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Landscape Design

Pruning a poplar to keep it small

16 years ago

I'm trying to block out a boat/trailer that sits year round on a raised driveway (3 feet high) behind my garden. My garden is about 30ft x 15 ft wide. Right now I have a 30 ft. row of arborvitae that are about 3 feet tall. However, the arborvitae have a long way to go to screen out the boat/trailer. There is some room between and behind the arborvitaes. I'm considering planting fast growing trees(hybrid poplar) to provide privacy until the arborvitaes get bigger than possibly removing the trees. The trees would be planted in a tight space. Has anyone done this? Is it possible to prune the hybrid poplars back to keep them small until the arborvitae get larger?

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Comments (5)

Embothrium
16 years ago
You could grow them as coppices or pollards. However, if they ever got away from you...even if hard-pruned annually they will still get some size to the trunks and roots, probably making removal a headache.

What about putting up a trellis or fence?
laag
16 years ago
That is just about the worst choice for a tree if you want to remove it later. Poplars are a "pioneer" tree that send fresh stems up out of the ground from their roots.
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deeje
16 years ago
If it's definitely a temporary screen you're after, why would you not simply erect a fence of the appropriate height behind the arbs? That seems much simpler (unless I'm missing something) than planting something that's going to grow larger than you want, and needing to prune it all the time.
jazzygardener
Original Author
16 years ago
A fence would have been my first choice all along. However, this area sits to the side and in front of my house. In order to block out this boat/trailer I would need an 8-10 ft high fence. Unfortunatley there's an ordinance which will only allow us to build a 4 foot high fence. This won't do much of anything. The city doesn't control what you plant so that seems to be my only option. Do you have any other ideas for trees./shrubs?
lisamd111
3 years ago
I would love to know what you decided to do, as it’s been over a decade since your post! I’m interested in growing hybrid poplars in a big livestock trough, to keep the roots in check and get fast screening in a spot I can’t plant (all concrete backyard).
Was planning to prune them back to 5-6 feet or so every fall, then let them grow in the summer...
any thoughts on this?

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