What would be a good fast-growing tree or shrub to use for privacy
screening. An evergreen for year-round screening would be preferable.

Thanks,
SW

Where do you live? What climate zone?

"Summer Wind" wrote in message
news
What would be a good fast-growing tree or shrub to use for privacy
screening. An evergreen for year-round screening would be preferable.

Thanks,
SW

"V_coerulea" wrote in message
.. .
Where do you live? What climate zone?


Midwest. Zone 5.

"Summer Wind" wrote in message
news
What would be a good fast-growing tree or shrub to use for
privacy
screening. An evergreen for year-round screening would be
preferable.
Thanks,
SW

What are you doing that you need privacy?

--

Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8
Sunset Zone 5

The most common plant for this purpose in zone 5 is arborvitae. (Thuja sp)
If the soil is right for them, some people also plant hedges of tightly
growing trees, such as blue spruce, which usually keep branches down to the
ground - they can be sheared to keep them low and thickly growing. I think
it might also be possible to plant hedges of juniper virginiana, a native
tree juniper of the east and midwest. These can also be sheared to be lower
than their normal height of 20 feet plus.
"Travis M." wrote in message
news:xRItf.1616$PR5.717@trndny02...
"Summer Wind" wrote in message
news
What would be a good fast-growing tree or shrub to use for privacy
screening. An evergreen for year-round screening would be
preferable.
Thanks,
SW

What are you doing that you need privacy?

--

Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8
Sunset Zone 5

"presley" wrote in message
...
The most common plant for this purpose in zone 5 is arborvitae. (Thuja sp)
If the soil is right for them, some people also plant hedges of tightly
growing trees, such as blue spruce, which usually keep branches down to
the ground - they can be sheared to keep them low and thickly growing. I
think it might also be possible to plant hedges of juniper virginiana, a
native tree juniper of the east and midwest. These can also be sheared to
be lower than their normal height of 20 feet plus.

Thanks. I'm new to gardening/landscaping and this put me on the right
track. Here's one of the many links I found.

http://www.djroger.com/green_giant_arborvitae.htm

SW

The most common plant for this purpose in zone 5 is arborvitae. (Thuja
sp)


Thanks. I'm new to gardening/landscaping and this put me on the right
track. Here's one of the many links I found.

http://www.djroger.com/green_giant_arborvitae.htm

SW

Another question. I just bought this house in September and the previous
owner planted six pear trees where I want to put the Arborvitae. I believe
they are dwarf varieties and while they are small at the moment, a couple
were bearing fruit last year. Would the pear trees survive being moved, and
when would be a good time to move them? Would winter when they are dormant
be the best time? It's mild now with high temperatures in the 40s and 50s.
If the ground freezes around here it usually does not stay frozen for long.

Thanks,
SW

"Summer Wind" wrote in message
. net...
The most common plant for this purpose in zone 5 is arborvitae. (Thuja
sp)


Thanks. I'm new to gardening/landscaping and this put me on the right
track. Here's one of the many links I found.

http://www.djroger.com/green_giant_arborvitae.htm

SW

Another question. I just bought this house in September and the previous
owner planted six pear trees where I want to put the Arborvitae. I
believe they are dwarf varieties and while they are small at the moment, a
couple were bearing fruit last year. Would the pear trees survive being
moved, and when would be a good time to move them? Would winter when they
are dormant be the best time? It's mild now with high temperatures in the
40s and 50s. If the ground freezes around here it usually does not stay
frozen for long.

Thanks,
SW
SW,
This is still a good time of year to move the pears. It is not so much
whether the ground is frozen or not that deterimes winter to be best time
to plant.move trees, but the fact that there will be both a reduced workload
on the root system ( no leaves to feed) and consistant moisture in the
ground ( no as much worry about constant watering).

So far as good screening shrubs, there are literally dozens to choose from,
including the ones that Presly mentioned.

Arborvitae are wonderful, but since they are a tall NARROW shape, you will
need more to cover the same amount of fenceline. Spruces (Picea) are good
... they cover more fenceline BUT they will take longer to fill in. I have
seen White Pine used for very long hedges, but they get HUGE ( as well as do
the spruces).

There are many Hollies that will do well... i.e. Illex Merservae ( i know..
poor spelling) Var. "Dragon Lady" can grow to 20 ft tall x 8-10 feet wide
and has these really SHARP needles on the leaves to deter trespassers.

With all these choices, you have to ask yourself these questions:

How FAST do you want the screening effect?
How BIG do you want the screen to ultimately get?
How much are you willing to SPEND?
How much TIME are you willing to invest in maintaining the screen?


Think about those questions and We in the group will be better able to make
more accurate suggestions.

Anthony B. Zone 6
Ky. Certified Nurseryman
Ky. Nursery Landscapers Association

On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 16:38:06 GMT, Summer Wind wrote:
The most common plant for this purpose in zone 5 is arborvitae. (Thuja

Thanks. I'm new to gardening/landscaping and this put me on the right
track. Here's one of the many links I found.

Make sure you read up on arborvitae in your state... or talk to your
state extension service. There are some real problems with it when certain
pests or environmental conditions are common. Make sure you look at
arborvitae hedges in your area with your soil conditions and your environmental
exposures, so you're not replacing them again later.

Another possibility to consider. A row of similar plants, when one dies or
doesn't do well, looks really bad. Even if you replace the dead or dying
plant, it still looks funny. A mixed, meandering border doesn't have that
problem; nor does it proclaim "property line here" the way a row of something
does -- the meander, even though it takes up more room on your property,
can suggest that your property is larger than it is, particularly if you
can frame a distance view that does not include the neighbor's buildings.
g

Kay

"Travis M." wrote in message
news:xRItf.1616$PR5.717@trndny02...
"Summer Wind" wrote in message
news
What would be a good fast-growing tree or shrub to use for
privacy
screening. An evergreen for year-round screening would be
preferable.
Thanks,
SW

What are you doing that you need privacy?

In my case, I the privacy fence would give the neighbors privacy for the
things they do that I don't want to know about.

"Vox Humana" wrote in message

"Travis M." wrote in message
news:xRItf.1616$PR5.717@trndny02...
"Summer Wind" wrote in message
news
What would be a good fast-growing tree or shrub to use for
privacy
screening. An evergreen for year-round screening would be
preferable.
Thanks,
SW

What are you doing that you need privacy?

In my case, I the privacy fence would give the neighbors
privacy
for the things they do that I don't want to know about.

If you took pictures you could probably sell them on your web
site.

--


Travis in Shoreline Washington

"Travis M." wrote in message
news:%uXtf.3001$i%4.859@trndny08...
"Vox Humana" wrote in message

"Travis M." wrote in message
news:xRItf.1616$PR5.717@trndny02...
"Summer Wind" wrote in message
news What would be a good fast-growing tree or shrub to use for
privacy
screening. An evergreen for year-round screening would be
preferable.
Thanks,
SW

What are you doing that you need privacy?

In my case, I the privacy fence would give the neighbors
privacy
for the things they do that I don't want to know about.

If you took pictures you could probably sell them on your web
site.

You haven't seen my neighbors.