A Grower Perspective

 We had a customer call the other day looking for a columnar tree to fill a specific location between buildings. It got us thinking about all of the trees that we have in the nursery that are super narrow but grow tall without large, spreading heads. These trees are great to line driveways or provide a strong vertical element in an otherwise low, shruby landscape.


Here are our suggestions for columnar trees:

Acer rubrum 'Armstrong'- Columnar Red Maple This nice tree has a very narrow growth habbit that makes it ideal for many garden situations. Although the tree can grow to 40 feet tall, the widest it will get is only 15 feet. This makes it a good choice for a space where you want a large maple but there simply isn't room. This tree grows fairly quickly, tolerates most soils and is easy to grow.


Sequoiadendron giganteum 'Pendula'- Weeping sequoia This handsome tree grows to 35' tall and only 5' wide. Plant in full sun with good drainage. If you would like to see mature, spectacular examples of this tree in the landscape, drive over to Sheldon High School in Eugene. Here you will find Weeping sequoias that are 50' tall. These trees were probably planted 50 years ago and are unusually tall.

Chamaecyparis nootkatensis 'Green Arrow'- Weeping Alaskan Yellow Cedar Here is another great columnar confier. This tree grows to 35' tall and 5' wide. This elegant tree likes full sun to part shade and will tolerate all soil types as long as there is good drainage.