am I too ambitious?

I'm on the war path to convert my sad lawn of a front garden into a proper jungle! It's roughly 20 metres square, a quarter-circle shape. I'm just doing a border on the outer boundary at mo, but the plan is to have several small trees/shrubs in the middle for some shade and privacy.

I've so far planted a Pinus Mugo, you can just see it being planted in the pic. It's the wild form, so eventual size quite unpredictable - could be anything between 2 and 5 metres tall with almost equal spread. It's going to take AAAAGES to grow to that size tho (and could be lightly pruned/coppiced apparently), at mo it's a mere 40 or 50 cm. Wish I knew how big it can really grow before I bought it - of course the nurserymen only tell you the lowest estimate! I'm probably also going to have to move it a bit towards the drive to make room for the euc (see below).

I also want a Salix Integra Hakuro Nishiki (dappled willow, Flamingo tree), the bush form not the tree. That should only grow to 1.5 m max (the tree grows taller).

And I've just bought some Eucalyptus Kybeanensis seeds, if I sew them by autumn they should be ready to plant in spring and could potentially grow a good 1.5-2 m by next autumn! This euc species is "dwarf" and never grows over 4-5 m tall.

The question is, am I overdoing this? Is there enough room for all of this AND a border? AND, are these plants going to be happy together?

Also, what sort of shade is a euc likely to provide? Is it going to be dappled, or quite solid? I need dappled really. Which is why I initially got the pine.

Another question is, is there a point getting the willow now and potting it up if I'm not going to plant it till mid-late autumn, or possibly even spring? Or is it best planted out straight into its perm position, without the root disturbance of potting up?

I'll be posting more photos/plans showing layout and dimensions later on but so far this is what I've got. Measurements are approximate. Sorry about the blurred bit on the main photo - it's off Google Street View and that's just how it came out.

 

No You are not

 

Great!
*shaking your hand emoticon*

 

Go for it! you can have your own urban jungle.:yess:

Mrs Chopper

 

I assume we are talking about an area 4m x 5m roughly? Let`s just talk about the Eucalyptus. From seed, it is going to grow about 2m by next autumn? Then it is suddenly going to stop growing at 4 m the following year? It actually grows to 15 METRES in height. Your idea is sound, the plants you have chosen are not though.:WINK1:

 

Well. My eventual height estimate was based on this:
[SIZE=-1]Eucs for small spaces: The following species will truly not outgrow their listed height of 15 - 20' or so: E. apiculata, E. gregsoniana, E. kybeanensis, E. obtusiflora, E. stricta, and E. vernicosa. (Many eucs often get much larger than expected because the heights cited for them are too conservative.)[/SIZE] Selecting a Eucalyptus for your site and climate

My size by next autumn estimate was based on this:
"Well, the final conclusion is in. The Eucalyptus camphora that I planted this spring at about eight inches tall or so, is now EIGHT FEET tall." Eucalyptus growth rate (and the importnace of planting them when small)
But this is a totally different species which does eventually grow much taller, so the growth rate for my kybeanensis may well be slower.

also this:
[SIZE=-1]THE IMPORTANCE OF TIMING: The seed is commonly sown (or stratifiaction finished) in February or March, so that the plants can be planted out and sold in late spring and early summer. However, I have also had success sowing the seed in early autumn. With the decreasing light levels, they grow much more slowly than they would in the spring. They can then be potted on in the greenhouse at some point over the winter, and be ready to go into the ground in early to mid spring, and thus get very large by the next fall.[/SIZE]
But, doesn't specify exactly what is meant by "very large"

 

would anyone know if I'd be better off getting a dappled willow now and potting it up, or just before I'm ready to plant it out?

 

sorry John,
what do you mean by stuffing them in ID?

 

I would stuff them in IDigperfectsquares, then thin them out

Jack McH

 

I should certainly, certainly stop posting in the middle of the night My little tinker drains the life out of me by 9 pm resulting in temporary brain damage which can only be resolved by 9 hours uninterupted sleep :sleep:

 

I'm only going to plant one euc there John, if that's what you meant by "them". Although of course a euc, a mugo pine and a dappled willow may still grow too thick in the long run.

I've seen a lot of very sad-looking flamingo willows recently tho, so I'm not sure about that one anymore. Although I could still give it a try, they're quite inexpensive so if it doesn't work i could just dig it up.