From: "Judy McClelland"
I live in the foothills of the coast range in Grand Ronde. The wind from
the coast comes whipping over the hills and down my valley. It knocks the
trees off the benches and desiccates them badly especially the maples.
Actually all the desiduous trees have varying degrees of die back. I have
them in the most protected spot on my property. Under the edge of my three
large oak trees and behind my shop/potshed building, but the wind still
gets them.
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Judy,
Okay - I know your area well and drive through there on my way to the
coast regularly. It is a very lovely natural area. And, you do have wind!
I think whatever you do is going to either empty the wallet a bit or have to
be very innovative. Of course, you could go down the highway a bit and try
your luck at the big casino -
Why not look around some of those old-stuff shops and find some fencing
or gate pieces and build a shield of 2-3 sides about 5-6 ft. high. It would
be wonderful if canvas or a plastic wall would hold up, but I don't think it
would. I have at one point had 6 ft. iron fence posts (stakes) put 1 ft.
into the ground then used lattice 4x8's fastened to them. That cuts the
wind down without having to hold it back full force. Of course you need to
still wire your trees into the pots and secure the pots, too, at times. I
accept a certain amount of wind as bug-proofing.
Your Douglas firs probably cannot do much with that wind, you need
something much "cozier" for your bonsai trees. My choice for smaller
natural wind shields are Arbor-vita (Thuja) which grow so well in this area,
planted just over 2 ft. apart. They make a beautiful hedge, but spendy to
start with much heighth. There are other hedges, too, faster, and adaptable
to hard pruning for shapely sides - like Photinia - inexpensive,
comparatively, and very fast growing.
Lynn
Lynn Boyd, Oregon, USA
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