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Evergreen Trees and Shrubs Just as we long for a bit of green in midwinter and put an evergreen up inside for Christmas, we also want to see that bit of green outside all winter when shades of brown and straw dominate the landscape. Given our wind, dry climate and soil types, here are some reliable beauties for your yard.
Upright, yet spreading and flat-topped (now that’s an oxymoron!). Foliage is the soft-scale type (not prickly like common pfitzer) bright blue-gray in color. Handles wind and when established, drought too! This native sport is not an imported disease and damage–prone selection. This is a big bold statement of a shrub perfect on a slope or for privacy without blocking out the sky like a tree. Windbreak and screen.
A distinctive, densely branched pyramidal selection of our native limber pine. It’s branches display long twisting blue-green needles with a light blue line on the undersides, very pleasing visually. We’ve been holding off introducing this beautiful selection for fear it was not suited to our conditions, however after years of seeing this tree grow in adverse Wyoming conditions, we feel strongly it has the metal! A great replacement tree for Colorado Blue Spruce . Like other pines, it will not perform well in slow to drain heavy soils.
This has its origins from the North Dakota Badlands, a dry windy exposed setting, making it one of the most hardy ground cover junipers on the market today. It has beautiful dark green to blue-gray foliage with blue cones. A perfect addition near drive way entrances, you never have to prune to see over the top. It is good along patios and a way to step down from higher perennial plantings.
Pinyon Pine (Pinus cembroids edulis) New! This pine natively edges into Wyoming near Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Sweetwater County. This is a tree that is as tall as it is wide and with multiple branching from ground level to the top makes this tree to be an excellent specimen in a windbreak or as a visual screen. Attractive cones are bejeweled with pungent pitch and delicious edible seeds. Perfect tree for exposed, hot dry locations, will perform poorly in a traditionally watered landscape.
Wichita Blue Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum ‘Wichita Blue’) This is a cultivar of our native Rocky Mountain Juniper that withstands drought and high winds once established. It has attractive feathery, silvery-blue foliage on an open pyramidal form. Excellent for windbreaks and visual screening.
Height Width Shape Zone Watering Sun 16 to 20 feet 10 to 12 feet Irregular pyramidal 3 Full Sun
Establishment Establishment is the time frame during which a plant is spreading its root system and becoming balanced in the ability of top and roots to support each other. A one gallon container grown plant will take about a year to establish. Woody shrub plants in a 3-to 5-gallon container may need two years to become truly established. Container-grown trees follow a rule of thumb of one year for transplanting and an additional year for each inch of trunk diameter. In five years time, the container grown tree will look better and possibly be bigger than the Balled and Burlap that has struggled trying to get established. One property comes to mind where the protected front yard got big balled and burlap Canada Red Chokecherries and the windy backyard got 5 gallon container grown Canada Reds with both on the same sprinkler system, and 10 years time, the backyard trees are big and still look better than the ones in Front!
Killed by kindness Unfortunately conifers can actually drown when over watered. Clay soils do not allow water to drain off and roots are cut off from oxygen that they require. Pines are particularly at risk of drowning if planted in soil that does not drain or low spots with standing water. For tight clay in hot sunny and windy sites the Junipers and Mesa Verde Spruce are good choices. Wichita Blue, Table Top Blue and to a slightly lesser degree Cologreen Juniper are your best selections for extreme wind conditions and in clay soils. Follow our guide on watering for establishment and pay extra attention to be sure that the tree or shrub is not standing in water before more water is applied.
Winter Watering Even though we consider the evergreens to be some of the toughest plants, they are not totally dormant in winter and continue to lose moisture through their needles year round. For establishment purposes we recommend watering new plants monthly in dry open winters. Water established plants once or twice a winter depending on soil moisture and temperature. Our water is hard, focus your attention on the roots and not on the foliage! Newly planted deciduous trees and shrubs should be watered once or twice a winter.
Rain Gauge Throughout this site, the following are used as guidelines for watering established plants:
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Table Top Blue Juniper (Juniperus Scopulorum ‘Table Top Blue’)
Vanderwolf’s Pine (Pinus flexis ‘Vanderwolf’)
Blueberry Delight Juniper (Juniperus comminus depressa ‘AmiDak’
These plants need regular watering somewhat like a bluegrass lawn so that they never dry to depth in the root system during the active growing season and need occasional winter watering to prevent root dessication and resultant plant death.
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