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My goal is to find trees that would survive in the fairly harsh climate of the mountains of northern Utah/southern Idaho (near Bear Lake). Being in the mountains, it is around 7,000 feet. The trees need to be able to withstand cold temperatures of roughly -20 degrees Fahrenheit as well as be drought resistant. However, we can water them once or twice per week in the summer. What kind of trees meet the bill?

We have had some success with aspen trees and some, but less, success with pine trees.

bill999
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To be successful you have to use nursery grown plants. During the winters you can dig up dormant aspens and conifers, plant in potting soil in pots, keep protected from the cold because they are now in pots and their roots are the most fragile part of a plant. And you might have a 30 percent chance doing this to use a 'free' wild plant and you'll have a larger chance of getting fined if caught. Grins. Especially if caught digging up little Alpine firs. I've been sorely tempted.

I lived in Moscow, Idaho for 20 years. Zone 3. The best trees are: Amelanchier alnifolia (a rare 4 season beauty tree with few to no insect or disease problems) also called Serviceberry, Aspens of course, Choke cherry, Sambucus or Elderberry. The best shrubs are Salix purpurea 'nana'...or Blue Arctic Willow, Paxistima myrsinites or Oregon Boxwood, Acer ginnala, super multistemmed little maple a large shrub or small tree, the Camperdown Elm, Ulmus something Camperdownii, if your zone is 4 then Yews or Taxus are superior conifers that actually grow in shade OR sun, I like Taxus baccata repandens Taxus baccata repandens You must be at least zone 3. Micro climates make a big difference. This yew grew well in Zone 3 with a bit of shelter. Handles minus 28 degrees F. Mulched roots.

Do you own a Western Gardens Sunset book? Gotta have one. There are tons of other species of plants that thrive in S. Idaho.

Paxistima m.

Update: really need a more precise location for you now. Your expectations of watering them once or twice per week might depend on your soil. When plants are first planted they need regular watering for at least the first season. You might be able to erect shade cloth to protect against the hottest months and prevent too much evaporation. You should also insert 3' of 3" pvc pipe at least 3 of them, drilled with holes down the length leaving a foot above ground with no holes. Insert around the outside of the rootball and one right in the rootball when watering put the water down into these pipes. A number of times before you leave. Soak the soil as much as possible using these pipes. This should last a week in the heat but I would water at least twice per week until your plants become established.

Remove all burlap completely. All twine and labels. Prune branches that are heading toward the center of the tree at the trunk. Use alcohol on your BYPASS pruners. Do not dig the hole any deeper than the depth of that root ball. Do not amend the soil in any way. Do not bury any deeper than the root ball, the trunk has to be clear of soil, mulch, weeds...

Get a soil test. I'd call WSU Cooperative Extension Service. Call them and ask for a master gardener, they might know the pH where you are planting and/or do soil tests for you very very cheaply. WSU has a powerful Cooperative Extension service. Utah might as well...I've used WSU's. I am dying to know why Acer t. 'ginnala' should not be planted in S. Idaho, N. Utah. A soil test needs to be done at least twice for your landscape. One now and one in a few years. Valuable information for success. And not wasting money.

Acer ginnala

stormy
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    This link applies to the Poccatello area, which may be farther north than your location. It takes the opposite view of your question and tells you what NOT to plant: http://www.pocatello.us/DocumentCenter/View/595/Trees-and-Shrubs-Not-to-be-Planted-in-the-Portneuf-Valley-PDF. Note that soil pH is extremely important to many species - have you had your soil tested? – Jurp Jun 09 '18 at 12:42
  • Nice take Jurp! – stormy Jun 10 '18 at 01:40
  • After reading through your article the only thing I am amazed they said was Acer ginnala should not be planted in southern Idaho. Mid as well as southern Idaho has lots of this small tree. It is the toughest of all maples and tolerates acidic as well a alkaline. What the heck is the pH in Southern Idaho? Boise is where I tested for my LA license. Soil pH is vital to all species. I am interested why they actually included this not well known little maple. Thanks, Jurp. – stormy Jun 10 '18 at 22:01
  • Stormy - In Wisconsin, Acer ginnala is considered an invasive species. It seemed to do very well in the La Crosse area (western Wisconsin, on the Mississippi), which generally has neutral to basic soils. I never saw it in the nearby woods. They were generally filled with invasive Lonicera, Rhamnus, Berberis and Euonymis alatus. – Jurp Jun 10 '18 at 23:01
  • Those are some of the best species to plant for ornamentals in the landscape. Acer ginnala was an amazing large shrub, small tree that survived everything...Groves of them pruned to show the multitrunks, fertilized a bit, watered regularly...are spectacular, low maintenance, disease and insect free, relative to most plants planted in harsh condition. All my info on them says they adapt to up or down pH, basically staying close to neutral. I would have added Vine Maple but that for sure loves a bit of acidity. Euonymus alatus is invasive? Honest? Lonicera? Invasive also means hardy. – stormy Jun 11 '18 at 01:42
  • Stormy - Lonicera tatarica and L. maackii are banned in many states. They are EXTREMELY invasive and are replacing native flora throughout the northern Midwest. Euonymus alatus is also invasive, but not nearly as bad as Lonicera. In my own small urban neighborhood, I know of at least four Euonymus that were not planted by humans. When I owned 2.5 acres of mostly woods, I had at least 150 unwanted Lonicera on my land (no, this is not an exaggeration), three Berberis and two Euonymus. Now multiply that by the 100,000s of acres in Wisconsin. Michael Dirr agrees with you on A. ginnala. – Jurp Jun 11 '18 at 02:51
  • I said L. pileata, right? Acer ginnala isn't Lonicera tatarica or maacki. Euonymus alatus is supposedly invasive? I 've maintained these shrubs for decades and have never seen a problem yet. Heck it is one of the tried and true shrubs that thrive in harsh zones. No pruning. I don't recall babies anywhere, I would've dug it up and potted it. Lonicera pileata is a low shrub with horizontal branching; about 1 1/2 feet height, 4 feet wide. Gorgeous landscape shrub I've used and maintained a lot. I love Michael Dirr, one of my all time heroes. – stormy Jun 11 '18 at 07:11
  • Let's see, one of the top 10 worst weeds was...European Paper Birch. Something close. Maybe European Weeping Paper Birch...? Taking over the understory environments in N. America. I've never had a problem with Euonymus alatus or Euonymus fortunei or any Lonicera...states banning plants does not impress me in the least. Gotta get paid to do SOMETHING. Far better information comes from Cooperative Extension Services by Universities. I've been doing this for so long I know this line between invasive and hardy. Most sellers of plants do not. Bishop's weed? Mondo Grass. Houttuynia (sp)?? – stormy Jun 12 '18 at 01:27
  • States banning plants is based on science, not money. Don't tell me you're a science denier? Lonicera in Wisconsin is extremely invasive, as is Aegopodium, Physalis, Lythrum, Lysimachia and some species of Berberis. The list is probably 100 species long. When you can't walk through a woods because of the Lonicera then, yeah, you have a problem. – Jurp Jun 12 '18 at 11:05
  • Is there a thorny lonicera? I've known the top 10 list of noxious weeds. Science denier? Ummmm, don't think that would work for me Jurp. States or government doing anything is always about money. Not people, not the environment, no way. The weed program per state has MAYBE 2 people allocated to be weed cops. They go around and educate people and help them MITIGATE these 'weeds'. Similar to the adage "once the gate has been opened, the horse is out of the barn...good luck" , something like that. They still sell ALL of these plants in nurseries including purple loosestrife, go figure! – stormy Jun 12 '18 at 21:23
  • First of all, you cannot easily walk through a woods filled with Lonicera - it's just not possible due to the thickly growing stems. In many places, the woods become impassble. And if you try to fight your way through in deer and Lyme country, you risk infection from the ticks, which are brushed off of the deer as they move through the shrubs. And no, in Wisconsin at least, you cannot buy any of the plants on the List - the State shut down one illegal nursery last year after many warnings. She didn't see anything wrong with selling a boatload of invasives because they were "pretty". – Jurp Jun 12 '18 at 23:06
  • Bingo, thus exotics take over the indigenous plant habitat. I am so GLAD we do not have ticks or fleas or really any tough insects here. Cold winters control that. Ticks arrrtgghhhh. I took care of a malamute, humongous dog and I find a saucer sized ring of swollen ticks on his chest. He was a massive doggie. I got that systemic pesticide to put on the back of their necks on all my dogs. Only solution. Immediately, those ticks were falling off the dogs. I am squashing those grey swollen little bodies with black legs sticking out all over the concrete in my basement. GROSS. – stormy Jun 13 '18 at 00:28
  • Wisconsin is better than Washington and Oregon then. I could find all of those plants for sale, I sold all of those plants. Ha ha ha. But I need to know WHAT lonicera you are talking about, surely not ALL of them are invasive? What is the definition of invasive the COOP EXT service in Wisconsin is using? One learns their plants, habits and knows how to inhibit invasiveness. I will never sell nor plant PERIWINKLE or Houttuynia cordata. Aegopodium podagraria is closely related but I never had trouble when sequestering them, easy to maintain and control. I'd stick with the top ten. – stormy Jun 13 '18 at 00:38
  • Stormy - FYI https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Invasives/species.asp?filterBy=Terrestrial&filterVal=Y You cannot sell (or give away, supposedly) any regulated plant. A. tatarica v. ginnala is on the list. L. maackii and L. tatarica are the worst lonicera on the list. – Jurp Jun 13 '18 at 02:51
  • Jurp, these government employees are TOLD what to study and what outcomes they need to report. There are 2 or some foolishly tiny number of weed cops. The Extension Service educating people about the top ten is the best that can be done right now. No one will check nurseries for 'regulated plants', NO ONE. No one including the proprietor or clients know what the heck they are selling or saying. I've intimate experience with most of these plants. No problems at all with ginnala, lonicera (the vine a bit), lots with periwinkle. Is that on the list? Houttuynia? List has low credibility. – stormy Jun 14 '18 at 04:08
  • Only 2 weed cops in the State of Washington belonging to WSU Cooperative Extension Service. In the entire state. I don't think anyone cares much less even knows about these 'regulations' so really being on this list doesn't make much difference. – stormy Jun 14 '18 at 04:09
  • It's about ethics and environmental responsibility, Stormy. I've been a landscape designer and would never design or plant anything that I new or was told was invasive. You are very wrong about what is studied and what isn't. I absolutely know this due to contacts in the field. The plants may not be issues for the NW, but they are here. Just because a plant is not an problem for your area doesn't make it a problem in the Midwest. – Jurp Jun 14 '18 at 11:04
  • Ah hem? Landscape Designer, huh? I actually took regular seminars on this stuff and know what is truly invasive and what is not. Just because the government puts something on a list is not at all conclusive. I am sure most stuff studied IS not fed to the public . After all, most of the public can't understand the studies. You are taking to heart this list of 100 invasive species? What about 101? 102? Come on. You judge me too harshly. Keep in mind, when most are TOLD something is a fact they automatically believe that to be true. By someone else's standards. – stormy Jun 15 '18 at 02:05
  • So let me ask; will you ever plant another species of Lonicera? No? All species of Lonicera are to be dumped in the 'let's be environmentally responsible and ethical'? Grins. Bring it on Jurp. – stormy Jun 15 '18 at 02:07
  • Contacts in the field? Wish you had been able to run into my little self. I am rarely wrong, albeit on little stuff on this site...I like testing my own knowledge. That is why I am ON this site. Hopefully I can educate others because our media is WRONG. Gosh, I certainly hope you aren't insinuating...I am the original environmentally conscious person, ha ha ha! To be environmental one has to KNOW what that even means. Ethics, unbelievable. To keep silent is the unethical reaction. I gave up being popular a long time ago. – stormy Jun 15 '18 at 02:30
  • i have a degree in landscape design. I would plant L. Major Wheeler and similar Lonicera if the location was right. Must be nice to be always right. You don't educate, you dictate - go back and read your posts. I'm not surprised you're not popular, and if you saddle your clients with aggressive/invasive plants, then yes, you are unethical. We are done here. – Jurp Jun 16 '18 at 00:09
  • Yeah, looks like we are fairly ummmm, what is the word? Bye bye Jurp. Sorry I couldn't find common ground, you know, the stuff all gardeners should be able to share? Too bad, so sad. – stormy Jun 16 '18 at 03:24
  • Yet you say you would plant Lonicera? All I heard you say was Lonicera was invasive. Look, you've made me out to be a bad girl. I am no bad girl, mean girl, pompous girl. I earned the right to question other gardeners. I want to know what I am saying is still logical. I am not always right and you know that I have been the first to say, "I am wrong"...you aren't being fair, Jurp. I earned the right to bypass all the footsie shuffling and submissive behavior. Takes too much time. I am right much of the time, not always. I am on this site primarily to test my own knowledge. – stormy Jun 16 '18 at 23:53
  • Have you gone through the Pesticide Licensing yet? I highly recommend this seminar and testing. They teach you how to read the label 5 times. They teach how to never need to use pesticides. Same people who do the Master Gardener certifications. Have you gone through Master Gardener courses, yet? It is a must. Offered through the Cooperative Extension Service of your closest University in your state. The only Lonicera I know that is invasive is Lonicera tatarica, the Honey Suckle Vine. You must realize that I dealt with existing plants as well as new.. I DID pull out periwinkle! – stormy Jun 16 '18 at 23:59
  • I am hoping to hear you tell me and all of us exactly what species of Lonicera is invasive. Not ALL of the Genus is invasive. I have no time for political correctness. Sorry, makes me a bit coarse of course. I have earned the right to call myself an expert and to 'dictate'...versus shuffling around pretending what I know is not good enough. – stormy Jun 17 '18 at 00:02
  • stormy and @jurp Thank you so much for your comments! We are acting on the information. – bill999 Jun 18 '18 at 01:56