As some of the most robust and enduring species of trees, evergreens are often used by gardeners and landscapers to add beauty and variety to their landscape designs! Below you will learn about evergreens and why they can be very valuable to your Midwest landscape design!
What Are the Best Trees for Landscaping?
Before we dive in specifically to talk about Evergreens, we can summarize a few other trees that are great for any backyard. Ornamental trees can provide beauty and natural shade to your yard as providing a natural resource for local wildlife.
- Dogwood – Dogwoods grow pretty much anywhere in the US and has nice pink and red leaves during spring and fall.
- Sugar and Silver Maple – Maples can provide height, shade, and color in a short amount of time, growing quite large in as little as 5 years.
- Weeping Cherry – These beautiful trees bloom into pink blossoms and fill a nice amount of space
- Red Oak – Great for back yards with lots of space. Grow quickly and very tall to provide plenty of shade.
- Eastern Redbud – Redbuds bloom in spring and provide beautiful, pink and red blossoms.
- Crabapple – The crabapple tree goes through many colors throughout the seasons and are a sustainable food source for local wildlife!
What are some Good Small Evergreen Trees?
Small evergreen trees require very little maintenance throughout the year and are a great choice for practically any landscape. Because of their compact size, dwarf evergreens are easy to plant and require very little pruning. Dwarf evergreens also do not root very deep or far, so that they can exist in smaller spaces and are more versatile! Some of the best evergreens in this category are: Mugo Pine, Balsam Fir, Serbian and Norway Spruce, and Pencil Point Junipers.
What is the Fastest Growing Evergreen Tree?
The Murray Cypress can grow up to 4 feet a year and can reach heights as tall as 40 feet widths as wide as 10 feet, making them great plants for natural wind barriers and privacy. The Green Giant Arborvitae is another fast-growing evergreen that can become quite large, quite fast. It’s conical form can become dense, rich, and green very quickly. This makes them exceptional landscape trees, as they are often used as screens, ornamental hedges, and natural windbreaks, as they become quite strong and hardy once properly rooted and do not succumb to heavy winds, snow, or ice.
What Are the Best Evergreen Trees?
The criteria for what makes an evergreen “best” is very subjective. However, here are 6 evergreens that are very popular and versatile in your landscape design:
- Douglas Fir
- Eastern Red Cedar
- White Pine
- Concolor Fir
- Norway Spruce
- Leyland Spruce
What Tree Stays Green All Year?
Evergreens do! It’s in the name! Pines, spruces, cypresses and so on all remain green throughout the year and can provide much-needed color in the dreary, monotone winter months.
What is the Hardest Tree to Kill?
Once again, in general, evergreens are some of the hardest trees to kill. The hardiest evergreens are going to be trees like the Colorado Spruce, Australian Pine, Juniper, and Arizona Cypress. Each have their pros and cons, but generally evergreens are versatile, hardy, and beautiful year-round and are a great fit for almost any landscape
If all of this seems overwhelming and confusing to you, however, perhaps you’d like to remove all the guesswork and have the help of a professional to provide you with a treescape that fits your tastes and landscaping needs. Landscape Architectural’s design team is perfectly suited to the task, and can design a landscape for you with just the right amount and kind of trees your yard needs!