Native Plants
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Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
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Wednesday - March 10, 2010
From: Morgantown, WV
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Trees
Title: Trees for barrier fence near swimming pool in West Virginia
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Near swimming pool, barrier fence needs to replace pine trees. Prefer blooming perennial at least 12' high,low sun exposure, minimal pruning.ANSWER:
Mr. Smarty Plants suggests the following small trees/large shrubs for your barrier fence. All are West Virginia natives and will grow in shade (less than 2 hours of sun per day) and/or partial shade (2 to 6 hours of sun per day):
Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel), an evergreen
Morella cerifera (wax myrtle), evergreen
Rhododendron catawbiense (Catawba rosebay), evergreen
Rhododendron maximum (great laurel), evergreen
Magnolia virginiana (sweetbay), semi-evergreen to evergreen
Cornus alternifolia (alternateleaf dogwood)
Viburnum prunifolium (blackhaw)
Amelanchier canadensis (Canadian serviceberry)
Cercis canadensis (eastern redbud)
Chionanthus virginicus (white fringetree)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood)
Prunus americana (American plum)
Sorbus americana (American mountain ash)
Viburnum rufidulum (rusty blackhaw)
You can see other possibilities by checking out the West Virginia Recommended list. You can NARROW YOUR SEARCH by selecting "Trees" or "Shrubs" from the GENERAL APPEARANCE category.
Here are photos of the above from our Image Gallery:
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