We lost our dogwood this year. It was a nice tree and fit the area where we had it beautifully, proving light shade for some truly lovely hostas and other shade-lovers, but it was our third dogwood to die from some kind of scale, so we decided to try a small magnolia to replace it. Unfortunately the largest we could find in tree form was only a #10 pot, and it may be a few years before it provides enough shade for the plants that were under the dogwood. Meanwhile, it wasn’t even that hot yet and they were already beginning to show signs of scorching. We found a “shade sail” at Costco and it’s doing a good job of providing some shade while the tree grows. It’s actually kind of cool looking too.
Also in this picture you can see the final decision on non-cypress mulch. We’re really happy with the look of our hardwood-only bark mulch. It’s a warm brown that we like even better than the red hues of the cypress. It was kind of pricey, but worth it to help save those cypress groves.
minnesota growing 