first off .. evergreens are conifers.. so you might post to that forum ...

second.. we need more info, besides 25 feet long ...

how wide ..

how high ... nothing really ever stops .. but what are we talking about here?

conifer will give you year around.. anything that loses its leaves would not be effective in winter ...

more info please.. ken

Betty asked almost exactly what is on my mind so I'll ask my question here rather than start a new thread.

I'm in zone five (Connecticut shore), need a privacy screen along 75 feet, would like to keep it no more than three feet wide (if that is even possible) and six to eight feet high.

I don't care much for conifers, don't need screening in winter and don't mind pruning. I was thinking about viburnum until I saw how large most of them get. Too bad since the nicest hedge I have ever seen was a viburnum. The local nursery suggested burning bush and that would be nice but I don't think I've ever seen them pruned like I would have to so am not sure if it would work.

Something with good autumn color would be nice but not necessary.

Planting area is mostly full sun with some significant shade over the final ten feet.

Thank you for any suggestions.

Betty,
is your yard small?
The chainlink fence is an excellent trellis for an evergreen like vine.
Some vines don't die all the way back in winter and still provide some amount of privacy.
Then in spring, they take off and will provide a nice amount of privacy all summer long.
Honeysuckle is a wonderful fast growing vine that may not totally die back in winter, at least ours doesn't.
If you like the vine idea, you could plant flowering plants,even tall ones in front of the vine on the fence.
That would look pretty.
Just a suggestion.
Paulinc,
Same goes for you, you don't have much space to work with as far as a bush.
If you don't mind pruning, get a vine, a nice big fast growing one. Mabey even make cool looking trellis for it.
How do you say trellis plural?
Oh well, good luck to you both!

Thank you butterfly4u, if I have to go with a vine due to space limitation I will, the thing is that the chain link fence on the border is only 4 feet tall and I would like to block the view to at least six feet (I live next to a rental property that looks like, well, a rental property....) Sure, I can trellis, but installing 75 feet of trellis material that would be strong enough to support heavy vines and resist the wind (which can be significant here) is something I would like to avoid if possible.

Lot is 50 feet wide, but in the back yard where the privacy screen in needed, a two car garage takes up a little more than half of that, leaving me with about 22 feet. Small beds next to the garage and an associated fence eat up another 2 feet. To be able to keep a 3 foot wide hedge trimmed appropriately I think I would need to devote at the very least least a four foot strip for it to grow in, cutting the yard down to 16 feet. I'm afraid any more coverage will leave the yard looking like a bowling lane!

Oh, forgot to mention that soil is on the acidic side, great moisture holding up top and drainage below (12 inches of rich looking soil on top of 10 feet of sand - area used to be a tomato farm).

Thanks again!

Stay away from burning bush, or at least check with your local extension service - it's extremely invasive where I live, but might not be such a problem in zone 5 - I suspect that it is, though. (And for this reason alone, I'd consider looking for a new nursery.)

Deciduous shrubs will grow faster than most evergreens - yew might be an exception, and it makes a good hedge. There are many narrow, upright shrubs ... lets see...

>I was thinking about viburnum until I saw how large most of them get.

Well, you could choose one of the smaller or more upright ones. I like v. bodnantese 'Dawn', which is taller than it is wide, and which can be trained as a single stemmed tree (or so I'm told). Viburnum lentago 'Nannyberry' is also narrower than tall. Neither of these would be especially happy kept at 3' wide, though.

I've been working on a privacy screen for my back border for about 20 years, and have had a lot of failures, mostly because I didn't dedicate enough space for the plants - but this is along a stockade fence, so I have a rain shadow problem as well. Now I've got a row of holly there that I'm hoping will top out at about 12'.

If you're concerned with the bowling alley effect, you might consider a mixed border instead of a hedge - having a varied contour would prevent that look. Anyway, there are some great sites about hedges on line, I linked to a more or less random one below.

Here is a link that might be useful: hedges

PS - are you sure 6-8' will really block the view of the neighbor's house? You might want to check that from different parts of your yard, and especially if you have a deck. I do this by sending my DH walking around the perimeter and see exactly what's visible above his head from different areas of my yard & from different windows of the house.

Diggingthedirt,

Thank you. That same nursery also recommended white pine after I said deciduous and not too tall (!!!!!) so I started discounting their advice right away, which is why I posted here. I mean, they might as well have recommended California Redwood or whatever it's really called. I'm sure they're both great hedges - if you are looking down on them from 10,000 feet. Too bad, there used to be a great family-owned nursery around here, but they closed their doors last year, and I am not sure where else to turn now locally. Anyway, I will definitely avoid burning bush, thank you.

Whoops, I just checked again and am in Zone 6b, not 5 (CT shore, Middlesex County), CT is in both zones, but I don't know why I can't ever seem to remember that.

Thanks for asking about the height. I just went out there to measure the height of the existing mixed Rose of Sharon and Lilac border, and now think that 9 feet would be ideal. I would keep the existing plantings, but whoever planted them thought it would be a good idea to plant them within 2-3 inches of the fence, so they are all looking leggy and forlorn, are leaning badly, and really need to be ripped out. Such nice plants what a shame.

I also took a long hard look at the the yard and think that the planting beds could be increased to 4.5 feet wide, if that makes a difference.

FWIW the lawn between the garage/fence and this hedge will be a dark blend of Kentucky Bluegrass (equal parts Award, Bedazzled and Moonlight) for my toddler to play on. I generally enjoy many varieties of plants, but in this case am really just looking for a good private yard for my son to play in. I imagine that I would have to prune the hedge enough during the growing season to preclude berries, and am OK with that - I would still get the spring flowers, and can install some more colorful and varied plants on the opposite side of the yard.

I hope all that makes sense. I will look into the other varieties you mentioned thank you very much for that. I won't be planting this until Spring, just trying to get it all thought out while it is on my mind so that I can decide on a plan, prepare the bed, and order the plants all in good time.

Thanks again!
Paul

You want a good nursery, go to Broken Arrow in Hamden. I'd not return to the place suggesting burning bush!

Lilac 'Miss Kim' should get about the height you want, and I suppose you could prune for width, but it wouldn't like the shady spot. Clethra would work in the shady spots, and would do in sun if you kept them watered, again, you'd need to prune some for width, though.

G.A.,

Thank you so much! I live in Clinton but my office is in North Haven, just up the block from Hamden, so I will definitely set some time aside to wander Broken Arrow. And thank you also for the plant recommendations, I don't know anything about any of them but will check them out too.

Thanks again!

Best,
Paul

Good for you for planning this ahead of time.

I suppose you've ruled out privet? It self-sows like mad, but if you like shearing hedges, that might not be a problem. It grows really fast, retains its leaves well into winter, and its twiggy nature provides screening even when leafless. Not the most interesting plant in the world, but very adaptable as to whatever shape you want to achieve.

I've also seen American cranberry bush viburnum grown as a hedge - its texture a little coarse but it does grow quickly and is (in my yard) fairly narrow.

If you're considering *any* viburnum, though, you should check with your extension service about the presence of viburnum leaf beetles in your area and then cross-check the variety for its level of susceptibility to that relatively new pest. I seem to remember that ACB is one of the primary targets.

Adam or Andy or whoever is working BA nursery when you go by will have loads of suggestions.

I'm in Ridgefield, so it's a trek for me but I go up every spring, with a long list!

I would consider privet, but right now have viburnum stuck in my head. Thanks for the heads up on that beetle, looks like it is a problem in my area so I will have to consider that as well. Hmm....

giboosi, I went to the Broken Arrow website - what a list of plants! Must be some operation they have there. Great to have a local source for what seems like just about anything. Thanks!

I'm growing a privacy fence with forcythia shrubs. Of course they loose their leaves in the fall but they are so thick I can't easily see through. They grow fast .... in fact, my shrubs are about 10 feet tall and I cut them back to about 5 ft tall after they bloomed.

The trouble with forsythia is that they're so wide - and if they are sheared they lose their graceful arching shape. (IMHO!) They are great if you have the space for them to grow naturally.

Along similar lines, i.e., yellow, I was going to suggest winter jasmine, Jasminium nudiflorum, which is a nice evergreen, but I'm not sure how hardy it is - zone 6 think. It's a "lax shrub" that can be trained to a narrow, tall form with support. Mine blooms in February, and makes my forsythia seem like an afterthought. Love it for the right spot.

Hi. I need to make a privacy screen in south facing partial shaded 25-30 ft long area with chain link facing street. there is english ivy started to attatch to chainlink and newly plantd row of rose of sharons with one old and established rose of sharon in center. old and tall pecan tree shading most of this. zone 7. I want something pretty private most of the year as i have a very nosey neighbor and we spend alot of time outdoors with kids. will english ivy and rose of sharons look good or should i dig up some and stagger them with california lilac or other evergreen shrub.(must be drought tolerant and prefer fasst growrs)Any advice or pics are much appreciated.