Trees & Shrubs for Far Northern Lattitudes

[xxena]

I am looking for a list of plants that will grow in our Northern Latitude of 58 degrees North.

I live in Alaska and we have a garden center that grows annuals for a couple of months but that's it then they close down for winter to go crab fishing.

We don't have a problem with major snow here. It gets down to freezing for a few weeks but that's it. I can grow anything that grows in zone 6 temperatures if I find the right spot for it.

The problem is the daylight length. We have long summer days where the sun sets for about 3 hours and long dark days in winter where the sun is up for about 6 hours on a sunny day.

We get a lot of rain here but the soil is rocky and drains well.

Is there anyone out there who has gardened north of Seattle or in New England who can tell me what grows in their gardens?

I am looking to compile a list of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs before I go looking for starts and cuttings. I have a little greenhouse to get things off to a good start.

[johnplants]

Hi;
I live in Washington state we get a lot of rain 8 to 10feetin some places here in the winter and not much cold weather below 10 degree.
take a good look at your grow zone. Buy plants that you see allready doing good inyour area,buy plants rated two grow zones less then where you live.
Do you have a lot of rain this may limit the kind of plants you buy. Most lanscape plants can not take a lot of water.

[txbeyer]

Even though I'm in central Texas, I know the frustration of being limited on the kinds and numbers of different plants you can grow in more extreme environments. I moved to Austin from Houston, just 200 miles west and the differences are significant. I have found out that every environment has it's unique plants that have adapted to certain extremes over long periods of time and it's just a matter of learning and discovering over time. Sources are yet another problem. Short of digging and transplanting plants from the wild, or starting from seed in a very short growing season up there, it has to be frustrating. But I recommend first learning as much as you can from various sources and use that to plan your garden. (Do any universities in AK have horticultural extension services?). Exploring the internet might also be helpful. Since you are the only person who lives in AK in such a very different and colder environment, it is difficult for us to advise. In fact, you could teach us something about gardening in AK, I find that very interesting and challenging. Try the USDA Ag. Research Service (National Aboretum) for advice as well.

I would think that dwarf conifers would be great plants for your garden (evergreen, stay small, come in different growth forms). They were a favorite of mine with I lived in Zone 7 but the plants I grew were hardy in much colder zones. There are mail order nurseries in Oregon (like Forest Farm) that might be helpful. They send me their 500 page catalog, but most of their plants are not adaptive to TX. so I just enjoy reading it.