slender, evergreen shrubs that don't lean to the sun

13 years ago

My spot is about 18 in. by 4 ft. with the long side perpendicular to the house. I hope to plant it with something slender and about 6 ft to hide the patio seating area from a large storage box. It has a SSE exposure and I'm afraid anything with any height will lean into the sun. I saw some nice Hetzii juniper that I could top when necessary. Do you think they'd lean? Or any other ideas?

Featured Answer

teri2
Original Author

13 years ago

Following up my post of 4 months ago, for anyone with a like problem. I eventually planted Nandina domestica and crossed my fingers. After a full season's growth, they made it to about 30" and filled out nicely. They do lean into the light just a tiny bit. You wouldn't notice it at all if you weren't looking for it. I can live with that.

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
do you want shrubs or coniferS???

regardless.. it is not possible to guess about the light levels in your particular spot.. and how any given plant will respond to said spot

give it a go.. and see what happens

ken
Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
13 years ago
It is a basic biological function of plants that tolerate/require more light to grow toward the light. Just as it is a basic biological function of plants that do not tolerate light to grow away from the light. I suggest finding another criterion for planting-avoiding.

Dan
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
what i meant was....

i have glasses that darken in sun ...

they also darken in very bright shade ....

and i have been in shade so deep.. that i cant see out of my glasses ...

the word 'shade' is not descriptive on the level of light in your spot ... other than to say the sun is not shining on your plant..

some shade.. the bright shade.. will let a plant grow straight up..

the grotto ... the dark.. will lend itself to leaning..

again.. how anything will do in any given shade is all dependent on how bright it is in that shade in your garden.. with that house there.. etc ...

ken
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
13 years ago
Here are a few suggestions, but you'll have to look them up and see if they work in your space:

Boxwood 'Graham Blandy' - very columnar
Podocarpus macrophylla - would need shearing
Euonymus japonicus 'Green Spire' - very cool columnar plant
Camellia sasanqua or similar - would need shearing
Ternstroemia japonica -- would need some clipping
Tea Olive (Fragrant Osmanthus) - would need training
Euonymous 'Silver King' or 'Chollipo' - nice leaf variegation - would need clipping.
One of the upright-growing lorapetalums - would need pruning
teri2
Original Author
last year
For anyone who happens to run across this - 12 years after planting 2 Nandina domestica I think of it as one of my smartest (or luckiest) choices. They do their job perfectly. I do have to prune the oldest canes to the base every spring to prevent too much height. I keep them at about 5 feet. Also, when the lovely berry clumps start to drop berries on the patio, it's time to cut them off.