give us a big city location .. zone isnt good enough

does our ground freeze?

it doesnt surprise me that a cypress failed in z5 ...

how about a pic of the spot ...

ken

Reported hardy to zone 4, the yew should work fine but may need a little shielding from the worst of the winter wind. At least until fully established. Here's a link to a previous discussion on this plant from another cold climate gardener: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5707791/can-taunton-yew-still-be-planted#n=28

And the Lawson cypress is not a cypress at all (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) but zone 5 is borderline for this conifer selection. And to be honest, Lawson/Port Orford cedars are often plagued by root rot issues unless grafted to a resistant rootstock........

in my ground freeze MI ... and i will yell.. NO CHAM LAWSON LIVED MORE THAN A YEAR OR TWO ... PERIOD ... and i did try about 10 different ones when larry stanley was selling tiny cutting babes for a few bucks each ... it didnt matter where i tried to hide them on my 5 acres.. no micro climate made any difference ...

find something else.. imo ..

odds are.. the perfect plant will not be found at bigbox .;..

ken

btw.. chams.. and cypress are conifers.. which are trees ...

i am well aware they are commonly called shrubs.. but they should be watered like trees... ferted like trees [like never]... etc ...

in the gardening world.. common names lead to all kinds of problems.. when you dont fully understand what is being discussed ...

ken

Fertilization is a function of individual growing site conditions more than what kind a plant is - any kind of plant can be nutrient deficient due to problems with soil or irrigation water. So that there are extensive areas in the wild where native conifers would respond to fertilization, are instead producing poor foliage color.

I am near Chicago, the ground definitely freezes! Looking for shrubs for the back uppermost part of the bed (directly in front of the railing). We have winecraft black smoke bushes there now, and they are growing lanky (I think they need more sun).

Have you considered junipers?

Cecily i love Junipers! But this spot is in deep shade for all of spring and most of summer (maybe 3 hours of sunlight). Only late summer/fall it gets blasted with hot sun at the last part of the day that fries my plants. Is there a juniper that can tolerate shade?

Anyone have experience with “Winter Gem” boxwood?

You're going to plant the shrubs five feet in front of the railing, right? You need to leave space for their growth and access to maintain the house. So I don't understand how that location could be heavy shade. Winter Gem boxwood is going to bronze. Some gardeners don't mind that, some hate it so look at photos of bronzed boxwood before making a final decision.

USDA 6 is on the edge of where fall planting of all but the most cold tolerant plants is feasible as a routine procedure. With USDA 5 being over the edge. Otherwise a common reason for Cotinus to produce long unbranching shoots is the presence of more soil moisture during the growing season than these need. But there have been naturally compact named horticultural selections of smokebush coming on the general market in later years. Offering an alternative to existing varieties that are naturally larger- and more open-growing than is often suitable for modern tight planting situations where structures often fill up most of the building site.

Same emphasis on selection and introduction of genetically dwarf cultivars by commercial interests has resulted in an expanding assortment of other kinds of shrubs and even to some extent trees for small spaces. These can be looked for at local outlets during the growing season, when nurseries are fully stocked. And are easily spotted among more conventional types because they already look pruned for density on their own.

Box however I would be careful about because of box blight having arrived in eastern North America awhile ago, already spread all the way to the Pacific Coast. Favored by lingering dampness of the foliage it is worst on close-growing forms such as the previously much planted 'Suffruticosa' as well as closely sheared specimens. Such as those used for formal hedging. With the most affected plantings looking like they have been gone over with a torch.

imo... you are planting too close to the house.. and will regret any shrub or conifer you plant there.. unless you will be happy pruning or shearing them once or twice a year..

imo.. find perennial that will do the job ..

one trick is to walk the neighborhood.. looking especially at houses similar to yours.. and snap a few pix.. and ask us to ID the plants ... im sure you arent the first person with this design dilemma ... here or in the name that plant forum ...

ken

One of the blight resistant boxwoods would be OK (as long as the box tree moth doesn't arrive in your area any time soon). Winter Gem is one of the more blight resistant varieties, but may bronze in the winter as cecily noted. The NewGen boxwoods are resistant; NewGen Freedom grows slightly taller than wide. Taunton yew would probably be OK as well (assuming you don't have a deer problem), but would require a bit more trimming than the boxwood to keep it in bounds, and it grows wider than tall. One of the dwarf globe arborvitaes like Danica or Hetz Midget might also be an option (again, assuming no deer issues).