Need to plant some trees

[Ironhorse]

I know very little about trees or tree planting.

I want to plant a couple of shade trees alongside the fence, for the dual purpose of creating some shade in the backyard as well as hiding the hideously unkept yard of the neighbour. I was thinking of getting some of those tall, skinny trees so that I can plant them close to the fence and not lose yard space. I already have a decent crabapple tree, but it is in the far corner of the side that I want to plant more trees on.

Can anyone provide some insight?

[GrrlGoalie33]

Whatever you do, do not plant trees over utility lines. The original owners of our house did, and we can't remove them now because they are planted directly over the gas and electric lines.

Well, we could, but it would cost an outrageous amount of money.

I think the tree you're describing is a Swedish Columnar Aspen.

[algernon]

I purchased 3 trees last fall from Blue Grass Nursery. One Micamac(sp?) Crab, One Choke Cherry and a Swedish Aspen. I dug the holes by hand, planted them, and watered until the frost came, and have been watering quite regularly this spring/summer.

They are growing and look healthy. They were quite cheaply priced ~ around $300 for the 3, as it was end of season. The Aspen is now close to 9', the crab and cherry over 6'.
I think the main thing is to plant in good soil and water regularly.

[Jedi Ninja]

I hve the swedish columnar aspens but if I were to do it over again, I might choose a different tree as the aspens are sooo overplanted right now, which could make them prone to disease.

[alltherage]

I would say probably dig a hole in the ground first. Once it is deep enough to cover the roots of your tree, put the tree in the hole. Fill the hole as much as possible with the soil you dug out to make the hole. Then I would say water the tree every day.

I hope that helps.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by alltherage

I would say probably dig a hole in the ground first. Once it is deep enough to cover the roots of your tree, put the tree in the hole. Fill the hole as much as possible with the soil you dug out to make the hole. Then I would say water the tree every day.

I hope that helps.

You forgot to mention leaf side up.

[Shazam]

Some other columnar/narrow choices:

- Pink Spires crabapple (not as columnar, but still nice)
- Purple Spire crabapple (very columnar)
- Prairie Sky poplar
- Tower poplar
- Sutherland caragana
- Columnar blue spruce (evergreen)
- Medora juniper (evergreen)
- Wichita juniper (evergreen)

[Jedi Ninja]

The Sutherland Caragana is a good choice, drought tolerant with an interesting growth habit and some winter interest due to its bark style and color.

The Iseli Columnar Blue Spruce are beautiful trees but they are slow growing and quite expensive.

Do Tower Poplars sucker? And do the junipers need sheltering from the Chinooks?

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Jedi Ninja

The Sutherland Caragana is a good choice, drought tolerant with an interesting growth habit and some winter interest due to its bark style and color.

The Iseli Columnar Blue Spruce are beautiful trees but they are slow growing and quite expensive.

Do Tower Poplars sucker? And do the junipers need sheltering from the Chinooks?

As long as they're planted properly, they do not sucker. You can make any tree sucker, actually. Just don't plant it at the proper depth, and watch the suckers grow!

Those junipers do not need shelter. Just water the hell out of them before the ground freezes, as with any other evergreen.