Hungry Horse news. [volume] (Columbia Falls, Mont.) 1948-current, 1955-03-18
Yard and Garden
by Leonard Wager, Horticulturist
Montana Extension service

BOZEMAN-Selecting trees and
shrubs for landscaplng the yard |
is an important task and one of the
first considerations in choosing
plant materials is to consider har-
diness and adaptability of the
plants.
Too often plants are brought in
to the state from areas more tenn
perate than our own and these
plants do not survive our climate.
Plants may not survive our condi-
tons because of too cold tempera-
lures during winter months, unus-
ual variations of temperatures
during winter months, inability of
the plant to mature its wood in late
summer, and possibly because of
drought conditions.
An important guide to the home
owner beginning to landscape his
home grounds is to examine plant
ings in the area in which he lives
and determine for himself what
plants seem to do best. He may
wish to seek the advice of a local
lnurseryman and secure plants from
him. The extension service has
available Bulletin 1913, "How to
Select trees, Shrubs and Vines" a
publication which lists and de-
scribes plant materials recon-
mended for Montana conditions.
Since there are several distinct
climatic zones in the state, these
differences are considered. This
publication is available from local
county agent offices.
A mistake that is often made is
choosing plants that grow too large
and out of bounds for the spot or
area selected. Too often, large
growing shrubs are planted where
a small, slow growing specimen
could have been used. Fast grow
ing, large shade trees are planted
where more desirable slow grow
ing variety could have been used.
It is important to choose trees and
shrubs that will grow to a size in
keeping with the size of the prop
erty. Proper selection of plant
material will result in a planting
that will not outgrow itself in a
few years time.
Two types of plant materials are
generally recognized for paintings
in Montana: deciduous trees and
shrubs and evergreens. Deciduous
plants are those which lose their
foliage in fall. These are extreme
ly popular for landscaping in Mon
tana. Many deciduous plants have
beautiful flowers and fruits, anc
some bear foliage which turns tx
brilliant colors in the fall. A few
have colorful twigs and branche.
during winter months which helI
to brighten up the winter land
scape. Evergreens retain their col
or throughout the year. Most o.
the conifers or evergreens grown
in Montana have foliage of some
shade of green. Our climate doe
not suit the growing of broadlea
evergreens, so this group of plant
cannot be considered as an i'm
portant group in landscape plant
ings under most Montana cOndi
tons.
Since winter is long with us il
Montana, the consideration of tn
winter landscape setting is import
ant. Deciduous trees and shrub
with colorful twigs and bark ar
an important asset in the winte
landscape. A few deciduous plant
retain their berries and fruits wei
into the winter months and adj
important color too. However, ev
ergreens must be considered tn
backbone of the winter 1andscaI
setting. They are important {
foundation plants and also j
paintings in shrub borders. A spe
cimen spruce or fir occasional
serves as an important featul
plant in the landscape setting.
To acquire the most effectiv
Landscape setting for both wintt
and summer requires careful ar
thoughtful planning. Perhaps yo1
local nurseryman can give W
some help in developing an effe'
tive plan.