Evergreen trees for wet and clay soil - Ask Extension
Hi,
We live in Medina. We have clay soil and also have a creek flowing close to our backyard. This makes the end part of the backyard quite wet in the...
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Evergreen trees for wet and clay soil #317618
Asked April 30, 2016, 1:48 PM EDT
Hi,
We live in Medina. We have clay soil and also have a creek flowing close to our backyard. This makes the end part of the backyard quite wet in the summer. Many years back we had planted 5 blackhill spruce and 2 Austrian pines. Within 3 years one black hill spruce died and was replaced by a Balsam fir.
Since last year both the Austrian pines are dead and the other trees are also slowly dying. We would like to replace all 7 trees. We would like your recommendation as to which evergreen trees would be good for this location.
Thanks,
Ritu
Hennepin County Minnesota
Expert Response
There aren't many evergreen species that tolerate poorly drained soil. Those most commonly recommended are arborvitae, balsam fir and black spruce. Although tamarack trees are deciduous, they are conifers, so they resemble evergreen conifers for several months of the year. And they grow in wet soil.
Information in this bulletin may be useful:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/trees-shrubs/choosing-landscape-evergreens/
Information in this bulletin may be useful:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/trees-shrubs/choosing-landscape-evergreens/