This week, we’re taking up a question that’s a bit tougher to answer than in years past.
Q: I want to plant a narrow, columnar plant to either side of my door to frame it. Ten feet tall, no more than a couple of feet wide with trimming, what can I plant? I have full sun. Emerald Green arborvitae looks good, how about that? Or Sky Pencil holly?
A: Nature’s not bursting with incredibly tall but narrow shrubs that are handsome, and our local conditions are reducing the number of choices lately. There are still some good plants that will work, though.
The tall and narrow arborvitae that’s become so popular online, as well as Sky Pencil hollies, are no good. The sizes do fit the space, but neither holds up particularly well in our average summer sunshine and heat. The mortality rates on these two are gruesome, to the point that after trying them out ourselves when they first became popular, we no longer carry or recommend them at all. They burn in the heat. Those online ads about heat-tolerant arborvitae that you see all over plant websites are correct… if you live in Tennessee, Seattle, or basically nowhere around here. Our heat is far worse.
Italian cypress are plants we’re using less of now, due to a disease called seiridium canker. They take the heat, and we’ll still plant them, but they are more prone to issues now than ten years ago. They’re very tall plants that would require frequent pruning to keep in bounds.
Some good choices do remain. Spartan juniper and Taylor junipers work well, as well as any of the upright, narrow growing yaupons like Skyline, Will Fleming, or Scarlet Peak. Try one of those – they’re pretty, pretty tough, and pretty hard to beat!