Currently we have Sky Rocket Junipers and Balsam firs planted around it but both have not been doing well.

==>>>

in what sense??? .. other than presumably ... that they are growing in tree time.. which is not fast enough for this project ????

the trees and stuff i planted to hide the children.. are finally doing their job .... unfortunately... my daughter is 22 now ... lol ... and the boy just turned 18 ... so much for that plan ... lol ..

im thinking you most immediate solution is a few more of the vertical 4 x 4's .. and elevated wooden fencing .... if that is allowed ...

whats the shrub behind the jungle gym??? .. that seems to have given height .. faster than your conifer/trees ...

ken

Thanks Ken. Unfortunately two of the three balsams died (the third has a terrible shape), some of the Sky Rocket Junipers died completely, and the rest have whole branches that are dead (very back corner). Part of this is due I'm sure to chlorine from pool overflow ( plan on hard-piping backflush pipe this Spring). However, we had planted Arborvitaes in the same location before the pool was built and they too died. Not sure why we have so much trouble with this location (rest of the yard we have no problems).

Unfortunately we can't build the fence much higher (5' max) but I am in the process of rebuilding it now.

I am not sure what the shrub behind the jungle gym is....a neighbor gave it to us years ago.

I was wondering about this project recently. I am shocked that these are current pictures because they look little different than pictures from years ago. It's necessary to diagnose why the tree/shrubs did not do well in order to prevent it from happening again. Do you dig down and check the soil moisture level periodically to get a sense of whether it would be leaning either wet or dry, outside of the norm? If it does to any extended length of time, that could make a difference. I have no guess about the chlorine issue. Also, are the plants getting a reasonable amount of fertilizer during the growing season? If not, it's another reason they could be languishing. Any guesses as to what condition might be out of the ordinary?

Thanks Yardvaark! Great to hear from you! I will take more pictures of other (more successful) parts of the yard as we are all working/schooling from home and no kid athletics to go to.

I do know that the soil in this area is a bit more wet than in other areas of the yard as there is a storm drain in the back corner. I suspect this is what the Arborvitaes didn't do well (not sure how moisture affects them). On the Junipers/Balsams, it very well could be a combination of the moisture and chlorine. We have a balsam in the front yard that I transplanted 15 years ago when it was 2' from northern Wisconsin that is now 15'+ feet.

If too wet, where you wanted the larger evergreens, consider Taxodium distichum, bald cypress. It looks like there's room not behind the pool, but behind and to the left side where it is more open. They would look best as a fairly tight group of 3 (two in the back row.) They look evergreen but are not. In the winter they have a very lovely silhouette formed by a network of dense branches. Eventually their canopy would spread wider but it would be quite some time away. When your kids are in college. Where you need large shrubs, winterberry might work as they like moist ground, so long as your soil does not lean alkaline. For actual plant recommendations, consider contacting the closest Extension Service, as locals would know what plant perform well in the climate.

Thanks! Is there a quick, inexpensive soil test I can have done/do to determine what the issue might be? I had a soil test done by Logan Labs done back in 2014 for the front and back yard (combined). Not sure if that would help.

That just tells you about soil chemicals and not about drainage (or drought) problems. Otherwise you might consider having a consultant make an on site visit after the pandemic diminishes to view and discuss your situation in person. Garden coach, garden consultant, landscape consultant - somebody using such a title.

The closest County Extension Service can usually do soil tests (for a fee, on a set schedule). As said, it will tell you nothing about moisture conditions. You have to periodically, over a span of time, dig test holes and peer into the soil with your own eyes and fingers in order to see if soil is staying too wet too long, or too dry. (Wet is more likely.) If you can control the source (pool?) that is the solution. If you can't, then you have to pick plants that accept the conditions you're offering.

If the soil is neutral to alkaline, and wet or moist behind pool, a better plant might be possumhaw grown in the shrub (with foliage to ground) form.

And you didn't answer the question about fertilizer yet.

Thanks to both of you. These trees (Junipers and Balsams) weren't receiving regular fertilization. However, the arborvitae before them got fertilizer from the lawn fertilization (they were surrounded by grass at that time).

Also, I have to be careful as to what we plant to be sure they aren't poisonous to dogs. We are getting a new puppy in a few weeks.

In my experience, fertilizer, a couple times a season, is useful for new plants because they have not well tapped into nutrients of the surrounding soil. Sometimes, if they don't get it, they languish. Later, it's less necessary. If a tree or shrub is in a lawn area, and that's being fertilized, it's enough.

There are lots of poisonous plants in the common landscape, but the actual incidence of children or dogs being poisoned is so low to be nearly non-existent. I think it is a non-issue.

Thanks! Any thoughts on trying a row of arborvitaes again along the back? Maybe building up a small berm for better drainage? Or possibly nishiki willow bush?

For screening, N willow bush seems not tall, so it and arborvitae aren't remotely close in nature. I'd be reluctant to try something you previously lost, unless conditions will change. You have to determine the cause of problem first. Can it be corrected, or do you need to adapt the plants to it ...? Learn if the soil leans acid, alkaline, or neutral.

On an unrelated subject, do you recall we once discussed increasing the number of trunks on a tree, I think in relation to some redbuds you had? As an example, I then posted a picture of a crape myrtle that I flat cut to the ground for the purpose of increasing trunks (it was stubs in the dirt), with the objective in my case of going to the max in number of trunks. (I think you were after a half-dozen or so main trunks.) When I cut the crape it had about 15 trunks. It came back with about 45. Since then, I've never cut any that developed as the tree enlarged. A few more came from the base, but mostly they branch as they grow taller and I've kept them all. There must be 125 (just guessing) at the top now. It reached about 11' height at end of last year. I will cut to 10' which is where the permanent canopy will begin. There is still lots of canopy below that now, but it is being contained mainly within the trunk profile. As the canopy grows ever larger, above 10', what remains below will gradually be removed until it is nothing but bare trunks. (This tree is at my mom's place in a snowbird mobile home park.) At some point, where trunks abut one another, they will fuse into a single, solid mass, which I look forward to seeing. Hope I am not Corona'd away before then. I'll add another picture after it leaves out, which has recently just started. (To now, though it has canopy, it has no permanent head yet. It will be on top of what you see.)

Yardvaark......I do remember that discussion and you are correct, it was concerning the redbuds (great memory!). The crape myrtle looks great!

On another note, I ordered a cheap soil test from Amazon (Luster Leaf 1601 Rapitest Test Kit for Soil pH, Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potash). I figured it would give me a ballpark idea on soil issues. I tested the soil where the junipers were planted and found the following:

pH - Between 7 and 7.5

Phosphorus - Low

Nitrogen - Very Low

Potash - Low

I'm assuming fertilization and wet soil from the pool are my main issues. I plan on fertilizing and routing hard piping to drain for pool backwash/overflow issue.

There are a couple of other areas I need help with:

This area is along the back of the yard (between the pool on the right and the obstacle course on the left). Eventually someone will build on the lot right behind us (although I've been saying that for years). The balsam in the picture is scraggly and needs to be replaced and there is a pile of brush that needs to be burned. The double-leafed viburnum to the right (right next to the pole) died off a year or two ago but is coming back this year.

I had a couple of Japanese maples planted between the river birch on the left and the dogwood on the right but they didn't seem to like our winters.

Thanks again!

For this area, consider oak leaf hydrangea. It gets pretty big, so only a couple of plants needed. Clean up trunks of river birch by stripping off any branches that occur below the top-of-fence height. Don't worry that some of them extend above the fence and you'll lose screening. Eventually, as branches above get longer and heavier, they'll hang back down. (The trunks, especially of left tree look great.)

This is the concept. But I don't know what it is. :-) Anything in the neighborhood that might work?

Given that you have mulched area that's been weed free for some time, it shouldn't be difficult to establish groundcover that is weed free. Would look so much nicer than mulch.

nishiki willow is an aggressive fast growing shrub. It will get 6’ in just a couple years. It’s root system is invasive like most all other willow.

Oakleaf is a bust is colder zone 5. Only get flowers in mild winters. Limelight is a popular fast growing shrub. Another one that can get close to 6’ in just a few years.

Nishiki willow sounds very big for under the birches, but like a good option for the back fence row -- kind of fat, so one row. Another possibility instead of oak leaf hydrangea is Wiegela.

Thanks to both of you! Just to clarify, there are river birches to the left and a pagoda dogwood to the right in the area where Hydrangeas/Wiegela is being recommended. Here is a picture of the "grove" of river birch Yardvaark suggested years ago. It's one of our favorite parts of the yard:

We have oak leaf hydrangea planted in the back left corner of the yard. They have never gotten very big and I think they almost died after the severe 18-19 winter:

Here are a couple of other areas of the backyard. See my "Landscaping Ideas for Backyard" post from years ago to see how it evolved.

Lilacs to the side of our back deck to provide privacy

Redbud "grove" on other side of back deck

Since my son's travel baseball season (and all his athletics) are currently on hold I'm getting a lot of yard work done!

Any suggestions on ground cover? Our neighbor gave us some sort of perennials with white flowers years ago and it's kind of taking over.

Thanks again!