I will point out that Leyland cypress will not stop at 12'. I see plenty of 30-40' ones around me. It is sad to see small yards where all the light and space is sucked up by a row of Leylands. They have a reputation for being fairly shallow rooted as well, so they not a great 100 mph wind tree.

- Brent

Maintaining leylands at 12' will be a endless maintenance chore, requiring pruning multiple times a season. I'd consider a west coast native evergreen shrub, Myrica californica - can reach as much as 20' in height, although the 10-15' range is a bit more common, easily prunable, well-adapted to NW climate including our recurring summer droughts and winds.

Broadleaved evergreen shrubs will generally establish and grow faster than most conifers, leylands and Green Giant arborvitae being the possible exceptions.

Where exactly are you located in WA that is a zone 9? Most of the Puget Sound basin is considered zone 8 with the exception of a few shoreline microclimates; zone 7 in the higher elevations. The Skagit valley area is firmly zone 8.

Gardengal, We're near Concrete which is definately a z7. We are building on Whidbey in a z9. I'll take a look at those evergreen shrubs but we need something with a fast growth habit. Brent, thanks for the heads up on the maintenance involved with the leyland. Tom

Gardengal, I did some research on the myrica californica and they'll just be too slow growing for what we need. After this winter's wind storms we and mother nature cleared about an acre which opens us up to everyone. We have 2.5 acres and the barrier shrubs will be about 100' from the house and 10-15' in from the fence.

Had time on my hands last nite and looked at USDA hardinezz zones around here. I learned a few things I didn't know. Skagit County is not in the Puget Sound Basin. That ends at the south end of Whidbey. There are some zone 6 areas in Skagit. Whatcom County is the only area with a z7 on the coast for the entire US west coast. None of that helps me with my shurb questions but it's interesting. Enjoy the good weather. Tom

Is it not usually true that fast-growing plants are short lived?

sgm, anything you select will need time to settle, grow and fill in. You are unlikely to find leylands anywhere around this area to purchase that are much larger than 8' and even their fast growth rate doesn't kick in immediately. You are looking at a minimum of 3-5 years before you get effective privacy screening unless you are willing to invest in expensive, more mature specimens (if you can find them) or you opt for bamboo, which will provide needed height virtually immediately. But that's not an inexpensive proposition, either.

Geographically, the Puget Sound basin is considered to be the entire area surrounding that body of water beginning at the Straights of Juan de Fuca and extending east to the Cascade foothills and west to the Olympics. For some purposes, this is even extended to include the Straights of Georgia and the San Juans. The theme governing this area is that it is uniformly considered to be under a marine influence and a mild maritime climate with colder zones restricted to the higher elevations/foothills. Obviously, various microclimates will exist that are exceptions.

Here is a link that might be useful: map of the Puget Sound basin

Gardengal, Great Site! But it is referencing fish, marine mammals, birds and invertibrate marine life, not weather zones. Eastern Skagit and Watcom county are influenced by the Fraser's outflow and outflows from central Washington. I understand that in a Seattle-centric regiion this fact is often missed. But enough of that.

If it takes 3-5 years for a shrub to get the size I need then I'll consider that pretty fast. Well heading back to Whidbey. Thanks for your help. Tom

I can give you the benefit of my own experience in similar circumstances. When we built our house 7 years ago, we put in a variety of (mostly) conifers in various spots with an eye towards screening should the adjacent properties ever become developed.

The first thing I would point out is that, if you want fast growth, you are going to have to have a way of regularly watering your plantings. We put a few Leyland cypresses in various spots and the one that was planted near the house, in the best soil, with the least root competition and the most regular supplemental watering is MUCH bigger than the others. It was about 6' high when we planted it in 2002, is now about as tall as the second story windows of the house -- I guess on the order of 19' or so. By contrast, other Leylands we placed in poorer soil and gave little extra water are closer to 14', some even smaller than that.

Other evergreens we've planted:
Arizona cypress: not quite as quick as the Leylands, but still fairly fast growing. As with the Leylands, the one that has the best growing conditions and least competition is much bigger than the one that has been left to fend for itself.

Burke's red cedars: Seem to be pretty darn slow growing, but they have a lot of root competition and are pretty much on their own in terms of water.

Incense cedar: I love this tree and don't know why it isn't used more for hedging in our area. Not as fast growing as the Leyland, but maintains a more columnar shape for a given height than the cypresses do.

Thuja plicata 'Watnong' and 'Virescens' (which apparently are so similar that some people think they are actually the same variety): These seem to be spending their first few years putting-on bulk rather than height, but they have held their green color nicely in the winter (rather than turning brown).

I'd also recommend looking into Azara microphylla. If you're really zone 9, you should have no trouble with hardiness and it has fragrant blooms to boot. And the suggestion of using Myrica californica gets seconded by me: it's been very fast growing in our yard, both in height and width.

Oh, last thing: are you considering a mixed hedge, or all of one type of plant? I just want to give a nudge toward doing a mixed hedge, since you may run into pests or diseases down the road, and a mixed hedge is so much more forgiving in such a situation. You'll get more bird activity with a mixed hedge, as well.