That is a shrub not a tree. Are you wanting them to have a clear trunk?

A clear trunk isn't necessary. I was thinking an Amur might work with pruning, but I'm 65 and would rather plant trees/shrubs that don't need a lot of pruning for a six-to-eight foot dense canopy. I also considered Shoal Creek Chaste trees, but they have an open, airy habit.

One of the Hydrangea paniculata cultivars trained as standards or multi-trunk might work. They just need deadheading at some point over the winter and light shaping. You are not going to keep any tree at six to eight feet easily.

Thanks. I hadn't considered that. I have grown tree form hydrangeas and they just might be sufficient canopy to keep my hostas shaded.

You are a little to far north but depending on the micro environment of your area, you may be able to grow one of the hardier varieties of Crepe Myrtle. The can be trained into "trees" about the size you are looking for. In fact I have seen them in the exact situation that your are planning.

Dogwoods, Service berry -- might get a bit large eventually but not so fast that I'd worry about it. Some varieties of viburnum can look like small trees (especially doublefile viburnums, with lower branches removed). Dwarf varieties of fruit trees might work also.

eta: Japanese maples

Alternately, if you need to shade a 5 foot wide bed, have you considered a shade cloth or lathe screen structure of some sort, until the trees grow large enough?

Thanks for all the advice. I decided to remove the hostas, all 24 of them, and move them into shady sites where they belonged all along. I am taking suggestions for the plants to replace them. The beds are five feet wide and sixty feet long. I'm considering Curly Tops Moss Falsecypress, but wonder if it would look strange or wonderful to have a line of Christmas treeish, i.e. pyramidal, conifers.

"I'm considering Curly Tops Moss Falsecypress, but wonder if it would look strange or wonderful to have a line of Christmas treeish, i.e. pyramidal, conifers."

Less than wonderful but maybe not strange as much as boring :-) 60' feet of the same dwarf, shrubby conifer is a bit much. And 'pyramidal' is a bit of a stretch for these slow growing, lumpishly mounding shrubs. Any reason why a mixed shrub border would not be more desirable?

Another caveat is that this cultivar - a sport of the Boulevard cypress - shares the same tendency for unattractive browning of the foliage as Boulevard does. They rarely stay looking good for very long.

just about any maple.. will be a problem.. in the long run with aggressive roots that will compete for water .. and hosta love water ...

large hosta like elegans can take 5 to 7 years to mature to the size you note .. unless they are already to size ...

no tree stops growing at some magical height.. they all have a predictable annual growth rate.. and they just keep going and going.. and conifers are trees ...

most things that will stay smaller.. as noted above.. are shrubs pruned into more of a tree form.. but even those will need pruning to keep them within you demands ...but a shrub that can get to 6 feet rather quickly... is not going to stop at 6 feet ...

zone is predicted minimum low temp on the coldest day of winter.. it tells us nothing else .. and z6 is about half the US.. and very divergent in other plant culture variables.. how about a big city name ...

and a pic would sure help us understand the situation ...

ken

I live up the coast from Portland, ME. I'll try to upload a pic later today.

GardenGal, this garden will be my third and likely final garden. My first garden was a spilled 64-box of Crayola crayons. I laid, i.e. I didn't hire anyone, four patios and rose quartz and curving Herringbone paver pathways. I built raised limestone beds and had hundreds of flowers, as well as architectural elements from old homes. it won my city's competition for best garden in the garden show.

My second garden was woodland, covered 1.5 acres, and was featured in a couple magazines. I used native species and it fed a lot of critters.

This third garden will be something different, a garden of multiples. For example, the driveway is lined with Paperbark Maples and the Japanese portion of the garden is back-dropped with Emerald Green Arborvitaes. In the past, I've had pathways lined with various plants and I want something different simply because you only live once and I've never had a restrained garden.

If that is the aesthetic that appeals to you for this garden, great!! But pick something other than the Curly Tops Sawara cypress.....I doubt you will be very pleased with them long term..

I agree, gardengal. I won't use the Curly Tops.

Since they won’t need to shade the hosta, what dimensions are you looking at?

tj

wonder why the forum page says 13 replies.. but this post page says only 5 ...

i swear i answered earlier.. and its not here????

it was because i wasnt signed in.. until i posted the above.. go figure ...

i like the image of spilled crayons ... sounds great ..... wish i could have seen it ....

ken

Plant a 60' row of one of the Hydrangea paniculata cultivars. That is 8 shrubs. A picture from "up the coast from Portland, ME" could confirm that diagnosis.

Ken, here's part of the Crayola garden. I photographed it from my roof, but you still can't see the orchard, the patios, the secret garden, and the tea garden. You can see some of the architectural elements, like the cement column from a Victorian mansion and two cast iron columns on the far right.

TJ, I'm now thinking about three feet high by five feet wide. Another important number is 65, my age. In ten years, I'll be 75, so whatever I do today can't require a lot of work in a decade. I will post a pic soon, but be warned, it'll be a photo of a construction zone.

We lost another three feet of height for this tree.

Christopher, I think you missed the post explaining that I'm yanking the hostas and no longer need a shading tree. I'll be planting bushes to replace the hostas.

No I did not miss anything and have been following along. Did you miss my suggestion for a row of Hydrangea paniculata?

An off topic comment. I am 77 years old and still do my own gardening. I trim all of my trees (I have about 0.2 of an acre that is left to go "wild"). I mow the rest of the 3/4 of an acre. I rake the leaves and do the spring clean ups. I also help with my wife's multiple flower beds,

Point is that unless some thing significantly affects your health, being 75 is no reason to give up gardening. The only difference is you do it a little slower and take a lot of breaks. The breaks are really an excuse to sit in a lawn chair in different places in the yard and enjoying what you have accomplished

I'm heartened to read that you're still gardening, krnuttle!

Thanks for the suggestion, nickel.

I'm in my mid 70's as well and I still do almost all of my own gardening too, only calling in some assistance when something is beyond my capabilities - tall tree pruning or removal, moving things that are too heavy for me to manage, etc.

In addition, I also have a long time garden design and consultation business, so I help others garden as well.

Both of my parents gardened well into their 80's. Being physically active in the garden helps to keep you fit and flexible and for women, can counter the aging effects of osteoporosis as well. And what it does for you mentally and emotionally is incalculable!!

Like you, gardengal, I'm happiest with dirt under my fingernails.

I finally photographed and uploaded the project. I'm going with boxwoods and annuals. All the hostas will be moved to shady sites and since i have five acres with most of it wooded, I have plenty of shade.

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