Trees survive on mountain sides with much steeper slopes than this. It may be difficult to plant or water. They will probably inset some on up-hill side and build up slightly on the other downhil side. (assume you are talking about 1 vertical to 3 horizontal)

Thank you, that's reassuring. I am hoping to be saved by landscaping here :) If it helps, this is a slope to a raised grade versus a berm which I think of as kind of a hillock. They are saving the topsoil of this former (sigh) meadow so some of that should be used in planting.

boy.. a pic would be worth a 1000 words ...

i see no issue beyond proper planting.. and PROPER WATERING ...

the only issue ... is how do you water on an incline ... and i solved that issue on my small hills.. at the link ...

after installation.. drip irrigation would be perfect ...

i dont get whether this is your property ... or all on the other side of the lot line ... and if it is.. what you have to worry about????

trees... put their roots.. where they need them.. to hold themselves up ... the only problem is usually US.. trying to put big TRANSPLANTS in bad situations ...

done right.. there is no issue ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Don't know about White Pine, but I have seen Virginia Pines growing on some pretty steep slopes.

I learned the hard way that just because something is growing on a slope does not necessarily mean it is in a dry area.

I have a slope in front of the house and plant a flowering tree about half way down. I thought "It is on a slope therefore it must be dry, I need to water it frequently". It died from over wateriing.

Before you do anything visually survey the land above the slope. Does it slope away from the cut at the back of your yard? Does the general lay of the land drain into your yard. Where is the water going to go around the nursing home. Are there bowls that would drain into the subsurface drainage and come out on the slope?

The point, is in my case, the slope was actually at the bottom of a small hill. About an 4 acres of the area above the slope drained down to the slope. Not only over the ground but in the subsurfaces drainage. So what seemed like a spot that was dry and needed watering was actually well water naturally. Even areas behind the house would soak into he ground and because of the subsurface drainage would end up on the slope where I planted the tree.

Hence the tree died from to much water not because it was too dry on the slope.

Yes, pines can and do grow on slopes.

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tj

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{{gwi:325932}} by Richard Peter, Deutsche Fotothek, Creative Commons CC-BY-SA license

A big part depends on the orientation of the slope. A south-facing slope can be difficult, in that not only does some of the water drain off, but the more direct sunlight a south-facing slope gets dries out much faster.

OTOH, a north-facing slope can stay fairly moist due to having more indirect sunlight all the time.

I posted previously in this thread but there is something I would like to add.

When planting on a slops, do not make the slope smooth. Every couple of feet coming down the slope make a mini berm and terrace. This will allow the slope to be mowed, but when watered or when raining, the water will not go charging down the slope eroding the bank. Each of the mini berms are small holding basin which allowing the water to sink in, not run off.

There can be a problem. This is what I did on my lot and at the end of the slope where the mini berm ends, I now have a slight erosion problem. The water comes down the slope and runs perpendicular to the slope against the berm. At the end of the berm the water is free to continue it trip down to the sea, and is causing a some manageable erosion.