pensylvanica would likely work in your conditions. Perhaps not the most ornamental but nice for filler and wildlife.

Thanks for reminding me ... I forgot to include Rhus. Bayberry is lovely plant.