On 28 Sep 2003 13:33:38 GMT, (Lecher9000) wrote:

If you do plant the type that grows vigorously, it's important to keep them
trimmed and somewhat compact. Last winter we had heavy snow and ice storms,
and arborvitae that had been left to grow to 20 feet had their tops bent
over.

Cheers,
Sue

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Sue, Thanks. I want the living visual screen to be tall, so maybe AV are
not the choice if they're going to break off in winter. I get lots of snow and
ice here in Pa.

Maybe some pine trees of some sort.

I hate all the needles and dead grass under pines though. hmmm....

We have needles galore on our street, from some horribly misjudged
tree planting long before my time. [1] Everybody HATES them -- the
pine sap on cars, the prickly seeds all over the sidewalks and
driveways, and the needles burying everything.

However, there's an upside to the needles -- they make an excellent
addition to the compost heap. At least it works here -- would like
to hear the opinion of others.

[1] People also hate/love the ficus on many streets. The roots pull
up sidewalks. Battle is currently raging on another street where the
city wants to take out some weakened ficus for liability reasons --
people tripping over the pulled-up sidewalks, but the residents want
other solutions rather than -- as they say -- having to wait 50 years
for a canopy as dense as the existing ficus. A Solomon -- a Solomon -
is needed for this decision! One has to wonder what kind of
"arborist", if any, the city hired to put in these trees umpty years
ago!


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Persephone