Street Landscaping

When planting next to the road it is best to choose an upright or columnar tree. Having a regular tree that may get very big and especially wide is bad. For the first several years it won't be a problem. But once the tree matures it widens and half the tree is leaning over the road with roots cracking the pavement. That is a lot of money in damage the government has to pay for. Imagine street after street of this landscaping nightmare. Yikes! Also my main tip for landscaping jobs. NEVER PLANT TREES UNDER POWER LINES! That is a big no no when landscaping. Unfortunately you see many landscaping companies do this. Unless you are planting a dwarf tree that stays under 15' tall don't do it. Plant a tree at least 10' away from power lines. Some types of popular upright/columnar trees great for street sides and medians are "Frans Fontaine" Hornbeam,  "Arnold" Tulip, "Armstrong" Red Maple, Columnar Oak's like "Crimson Spire" or "Skinny Genes" varieties, another favorite tree of mine is the Ginkgo, my favorite varieties stay more upright unlike the traditional version and other popular varieties, the best varieties are "Fastigiata" and "Princeton Sentry". These are only some of the many species of upright trees to choose from for street landscaping.

Here are some pictures of non-upright street trees VS columnar street trees: (First two VS last three)

NatureMan

Best Boxwood Varieties

Boxwood's are fabulous broadleaf evergreen shrubs. Their tiny green leaves in compact form keeps it's almost artificial look all year round! They can be grown to be small trees or screening. Boxwoods are hardy to USDA Zone 5 (-20°F) a few varieties may grow in USDA Zone 4 (-30°F).

1. "Green Tower" Boxwood. Upright columnar screening tree/shrub growing to 9' tall by 1'-2' wide. 

2. "Green Mountain" Boxwood grows as a shrub, but can be grown into a pyramidal shrub/dwarf tree. It grows 5' tall by 3'-4' wide.

3. "Green Velvet" Boxwood grows as a shrub, only maturing to 3' tall by 2'-3' wide. 

4. "Winter Gem" Boxwood. Grows 4'-6' tall and 3'-5' wide at maturity without pruning (natural form). It has much larger leaves than other varieties and has that more tropical look with it's bigger bushier form.

2 of the Most Cold Hardy Southern Magnolia Varieties

Southern Magnolia's can simply not grow farther north than USDA Zone 6. But there are 2 varieties that can grow successfully into USDA Zone 5. The "Edith Bogue" variety and the "Bracken's Brown Beauty" variety. The "Edith Bogue" variety holds the title for the most cold hardy Southern Magnolia hardy to a whopping -20°F. The "Bracken's Brown Beauty" variety is hardy to -15°F to -10°F slightly less cold tolerant but should take zone 5 fine like the "Edith Bogue".

NatureMan

"Edith Bogue" Southern Magnolia Update 7/14/18

My "Edith Bogue" Southern Magnolia has grown over 2 feet since I planted it not even 2 months ago! I hope this successful growing season leads to good winter hardiness! ❄️🌿