Privacy Evergreen Needed!

11 years ago

Hi there, Our yard is in desperate need of privacy. We had an open field beyond our yard. There is a building far left and 2 water towers, one to the far left and one mid right in the distance maybe 3-4 hundred feet. They are not that much of an issue when the leaves are on the big maple tree in the the back of our yard and all the neighbors trees are full. although I would rather not see them ever. The major issue is that a local car dealership has been renting the this empty property from the owner who apparently does not care much about all the families who now have a view of what is currently a giant overflow parking lot! the cars are lower than the trees so nothing really blocks all the view. We are replacing the fence but will still see a lot of it. I want to plant some sort of evergreens that grow quickly, are storm hearty & kind of low maintenance. Nothing too tall in the hundreds of feet. I have no problem trimming and watering but do not want to worry about trees that are susceptible to pest and disease with whatever I put there. We do not have a huge yard about 60' x 60' with the back fence being about 45 feet from our deck. The fence is west, so what ever I plant will have plenty of sun all day, the sun goes down far right behind our fence. I will gladly sacrifice part of the sunset to block the horrid view we now have. We live in zone 7, New Jersey. Any suggestions besides moving hahaha..... be will be much appreciated :)

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Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
45 feet ...

oh hi... WELCOME to GW ... in your post.. next to your name.. it says NONE .. go to your members page.. and change that to something like Z7 NJ .... because if you come back often.. it will always be the first question ...

next.. a pic would tell a thousand words... if you can learn how.. post one ...

45 feet to the lot line.. is NOT a lot of space.. for many things that get tall ... especially in the conifer world ...

one thing i suggest often is Thuja occidentalis DE GROOT'S SPIRE .. mine is going on 12 feet tall.. and barely 2 feet wide.. saves you a lot of yard ... and they grow 12 to 18 inches per season ... see link.. and note the ones that have 2 leaders ... yuck

you would have to demand single leader trees ... but if you get this far.. come over to the conifer forum.. and ask why ...

the alternative to conifers.. would be shrubs .... most of us hang in both forums ..... so its of little use to tell you to go over there ...

but i cant think of a lot of evergreen trees .... and that is why i suggest conifers ... or shrubs ...

learning the terms.. is how you start on your quest ... to ID what is available ...

good luck

ken

ps: you stole my joke with your last line ...

Here is a link that might be useful: link
Jackiem21
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank Ken. I guess conifer is term I need to know :) and I guess what I meant. The De Groot's Spire you suggested sounds like it is very narrow. I would really like it to be full and block every inch of our current view. Do they fill out and mesh together to form a "green wall" Which is what I'm going for. I know it will take a couple/few years but we're not planning on going anywhere, and if we do it will be better for the property value later on blocking all that mess. I was thinking Thuja Green Giant, we have a few on the side of our deck although they may be emerald greens not sure they were there when we moved here 16 yrs ago they are 12-15'and don't look like they're getting any taller to me. I'll look up the De groot's to see what they look like
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Iris GW
11 years ago
There are evergreens that are "conifers" and there are evergreens that are not. Conifers mean they are "cone bearing" and include pines, junipers, and other trees that appear to have "needled" foliage.

In my area (north Georgia), we also use evergreen hollies, wax myrtle, Carolina cherry laurel, and southern magnolias. These are called "broadleaf" evergreens.
Jackiem21
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks :) I love the look of conifers, and their cones. Love the soft feel of their branches, as Emerald Green and Green Giant Arborvitae and their scent. Hate that they can be ruined by heavy snow and need the "Fifty Shades" treatment in the winter like I had to do to my sky pencil holly, Ha :) I really do not want the sharp needle and prickly juniper types, Had a beautiful variegated holly near or front porch and gladly took it down when putting on a new porch... I was tired of the torturous pruning/trimming & hated getting stabbed keeping it in check. The previous owners planted close to the porch and right between the houses which are only about 18-10 feet apart. I did not realize that, although the Green Giant had the name, it gets so wide. Twenty feet wide from what I've read, which could be a problem. I guess It could mean lots of trimming. Decisions decisions..... they all seem to have some faults, I guess there is no perfect choice. I'll have to keep researching the details and looking up the suggestions. :)

Privacy Evergreen Needed!

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Jackiem21
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Privacy Evergreen Needed!

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Jackiem21Original Author

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