Evergreens
- Thread starter Jdk
- Start date
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I like blue spruce and native cedars.....but primarily due to their resistance to being deer salad. Arbor vitae are basically a route to having a permanent black plastic fence there too because the deer will devour it. I really like when neighbors use orange plastic construction fence to protect their arbor vitae....nice look.
I like blue spruce and native cedars.....but primarily due to their resistance to being deer salad. Arbor vitae are basically a route to having a permanent black plastic fence there too because the deer will devour it. I really like when neighbors use orange plastic construction fence to protect their arbor vitae....nice look.
We have had good luck with Black Hills Spruce
https://www.gurneys.com/product/black_hills_spruce
https://www.gurneys.com/product/black_hills_spruce
Eastern white pine and Norway spruce are nice looking trees that grow well in Iowa. White pine grows pretty fast. They will need protection from deer until they are 6' tall or so.
Eastern red cedar is native to Iowa, tough as nails, and is a good choice if you are planting in poor soil or near Black Walnut trees.
Canaan fir seems to grow well in Iowa. A lot of Christmas tree farms are growing it.
Avoid Scotch Pine and Austrian Pine if you want something that lasts more than 20 years. Both varieties get a fatal disease at age 20-25 called Scots Pine Wilt. There are no good treatment options.
H
Norway Spruce is great but sappy, and can get huge-curb appeal may be wanting but newer varieties are compact with striking form. Fast growing!
White Spruce is highly desirable especially if you are doing windbreaks (limbs to the ground)
White Fir is an absolutely a beauty and does well as a full specimen (limbs to ground).
Black hills Spruce is a cultivar of White Spruce that is good.
All the above are deer resistant and have a track record of enduring Central Iowa Climate.
Blue Spruce, and ancillary cultivars of it, do best in NE Iowa and even there it can be problematic. "Blue Spruce" is derived from a species originally from the dry West. It can endure Iowa humidity to a point but as they age become ratty and in some years may need some special watering and soils/nutrients. Most people don't live in a home long enough to see those cute little trees start go bad (15-20 years of age). I have every tree above in my yard.
White Spruce is highly desirable especially if you are doing windbreaks (limbs to the ground)
White Fir is an absolutely a beauty and does well as a full specimen (limbs to ground).
Black hills Spruce is a cultivar of White Spruce that is good.
All the above are deer resistant and have a track record of enduring Central Iowa Climate.
Blue Spruce, and ancillary cultivars of it, do best in NE Iowa and even there it can be problematic. "Blue Spruce" is derived from a species originally from the dry West. It can endure Iowa humidity to a point but as they age become ratty and in some years may need some special watering and soils/nutrients. Most people don't live in a home long enough to see those cute little trees start go bad (15-20 years of age). I have every tree above in my yard.
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By "Cedar" do you mean eastern arborvitae AKA northern whitecedar? In Iowa Arborvitae don't get browsed by deer so much? Here in Central Wisconsin deer eat them like candy (high in vitamin C in the dark of winter). Great Tree for Midwest and it does best in lawns which are irrigated or naturally rich and moist.
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I'm sure he's referring to eastern red cedar. Arborvitae are deer candy in Iowa too.
On Edit: I see where you note your Cedars are native to Iowa which means you are talking about Junipers. Which are great wildlife food/cover and very tough.
Deer have hammered our baby Norway Spruce the last two winters. It doesn't seem to be their first choice, but they eventually hit them.
H
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Many young spruce and pine get browsed as the soft young needles can be eaten by deer. Mature trees are too tall but still can suffer on lower branches. As the needles harden and age the deer would have to be near starving to browse them.
There are reasons blue spruces are not a native Iowa tree.....heat, humidity, soils (they need high acid).
I have a bunch of eastern red cedar. They are not necessarily beautiful, they can have odd shapes. But they are absolutely bulletproof, they are like the tree version of creeping charlie. Good bird habitat, the female trees have the little blue berries too. And they smell nice!
