We have recently moved to a townhouse with limited garden space at the back of a paved patio. The garden is 20’ x 5’ and receives about 4 hours of morning sunlight. It is backed by an 8’ cedar fence and has a 6’ trellis with a water feature in the centre. I want to plant a row of trees along the fence on each side (7 feet). I would prefer evergreens, such as emerald cedars, but is there enough sunlight for them? What are some alternative trees with a columnar shape? I do want to plant smaller shrubs in front.
Thank you for contacting Toronto Master Gardeners with your question.
A site with four hours morning sun will not be ideal for most evergreens, unfortunately. An exception would be a yew tree, that grows in a variety of light conditions including shade, and is hardy to Zone 4. There are a number of columnar yews available from nurseries in Ontario and and you can search them out on-line to enquire as to their suitability and availability.
Here are some previous answers to those who were looking for similar information.
Comparison between two shade-tolerant columnar yews:
https://www.torontomastergardeners.ca/askagardener/difference-between-hills-yew-and-hicks-yew/
General advice about evergreens as hedging:
Useful advice about planting:
https://www.torontomastergardeners.ca/askagardener/yew-or-beech-for-hedging/
I hope this gives you enough information. If you’d like to investigate other options, you can search the following link https://www.torontomastergardeners.ca/ask-list/ and use the search terms “hedging” or hedges” in the find it here box.