OT: Arranging Hemlocks In My Garden

Carl_Bergstrom

Hello, everyone,

A plea for advice:

Inspired by the following (non-bonsai) hemlock arrangement at the Pacific Rim collection, I've been wanting to plant a trio of mountain hemlocks in my own garden.

Attached Images

prb_hemlocks.jpg (55.1 KB, 149 views)

Advertisement

Carl_Bergstrom

This fall I managed to find three nice collected trees at a decent price. Here they are, in the planting position that I am considering.

Attached Images

hemlocks.jpg (55.6 KB, 146 views)

__________________
In love with trees

Carl_Bergstrom

Now my question for you:

Any hints or suggestions regarding the arrangement (in general or better yet, specifically pertaining to these three trees)? How does one do this sort of thing in a garden instead of in a pot? It feels all the more daunting because I know I won't be repotting every couple of years...

Thanks in advance,
Carl / OMC

__________________
In love with trees

bonsaial1

They look way too close together and a little close to the sidewalk. These trees will equal out in size the first year you plant them probably. They are great looking trees though!

Bonsai-al

__________________
I been kidding the last seven years.
no.... really!

Earl

This is very rough but I would consider something like this: biggest tree in back but slightly off center to the corner; smallest tree close to big tree and only slightly off to the right, with the #2 tree further away. I guess I'm saying real similar to the first picture but dealing with the corner. Maybe some ground cover and a nice rock or two as part of the planting.

Are you planning to keep them trimmed down so you can keep them closer together? Or are you going to let them grow to humungous?

Earl

Attached Images

hemlock.gif (797 Bytes, 135 views)

Carl_Bergstrom

Al and Earl,

Thanks for the suggestions.

Both the trees at the Pacific Rim collection and those in my garden are mountain hemlocks, so my understanding is that they are extremely slow growing. According to Sunset Western Gardens, they'll grow to 20' to 30' max. According the folks at the nursery, it's be decades before they see anything much beyond 10 feet.

Al, they're already futher apart than those lovely ones at the Pacific Rim - you think further still, to give them room to grow out?

Earl, I like the layout that you suggested! I was hoping to keep them pretty compact and close to one another - again, using the Pacific Rim grouping (which perhaps you remember - it's right outside the entrance) as a loose model. I'm told that one doesn't actually need to trim them back much to keep them that way, but I'll have a chance to ask Dave DeGroot in person at our next club workshop.

Best regards,
Carl

(By the way, you guys are great! What did it take you - less than 30 minutes to answer my post? Drawings and all? Amazing!)

__________________
In love with trees

bonsaial1

If there that slow, you may be OK. I am not that familiar with the tree since they would fry in about three days down here. I plant everything farther apart, since I have been burnt before with the "too close together syndrome". Most people plant stuff right next to thier home or next to a fence, never realizing that the tree will be twice as big in maybe five years. 20" a year should be pretty easy to handle.

__________________
I been kidding the last seven years.
no.... really!

Carl_Bergstrom

Al,

Thanks for the advice.



No kidding. This is why I have to cut out a couple of Japanese maples that the previous homeowner planted in a very narrow space alongside the house. (And why I have to go up on the roof every year to cut back the birches before they shade out the skylight).



Good! I think that these will be lucky to get even 6" a year. At the far left edge of the frame you see a 8' tall one in my neighbor's yard; this has gained only about 3' in a decade.

All the best,
Carl

__________________
In love with trees

TreeBay

If you could mound the soil up a little in that corner, it might be nice!

Regards,

Matt

__________________

Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today!

bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!