On Sun, 21 Aug 2005 16:09:20 GMT, User Example
wrote:

Is there a list of trees that grow relatively fast? I'd like something
in my back yard to shield the neighbors view. I like oaks but do they
grow slow?

Do pine trees grow at all here? I have seen them in Bastrop. They were
all over the place in North Carolina and they growed pretty fast.
Pines do not like Austin's alkaline soil. Bastrop's forest is known
as the "Lost Pines" because it's a small pocket that represents the
only pines for miles--you have to go toward Houston to see more.
Afghan pines can do okay, but likely won't survive beyond 10-20 years.

Faster growing usually means more problematic. Ash trees grow fast,
but get huge, die young, and leave a very large corpse to deal with.
Oaks are pretty slow growers compared to some trees, but at the
juvenile/adolescent phase (not to anthropomorphize too much) they
actually grow pretty fast. The larger the tree you plant, the longer
it will take to establish in the native soil, so big ones will seem to
do nothing for a good while before they start growing. A younger tree
will overtake an older one within a few years. Bur oaks are among the
largest that do well here, and they are pretty resistant to oak wilt;
even a small bur oak is a big tree. Be aware that they will drop
golf-ball-sized acorns and huge leaves in autumn.

Please, whatever you decide, do not plant ligustrums. They are
invasive imports that should have been banned long ago, but haven't
because people like haveing a big, green bush that is almost
indestructible (hope that didn't come off as a back-door plug for
them). Wax myrtle is a nice alternative for the big-bush category.

For more recommended trees, visit www.treefolks.org

k