These don’t grow to be super tall, but their 120 day bloom period makes it well worth it! Stick these in the corner of your garden, as they only get to be about 15 to 20 feet tall.
Cottonwoods are a big pain. Their root system remains close enough to the surface until if you don’t constantly kill the sapling sprouts that pop up during the growing season, yours & your neighbors’ yards will become consumed with cottonwoods. Plus that, yearly they drop their seeds in the form of nature modules that hold the cotton parachutes that had a see it is commissioned to getting to the ground. If you have several mature trees in the vicinity, then for weeks you are battling airborn cotton parachutes delivering one tiny seed! They produce so much “cotton” getting those seeds to the ground until it looks like it is “snowing” in the summertime! They have prolific leaves so you will be overwhelmed in the fall raking. We had 5 big ones on the property we purchased over a year ago & thought to keep those tall, majestic trees, but we are seniors & the first leaf-ing completely overwhelmed us so we had all of them cut & planted 13 Leyland Cypress trees instead. Sorry to say we are still removing the cottonwoods upshots from the roots that are still trying to push up survivors–even thru the asphalt driveway! The Leyland’s are doing marvelously tho.
Kathleen says
I live I Biglake Alaska and was looking to plant some trees for colors and privacy. What would be best.?
admin says
I would plant a Colorado Blue Spruce, Quaking Aspen, or Paper Birch!
Ellen says
can you please suggest best fast growing evergreen tree options for privacy in zone 9? Thank you!
admin says
I would try Boxwood, Bar Harbor Juniper, Leyland Cyprus, and Eastern Redbud! Happy Gardening!
onekathryn says
Cottonwoods are a big pain. Their root system remains close enough to the surface until if you don’t constantly kill the sapling sprouts that pop up during the growing season, yours & your neighbors’ yards will become consumed with cottonwoods. Plus that, yearly they drop their seeds in the form of nature modules that hold the cotton parachutes that had a see it is commissioned to getting to the ground. If you have several mature trees in the vicinity, then for weeks you are battling airborn cotton parachutes delivering one tiny seed! They produce so much “cotton” getting those seeds to the ground until it looks like it is “snowing” in the summertime! They have prolific leaves so you will be overwhelmed in the fall raking. We had 5 big ones on the property we purchased over a year ago & thought to keep those tall, majestic trees, but we are seniors & the first leaf-ing completely overwhelmed us so we had all of them cut & planted 13 Leyland Cypress trees instead. Sorry to say we are still removing the cottonwoods upshots from the roots that are still trying to push up survivors–even thru the asphalt driveway! The Leyland’s are doing marvelously tho.