The location of this particular group of trees on the ISU campus is ideal, mimicking the microclimate of the cool, shaded, moist valleys and canyons where these trees would naturally occur.
Hemlocks are fast-growing, but require abundant moisture.
The leaf litter formed by fallen leaves produces, over the years, an acid soil which may discourage competition from some plants. Needle blight is a disease that may cause some leaves to turn brown and die, but this species is subject to very few diseases in Iowa. This species is native to the northeastern US and southeastern Canada and will grow well in Iowa only when planted in cool, moist, sheltered positions in eastern and central Iowa.