Q. I have a space that has a height limit of 10-12 feet. I want to plant some columnar trees that won’t grow too tall. I realize that Italian cypress would work but would have to be trimmed to limit their height. Are there others that might work in our Las Vegas climate? For example: ‘Emerald Green’ Arborvitae, ‘Sky Pencil’ Holly, and any others?
A. To get a truly evergreen hedge in this climate is tough. We may have winter cold that kills the leaves of many smaller trees followed by leaf drop.
‘Tiny Tower’, (aka, ‘Monshel’ and ‘Compacta’) from Monrovia Nursery (a production nursery) claims to be only 10 feet tall and 2 feet wide and very slow growing. With age Monrovia claims it will grow 25 to 30 feet tall and 3 feet wide. Others do confirm 20 to 25 feet at “maturity”. What “maturity” means, as far as age of the plant, was not made clear. I would guess that it grows at one foot per year if not watered more often and given fertilizer. Watch out for the flopping of new growth. That tells you are watering too often.
Monrovia said it was taken as a dwarf “sport” from an existing Italian cypress. Las Vegas USDA zone classification is 8A through 9B, so it is well within those hardiness zones.