Need suggestions on replacing trees

[brian]

I am planning on removing the two trees and the Euonymus Fortunei that are in the left side of this picture. Any suggestions on what to replace them with would be appreciated. Thanks and God Bless, Brian.



[img]http://i292.p[IMG]http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm19/brianscooby123/IMG_0543.jpg[/img]

[MaineDesigner]

Brian, can you give us some measurements to work with? Are there windows you don't want to block above? Are you sure this is true north - it seemed brighter than I would expect for true north in the pictures of the euonymus.

[brian]

do these pictures help out a bit. I would like to let as much light in the windows as possible. The front area faces almost north so it only gets late afternoon sun, it looks bright because the pictures were taken at around five in the afternoon. Thanks for taking the time to help. God bless, Brian

[MaineDesigner]

Tough spot. How far off the ground is the bottom of the window frame? The only conifers that have much prospect of being happy in that amount of light are yews and hemlocks. Yews are the easier of the two but a bit of a cliche' as a foundation plant. If you either leave them fairly natural looking or prune them in the Japanese tamamono style they can look quite nice. Some of the smaller rhododendrons might work if you have well-drained, acidic soils. Clethra alnifolia 'Hummingbird' or 'Sixteen Candles' could be an option but they are slow to leaf out and tend to look at a bit ratty in May - I use them frequently but I usually site them farther from the house and major walkways unless I'm working with summer-only clients.

[MaineDesigner]

Brian, now that I've seen pictures of your trellis I would recommend replacing it with something sturdier and probably larger if you decide to plant a woody vine like honeysuckle. It is fine for herbaceous vines or something like a clematis that blooms on new wood but it is not permanent or robust enough for woody vines. You want something made of rot resistant wood where the smallest members are at least 1" x 1" and larger would be better. Some people use PVC pipe or copper tubing but I'm not very enthusiastic about either material.

[brian]

As you can see, The decision has been made! I got up this morning and had a burst o energy and poof the trees were gone. I hope things are a little clearer now, amazing the goodies you find in the hidden areas of your yard! Any suggestions would be appreciated. I caught what you said about the trellis and I am thinking of building one out of 2x2 cedar, what do you think?, possibly in a rectangular shape. Anyway God Bless and have a great day!

P.S. I am curious about Rhododendrons for this location????
I am also a little embarrassed to say that the front of my house
does not face true north as i had thought, i used a compass and it is exactly half way between north and west, imagine me not being able
to figure that out in the true north strong and free as our national anthem puts it.

[MaineDesigner]

Brian, 2" x 2" cedar would be excellent for a trellis. Just be sure you space it out from the wall behind it far enough to get an arm back there - 6" is the minimum I would recommend and 9" - 12" would be better. You need to plan ahead both for pruning from the back side and for any maintenance the wall behind it might need since honeysuckle (if you select that) can live for decades and grow to be both large and unwieldy to move.

The northwest exposure is good news and bad news. In the case of the vine it is good news since honeysuckle doesn't do very well in deep shade. For rhododendrons it is mixed news. Most of them like some sun protection in the winter. If they are not in direct light until 2:00PM or so they should do well. Remember that shadows will be significantly longer in the winter. They also don't really like exposure to strong desiccating winds but I gather you are in a town so that should help. Among rhododendrons options might consider 'Pohjola's Daughter' (one of the Finnish hybrids, it grows to about one meter tall and has pale pink/almost white flowers), Rhododendron yakushimanum and yak hybrids, 'Manitou', and Rhododendron mucronulatum. Seek informed local advice since I don't really know your location. Rhododendrons need acidic, very well drained soils with lots of organic material.

[brian]

Thank you so much for the advice. I will look up those varieties of rhododendron and will check to see what varieties are suggested for my area. If I end up building a trellis I will post a picture. Have a great day and God Bless, Brian