thrive being the key word ...

when it all boils down.. talking about shade.. in words.. heck even pix.. who knows ..

it basically comes down to asking us how your micro climate will work ... we dont know ...

just do it.. and find out ...

worse it will do ... is etoliate a bit.. .. stretch out for the sun ... it not going to die for such ... for this reason anyway ...

just give it a go ... ken

Couple keywords that don't sound good for this cultivar are "northeast side" and garage wall. Sounds like too much shade for this particular conifer to thrive, it will certainly survive, but you will likely be disappointed with it's open appearance.

There are options that would work though, that have a similar appears, but with white tones. The white(ish) conifers tend to be the better options for shade/part shade, unless you go with a hemlock or yew.

Check out:

Cryptomeria japonica 'Knaptonensis'

or

Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Snow'

will it get full morning sun ,,,or does something obstruct ?

is that 9 to 2 now or 2 months ago

9 to 2 snot bad

ron

Just a comment about "blue" Chamaecyparis obtusas. I've got two Split Rocks and a Gimborn's Beauty. If Blue Feathers is anything like these two other cultivars, just the juvenile foliage is blue-ish. The older foliage turns the typical green color of the species.

I mention that because the more shade the plant gets, the less new growth it's going to push, and the less blue color you're going to get.

Having said that, I think five hours of direct sun should be just fine.

Thanks for all the replies! I'll check out the other suggestions...

sc77 - what sort of hemlock would you recommend? I really need something that stays 3-4ish ft wide (but can get as tall as it wants).

plantkiller_il_5 - the 9-2 sun was during late summer... I haven't paid much attention to the suns pattern since we've lived in this house so I'm not sure exactly how much sun it will have in the winter time. The location will be protected from winds, but may not get very much direct sun.

deltaohioz5 - that is beautiful. I love it. The one I saw at the nursery was much denser... Have you pruned yours to have the spacing like that or is it because it doesn't get as much sun?

It was dense when it was small. I cleaned it out last year, cut out a bunch of dead and brown branches.

Frank

Frank, if I were to buy a 3 ft dense blue feathers could I cut some of the branches out of it soon after planting so it had a shape more like yours or would that be too hard on a new transplant?

Also, how much sun does yours get on that northeast side of your house? Seems like ours will be in a similar spot... though I'm in zone 7b, not sure if that's good or bad.

I would let it grow a few years, just keep the brown branches cut out. I never really like it very much. I came close to ripping it out a few times. It has about the same exposure as yours.

Frank

I can't really recommend Canadian hemlock for your location due to the wooly adelgid issues. At this point for me, I really would only consider the Japanese hemlock, but there are not too many cultivars to choose from at this time, most are very dwarf. Tsuga diversifolia 'Loowit' is a nice choice, but it's a slow grower. Even the strait species is a slower grower compared to Canadians or Carolina.

If you find that spot is indeed getting 5 hours of direct sunlight, your options will expand quite a bit. I would even retract my initial statement and agree with Ron that you probably could go with 'Blue Feathers' there, or you could go with something that is intermediate shade tolerant like Thuja occidentalis 'Degroot's Spire', and also meets your narrow footprint requirement.

Frank, nice job on the pruning.. I think that looks pretty cool. Also, that pungens looks fantastic, especially for being on the NE side of your house... I can't keep those alive at all

KL , if that is your sun now,,,,you will get much more sun in summer,,,the sun tracts northward during the spring into summer,,,,look delta's is growing right up next to the house

hope you plant a little farther out

I suspect brown foliage is lack of sun,,,maybe not ?

ron

Thanks guys!

sc77 - the spot did get 5hrs of sun at one point, but i think that may have been early summer...

Frank, how long have you had that blue feathers? Curious how long it took for it to get that tall?

I bought Blue Feathers around fifteen years ago.

sc77, the spruce is Picea engelmannii 'Compacta'

Frank

Excellent. Engelmannii is more shade tolerant and overall does much better in New England vs pungens. I have 'Bush's Lace' and 'Blue Angel'