Attached is my small backyard garden. the Japanese maple is not doing well, as you can see. can u suggest a few options for a nice all seasons blue evergreen or some tree that is colorful and there form spring to winter or throughout that grows to around 12 to 14 feet over the years and has attractive design and texture of leaves, is disease resistant and will survive, add a touch of class to the garden. great if u can suggest three alternative. merci
Hello – Thanks for sending along the photo of your pretty garden and sorry to hear that your Japanese maple has not thrived. Based on the photo, I’m assuming the garden is in full sun – maybe too much sun for the Japanese maple. It was a challenge to come up with evergreens that met all of your specifications but I do have some suggestions below below. In addition, I’m including a link to an article on dwarf evergreens from the Savvy Gardening web site which may give you some additional ideas.
Here are my evergreen suggestions. You can read more about each of these evergreen shrubs by clicking on the links to information from the Missouri Botanical Garden.
- Picea pungens ‘Bacheri’ – Bacheri Colorado spruce
Bacheri is a semi-dwarf, conical form of Colarado spruce that grows to 12-18 feet over time with a mature broad base of 6-8 feet. It has silver-blue needles.
- Juniperus scopulorum ‘Wichita Blue’ – Wichita blue Rocky Mountain juniper
Wichita Blue is considered one of the best blues of the Rocky Mountain cultivars. The columnar forms of Rocky Mountain juniper are useful in adding height to a garden without taking up to much ground space. It grows to 10-15 feet over time with a width of 4-6 feet.
Juniperus scopulorum ‘Wichita Blue’
- Juniperus virginiana ‘Taylor’ – Taylor eastern red cedar
This cultivar is an upright, narrow form that grows to 15-20 feet with a width of 3-4 feet. It has silvery blue-green foliage
Here is the link to the Savvy Gardening article on dwarf evergreens:
Savvy Gardening – Dwarf Evergreen Trees
There are deciduous options as well. Click on the link below to have a look at one of the earlier posts on our site for suggestions of other small specimen trees.
Toronto Master Gardeners – Small Specimen Trees
Enjoy making your selection