Privacy
Some landscape projects are over-the-top. And privacy is a common issue in multi-family complexes, called stratas in British Columbia. We use plants to screen out neighbors we don’t much care for, or to block out undesirable views. Sometimes we install prickly plants like Pyracantha in strategic places to keep criminals and pedophiles away. Here the issue was a gap under a native cedar (Thuja plicata) looking out on to a golf course.
Are you sure?
I’m not sure what happened here but the owners planted six cedars (Thuja occidentalis), presumably to block out the view of the golf course. Or, possibly, to block out any stray gold balls.
And, passing by recently, while knocking snow off plants to keep them from breaking, it was easy to see the problem. Four of the cedars are dead, and two are struggling. So we have to ask why.
The owners might have deep pockets but the project seems a little bit suspicious. One obvious problem is light. Plants require light to thrive and the cedars don’t get much of it here; they are buried under the canopy. With buildings close by and other shrubs, they don’t get much light at all. Cedars aren’t shade plants.
Water
Water is another critical issue. Cedars require regular watering to properly establish and who knows how frequently they got watered. People are busy, especially well-to-do couples living next to golf courses.
Of course, the native cedar tree is a serious, and established, competitor for water and nutrients. I can almost guarantee that its surficial roots are much better developed for water and nutrient capture. It’s almost unfair.
Since the baby cedars are buried under the canopy, they probably don’t get to enjoy much rainfall because the branches above deflect the rain falling down.
Now what?
Now, obviously, we have to remove the dead cedars because dead plants look awful in the landscape. And I wouldn’t recommend planting new cedars. That idea should quietly die somewhere in the owner’s unit.
I think shade tolerant shrubs would be easier to establish in this spot. The only drawback is that the owner would have to wait for them to grow into the gap. The taller cedars brought an instant barrier.
Lesson
We can always learn from landscape projects. Some work well, and some fail. This one failed, probably because the cedars lacked water and light. I can’t wait to see the next phase of this project.
