Hi from Montana!

[j.w]

Hope so too addy. They came through our property this morning but got scared off by my hubby riding his bike. I love seeing them but not while they are eating my plants

 

[CountryEscape]

My girlfriend lives IN the woods, almost no sunshine, and she's a Master Gardener, so give all sorts of plants a try. her most difficult part of gardening is growing things the moles and deer don't like. She has problems with them eating all of her crocuses and hostas. She has tried all sorts of things to keep the plants safe, but they find a way to them anyhow. I sure don't have either of those "pests" here, but wish many times the deer would come closer and not be moving so fast when I do happen to see them out in the fields.

 

[mtpond]

My containers that I have my lilies in also have green algae covering them . Kinda surprises me that the lilies are starting to grow already.
I have the same problem with deer they eat most everything that I plant. The trees that we have planted that have leaves we have to put fencing around them. I have seen them on their back legs trying to reach the leaves on our apple trees. I would like to decorate around my pond with flowers and the different plants that I have seen around other peoples ponds but they wouldn't last long here. On our yard below our house we don't have to mow it much cause it has some clover in it and the deer come daily and especially at night and graze. I think we have more deer coming around our place cause as far as I know we are the only place up here that has water because of our springs that run year round.

 

[addy1]

My girlfriend lives IN the woods, almost no sunshine, and she's a Master Gardener, so give all sorts of plants a try. her most difficult part of gardening is growing things the moles and deer don't like. She has problems with them eating all of her crocuses and hostas. She has tried all sorts of things to keep the plants safe, but they find a way to them anyhow. I sure don't have either of those "pests" here, but wish many times the deer would come closer and not be moving so fast when I do happen to see them out in the fields.

We have never had the deer eat the hostas, the crocus, daffodils or trees like they have this year. I am putting up electric fence to protect the nectar friendly flowers I put in for the bees, the deer will inhale them.

 

[CountryEscape]

My sister that moved back to WI, planted a huge amount of trees on her 1 acre lot, many of which were destroyed within a month by the bucks that were coming into rut last fall. Told her if she wants her newly planted trees to survive, she will have to protect them, as their subdivision has tons of deer. She feeds them 50# bags of corn for goodness sake! I guess her thought is if she feeds them corn, they will leave her trees alone. She has fruit trees (8-10 of them), evergreens (spruce and pine) and a couple others. I see the deer keeping all of those trees nibbled off this spring, but time will tell.
I planted two apple trees here, one has had apples since first year (Gala) and the other not yet. I've hoped that the few apples it has had would entice the deer to come near, but guess my outside dogs would not allow that anyhow. So, there are some good points to not having woods nearby, and also having corn/bean fields surrounding my property (no moles), but I sure would like to have a nice stand of trees to the NW of my house to block the winds!

 

[callingcolleen1]

The wind drives me, especially if cold and damp. You can plant some treets CE that grown really quick, can't remember the names but my friend was telling about these talk trees that grow quick, she works at a greenhouse, I never remember the name, but I think if you ask around you could find a talk bush or group of treess and get them growning maybe. My fence that faces north, I lined the back with heavy plastic and then hung a black drape over that, and stapled it down, just so when I sit there the wind does not bug me!

the black warms up nice and quick too! That was my big free zone and the two corners are like that, it realky makes the wind go away nice!

 

[callingcolleen1]

here is a better picture, you can see the wind block corner and how nice and dark it is. I just did that in the inside of the fence to block the wind and warm me up, plus I get some privacy to tan and stuff. You could do a wind block like that too CE, just a cheap fence I made, and my aging old bones like to sit and warm up there. Life is so much better now by the pond, and wind does not bother me so much now.

 

[CountryEscape]

Great idea for your yard, Colleen. I would have already planted trees and so forth to the W/NW/N by now, if I had the space. My problem is that my house is fairly close to the road, which is W of my house, so my house faces west. Then, to the North is the drive to my barn, and I already do have several trees there, and one of the only large trees on my property that I like (except that the top was broke out of it in the past) is a white pine, directly north of my house. There is also my small barn to the N, which helps from that direction. The main winds in the winter come from the NW, and there is just no way to guard from that direction, as it's across the road, in the corn/bean field, and I don't own that. Ideally, there would be a nice stand of trees or woods in that direction, but I don't have that option. Oh well, no worries. I make do.

 

[j.w]

Maybe you are talking about Leyland Cyprus Colleen. We bought a bunch of those to line a border between our back neighbors property and they grow really fast. These trees are deer resistant and they are pretty cheap. You can buy at Lowes or H-depot in small gallon pots and they will grow like crazy.

 

[CountryEscape]

Oh, I really like those, JW! They look soft and with upswept branches. I will have to watch for them! Never heard of that specific variety before, maybe not for this area, but sure going to scope it out. Probably can buy smaller seedlings on-line, too! I may get a small area to the NW sheltered yet!

 

[j.w]

Overview
Leyland cyprus, x Cupressocyparis leylandii or Leyland cypress, is a popular evergreen tree grown for privacy or Christmas trees in USDA zones 6 to 10. The Leyland cyprus can grow 3 to 4 feet per year, reaching a height of 50 feet, with a span of over 15 feet. With pruning, the Leyland cyprus makes an ideal privacy hedge. Easy to establish and grow, consideration of its ultimate size is necessary when selecting a Leyland cyprus for your landscaping.

Step 1
Pick a location in your landscape that receives full sun. Although the Leyland cyprus will grow in partial shade, to maximize growth of 3 to 4 feet a year, plant your Leyland cyprus trees in full sun. Leyland cyprus planted in full shade will only grow a few inches a year.

Step 2
Keep the soil where you grow your Leyland cyprus moist for the first two to three years. Leyland cyprus trees are drought tolerant when mature, but during the growing period, your Leyland cyprus will thrive if you keep it in moist, not water-logged, soil. The Leyland cyprus is not selective as to the type of soil it grows in, though it prefers a rich, loamy soil that drains well. It does not like its roots too wet. A good way to check whether your Leyland cyprus needs watering is to insert your finger into the soil about 2 inches. If the soil is dry, it is time to water.

Step 3
Fertilize your Leyland cyprus with an all-purpose, slow-release fertilizer by following the instructions on the package. Choose a fertilizer that is either a balanced blend, like 12-12-12, or one that is higher in nitrogen as extra nitrogen will promote faster growth and fuller and greener foliage. Fertilize in the spring and your Leyland cyprus should be good for the rest of the growing season.

Step 4
Prune your Leyland cyprus as much as you wish to control its growth and shape or to create a privacy hedge. Harsh pruning does not injure a Leyland cyprus and it will recover.

 

[CountryEscape]

I looked up the Leyland Cypress, and the pics I see sure don't look like your tree ... I like your trees better, JW! I think the pic I saw was a trimmed up cypress, but I would prefer natural looking like yours. I'm looking to buy some seedlings from Arbor Foundation, some like this, and some that grow slower to put in a line in front of the cypress, in between like you staggered yours. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[CountryEscape]

Thinking about the Leyland Cypress for fast grower, then white and douglas fir for slow-medium and medium growers in front of them. It would take several years to see any benefit, but it would be something that would forever help with the winds here. I never thought about doing a curve by the road and drive to the barn, but that might do just what I want/need. Already have a nice red maple planted in that area, and I hate to have to move it, but now that I thought about a curve, I can curve right around that tree, and therefore cover the NW corner of the house as well.
Oh, darn, here I am hijaking MT's thread once again. We need to send some warmer temps to her so she can get on here and tell us all about what is sprouting and growing in her neck of the woods.

 

[j.w]

Those were not pics of my trees CE. I just got them off the net. Mine look like those tho but mine are like 30ft tall now or more! We planted them about 10 yrs ago. You can trim them any way you want but we just leave ours natural other than we did cut some of the bottom branches off so we could mow under them. Here I just went out and took these for you of ours and our neighbors too.

Our neighbors below...........they did not trim the bottom of theirs and they look more natural.

 

[CountryEscape]

I actually like yours better, JW. I don't like evergreen branches smacking me in the head/neck/arm when I mow under them either. I have a white pine, soft needles and branches, but not when I'm trying to mow under them. I see that the Leyland Cypress is said to have soft needles and branches, too, but must be the same. Looked at my area, and glad to see how close you have yours, so they grew together, that's what I want to do, too. And put a couple of slower growing fir types in front of them, on the south side, facing the house. The net says they grow 15-25' wide, so how close are yours, approx. Maybe 15' apart from each other?