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What trees should I plant? #743354

Asked April 08, 2021, 6:47 PM EDT

I want to plant a couple of trees in my yard on a kind-of sandy berm 4-5 feet tall. The trees will be replacing Blue Spruce that I had cut down last summer, due to being old and suddenly dying off. The trees will act as a barrier from cars going by and a wind block. They will need to tolerate cold, heat, sun and wind. I live in Hugo. Here are the trees I am trying to decide between: Black Hills Spruce, Scotch Pine, White Spruce, Douglas Fir and Balsam Fir. I don't care about growth rate as much as I care about disease/insect resistance. Thank you for your help. You will be a lifesaver! :)

Washington County Minnesota

Expert Response

Your list was Black Hills Spruce, Scotch Pine, White Spruce, Douglas Fir and Balsam Fir. White fir is the evergreen that does well on moist well drained sandy soil and has no serious disease or pest problems. The following site have information on the trees on your list and white fir.

https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/black-hills-spruce

https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/scots-pine-not-recommended

https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/white-spruce

Moist, well-drained soil

https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/douglas-fir

https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/white-fir

https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/balsam-fir

Does poorly on dry exposed sites.

https://extension.umn.edu/trees-and-shrubs/choosing-evergreens-your-landscape

This site has a few of the diseases that are commonly found in MN trees and shrubs

https://extension.umn.edu/solve-problem/plant-diseases#tree-and-shrub-diseases-1872363

Pat M MN master gardener and TCA Replied April 08, 2021, 8:52 PM EDT
Thank you for the information.  I also should have mentioned that they will be planted along a road, so they should be fairly tolerant to salt spray.  It looks like Black Hills Spruce is tolerant, as is Douglas fir.  Any other spruce or firs worth mentioning?

Thanks again.

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On Thursday, April 8th, 2021 at 7:52 PM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
The Question Asker Replied April 10, 2021, 12:27 PM EDT

Black Hills Spruce is moderately tolerantly tolerant to salt sprays and soil salt.  Here are the diseases. https://apps.extension.umn.edu/garden/diagnose/plant/evergreen/spruce/needleschewed.html

The site has salt spray information.

Douglas fir is intolerant of salt spray but tolerant to soil salt. https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/sirococcus-blight-conifers

 Salt tolerances of tree

https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ID/ID-412-W.pdf

Recommended trees for MN

https://extension.umn.edu/tree-selection-and-care/recommended-trees-minnesota Diseases of Douglas fir

https://extension.psu.edu/douglas-fir-diseases

Pat M MN master gardener and TCA Replied April 10, 2021, 3:01 PM EDT

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