Choosing Evergreen Tree Varieties
Choosing the right plant that is hardy in your zone is important. This is because some plants are not able to withstand the temperatures in your region. While site selection, soil type, debris, and care requirements must all go into deciding your plant choice, zone is one of the most vital considerations. Not all evergreen tree varieties will perform well in every zone. Some of our options for evergreen trees in zone 7 can help you decide what plants are right for your garden.
Conifers for Zone 7
Evergreen trees for zone 7 may be coniferous and can range from several 100 feet (30 m.) to more manageable 30 to 60 foot (9-18 m.) tall glories. Two that really strike out are the Hinoki cypress and Japanese cedar. Both have these elegantly layered branches that give so much texture to the plants and each has cultivars that include variegated or golden varieties. Hinoki can grow 80 feet (24 m.) tall but grows slowly. The ‘Radicans’ variety of Japanese cedar is about half that and responds well to shearing to keep it in shape. The Fraser fir is a classic as is the Canadian hemlock. The Colorado blue spruce has beautiful silvery blue needles. Balsam fir and white pine varieties are all easy to grow evergreen trees for zone 7. If these larger tree types just won’t do, small landscapes can still benefit from the stately beauty of evergreen conifers. Silver Korean fir has tightly bound, almost spiral, bundles of silver needles. The color comes from the white undersides, and at 30 feet (9 m.) tall, this plant is perfect for small spaces. Weeping white pine is a fun plant because you can literally sculpt it. The long needles and graceful branches need to be trained into a weeping habit or you can grow it as a groundcover. Like its big brother, dwarf blue spruce has attractive foliage but only grows 10 feet (3 m.) tall. Another favorite is Japanese umbrella pine. The needles are arranged to look like the spokes in an umbrella, and the branches grow in a spiral form.
Broadleaf Evergreens for Zone 7
Growing evergreen trees in zone 7 can include flowers and don’t have to be traditional narrow leaf specimens. Nothing is quite as pretty as a magnolia tree in bloom. The southern magnolia grows well in zone 7. Some other flowering zone 7 evergreen trees might include:
Tea olive tree American holly Fatsia japonica Bay laurel Madrone tree Boxleaf azara Evergreen dogwood
A really fun but smaller tree is the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo). As its fruits ripen, the plant is covered with red, hot pink, orange, and yellow sweet, edible fruits. Golden chinquapin (Chrysolepis chrysophylla) is a native evergreen broadleaf that produces tufted little flowers and spiny little fruits containing edible nuts. Evergreens don’t have to be boring and there are more options every day as botanists develop hardier cultivars of trees from around the world.
