We are looking to landscape a set of cabins on the same lot in Big Bear Lake, CA. The cabins are in a neighborhood without a lot of land. The house behind is very close and clearly visible. We are going to add a chain link fence so that it will last a long time in the cold weather and we want a visual screen to hide the fence and the neighbor’s house.

Big Bear Water Department has an example garden set up to display native and low water landscapes that work for this area in particular (Sunset Climate Zone 2B). They also provide a list of suggested plants that can be purchased at local nurseries, as well as a lovely guide to landscaping mountain homes.

In any instance when planting a tree it is good to ask the same questions.

• Why do I want/need a tree?
• How tall can it grow?
• Do I want it evergreen or deciduous?
• Am I looking for flowers or colors added to the garden with this tree?
• What is my climate zone and what are the watering needs?
• What type are the sun/shade requirements of the location I will be planting the tree?

For this location, we want an evergreen tree that will always provide a visual barrier. Because this is a vacation home, it needs to be native or need little to no extra water once established. It also needs to be small in size so that it will not need to be removed in the future. We are thinking 25 feet tall and 10 feet wide maximum. Also, there are a lot of tall trees around it making the area partial sun at best.

Here is a breakdown of the various trees that were suggested online to plant in Big Bear

• Abies concolor – White Fir: Although beautiful, these trees can grow up to 50 ft. tall making it too tall for our purposes
• Alnus rhombifolia – White Alder: Requires moderate to ample water making this not a fit for our needs
• Calocedrus decurrens – Incense Cedar: It requires no to little irrigation (perfect) but can grow to 75- 90 ft. in height.
• Juniperus occidentalis – Western Juniper: Junipers come in all shapes and sizes from ground covers to shrubs and trees. The Western Juniper is native to California’s Sierras and frows to 50 ft. in height. Their appearance is interesting but does not seem like it works as well for a uniform hedge.
• Pinus ponderosa – Ponderosa Pine, also known as Western Yellow Pine: This tree is native to the area and is moderate to fast-growing, but way too large for our specifications as it grows to 100 ft. tall.
• Pinus jeffreyi – Jeffrey Pine: Ack! This one grows even taller, potentially to 120 ft. in height.
• Pinus lambertianna – sugar pine: They keep getting taller. The Sugar Pine (which I love) grows up to 200 ft. in height!
• Pinus contorta ssp. murryana – lodgepole pine or Tamarack: This native tree can grow to 80 ft., but is often much smaller. Planted among other trees it is often tall and slender, but it is still too tall for us and needs regular water.
• Pinus flexilis – limber pine: This variety seems to be the smallest amount the pine trees growing to 30 – 50 ft. in height, but it says that it takes well to pruning. As it matures, it develops a thick trunk and grows needles at the top. That makes this tree, not a lasting contender.
• Populus tremuloides – quaking aspen: Deciduous tree, not for this, but would be lovely grouped in the front yard for color in the fall.

For one reason or another, nothing on the list met my criteria for the right tree for this spot. A little disheartened, I drove up to Big Bear. I visited a local nursery (which is really always one of the best resources) called Eminger’s Mountain Nursery located in the middle of town on Big Bear Blvd. After hearing my criteria, they steered me toward thuja occidentalis and at first glance, this seems too tall and wide in its native state, but there are several different varieties. ‘Smaradg or Emerald Green checked about all of the boxes.

Emerald Green is a very neat and slightly formal tree that is dense-growing making it a perfect candidate as a sudo-hedge. It grows to about 15 feet in height and about 4 feet wide. It reminds me of an American version of the Italian Cypress Tree. Lined up in a row they look stately and also provide a wind block as well as a visual block. The foliage is like needles and looks feathery. It does require watering but considering half the year the ground will be frozen, this shouldn’t take up too much water resources and the nursery told me that once established, they would only water a few times each summer.

Unfortunately, the nursery was all sold out of the trees in the size that I was looking for. I make it a point to always buy small trees as they are less expensive and also I think they become better established than full-grown trees. But come next spring we are going to preorder these and have them delivered to the site.