I finally had a dying old blue spruce (actually 2 of them of similar size) of around 40-50 feet cut down in my front and back yard that towered over my little 900 sf ranch house from 1971.

Now the front yard looks bare! Well, I am getting used to it, but still would like to plant more trees.

I would like another evergreen in the same place out front ... just not 50 feet high!

I have yet to remove the stumps as it's winter now here in Maine.

So how do I go about planting new trees and if I remove the stump can I plant the new tree right in the same place?

Can you plant in the spring or summer or do you wait till fall?

Do they have evergreen trees here in Maine that only get to 20 feet or so or should I just plant any type and worry about it when it gets too high and just cut it down again?

Most likely I'll be old or dead by then so I'm now really worried (I'm 45 now) lol!

 

No reason not to plant the tree in same place but yea the stump will need to be removed.

The only good thing is that Conifers dont have the root system that trees have so it's less work,

Remember you can plant and move Conifers any month with an "R", assuming the ground is not frozen solid like in January, February, March, and maybe April being so far north!

 

Stump grinding can remove the stumps but most only remove down to 6 or 8" below the surface. Good enough for planting grass but not deep enough for planting a tree. Having a backhoe or excavator remove the roots would be best, but expensive.

Check with nurseries in your area for trees they recommend. They can also recommend the best time of year to plant but generally if you can dig you can plant. The hot summer months are the ones you want to avoid.

 

Check with an experienced nursery. They can recommend suitable trees for your size and space requirements. Note that most evergreens can have their size maintained through annual trimming..

 

So in order to plant a new tree in the same place I have to remove the stump first of course. It's about 1 1/2 feet in diameter I believe. The old blue spruce was about 50 feet high and towered way over my tiny house.

I'd like to plant a new evergreen, but most likely a pine tree instead of blue spruce as they don't do well in Maine I think. I figure even if I plant a small pine of say 6 feet or so, by the time it gets anywhere's near what the old one was (way too big), I'll be long gone or so old I won't care anymore. I'm 45 now and don't expect to live to 60 since my father and grandfather both died in their mid 50's. I've got bad genes.

 

That's the spirit !!!! Get the tree you want and let the next homeowner worry about it getting to big.