First is prone to root rot and liable to grow three times the desired height or more where it escapes root rot long enough. Second is same species as 'Skyrocket'. Third, like most Thuja occidentalis cultivars (and other Thuja) does not make a dense and lush growth except where site conditions promote this kind of response - there are countless scraggly arborvitae hedges around that you can see right through. Discoloring during winter is also common. If you think you want this species anyway the highly popular 'Smaragd' (Danish for emerald or emerald green) is probably your best bet. This often appears denser and greener than most other T. occidentalis seen here.

But compact conifers like these will require many years to grow even 20' tall. You may need to install root barrier and plant a vertical habit running bamboo such as Semiarundinaria to get the desired outcome. Once established and if fertilized and watered bamboos develop very rapidly yet have fixed stem heights that are determined before the shoots come out of the ground - unlike conifers and all other trees and shrubs, which grow taller every year, until something happens to put a stop to this, such as bending over, pruning or dying back/dying completely.

'Skyrocket' is J.scopulorum
while
'Taylor' is J.virginiana

Big difference in climate adaptations.

J.virginiana grows native just about everywhere and well. USDA puts it in Oregon on the East and the West side. That's all you or anyone needs to know that lives in Washington State zones 2-9.

I have (4) Taylor's that are growing 14" a year and 11-12' tall I reckon & I really like them. And, I have a lotttttt of conifers to compare to.

Dax

I'm gonna disagree with the above :-) By and large, most upright junipers do not do very well west of the Cascades. As the OP indicated, rainfall and atmospheric moisture levels just a bit too high unless in a very open, exposed area - pretty much opposite to what was described.

There are other conifers that could work for you - one sees them commonly used as hedges in this area - but they will require diligent and consistent pruning/shearing to maintain a desired width and height.

I'd second the suggestion of bamboo. It is pretty much ideal for this situation.

'Skyrocket' belonging to Juniperus scopulorum I knew, got it backwards because it is often misplaced under J. virginiana and was thinking it was being put under the wrong one in the original post. There are bigger J. virginiana around here that look pretty good, whereas blue forms of J. scopulorum in local plantings get the same shabby look as other blue conifers from the interior such as blue spruces and white firs.

However that has nothing to do with J. virginiana being a western species (it isn't - the range is from Ontario and Quebec south, which is why it's called eastern redcedar, among other things). The tradition is to place the locally native Puget juniper under J. scopulorum but in 2007 R. P. Adams pointed out that it has different coning and habitat characteristics, published the name J. maritima for it. It is characteristic of Puget Sound headlands and river mouth wetlands were there is liable to be a lot of calcium in the soil. Liming of local Rocky Mountain juniper plantings has been recommended by local tree expert A.L. Jacobson.

This post was edited by bboy on Fri, Mar 21, 14 at 14:00

Learned something again.

I figured I'd give them an opportunity to have something not many people would have should they have chosen 'Taylor'. I'll bet it would still work. Call the extension agent, locally! LOL

If there is one thing going it's that 'Taylor' is grey. Like the sky there ;-)

Have a nice one you guys,

Dax

Thanks for all the suggestions. Keep 'em coming.

While I think bamboo might work for someone willing to put in in the time/expense of building an impenetrable barrier, I've seen too many barrier jumps with nightmarish removal scenarios to be willing to take the risk with a runner bamboo in a dense urban area; from what I understand, the clumping is insufficiently upright to provide the screen we would need. I have some runner bamboo in pots for a privacy screen along our drive. I considered using the bamboo in the pots but it's not thriving when confined. A berm won't work since the planting will be along a fence w/ no access on the neighbor's side.

I like the idea of an columnar conifer. I explored the possibility of the Emerald Green but they grow too slowly. Is the same true of Thuja occidentalis "Hetz Wintergreen"? They're said to like wet conditions. The "Oregon Blue" is also described as liking moist conditions. I guess Seattle's rainfall frequently surpasses "moist" and ventures into apocalyptic deluge. I should be looking at floating plantings.

Semiarundinaria is quite vertical. There are many unconfined plantings of it in the area, that have not spread all over - this is true of other species used here also, the outcome varies with the situation. But any running bamboo can suddenly start coming up yards away from the mother clump, making the installation of barrier essential where such an occurrence would be a problem.

All the full height Thuja occidentalis cultvars have approximately the same vigor. The 'Smaragd' will be so much more prevalent than the others because it is what people are looking for. The only problem with it is it is more prone to poor soil drainage than most others, resulting in frequent internet questions about part of a hedge of it going brown. I have also seen it browned in sections by mites during hot weather. But this latter development is probably not especially peculiar to 'Smaragd'.

'Oregon Blue' is merely an otherwise more or less typical Chamaecyparis lawsoniana with a saturated blue coloration. The vigor of some local specimens suggests these are programmed to grow into towering trees just like thousands of other examples of the species in local plantings. In the wild the species is interesting for growing just about everywhere within the comparatively small range it occupies, unlike many other wild tree species now confined to small ranges - and also being limited to specific site conditions within those ranges. So no, there is no particular soil moisture regime etc. that must be provided for it - numerous other cultivars of C. lawsoniana are still all over the place on local properties, despite the inroads of several different root pathogens in later times. The main thing is to place it in soil that drains well - and is not or does not become infested with one of the water molds that kills even specimens that have been in place for decades.

What about Azara microphylla? Thrives in your area; beautiful. Vanilla fragrance in the spring, mmmm...sweet!

I've sent my feelers out in many different directions and am hearing a resounding "BAMBOO!" from everyone. So, okay, I'm game ... but cautiously so. I'm afraid of running bamboo for both maintenance and liability reasons. I have very little free-time to spend on maintenance and I don't want neglected aggressive runner rhizomes to result in a major nuisance (or lawsuit) for my neighbor. The rhizome barrier (from what I understand) is often ineffectual (poking through even the thickest stuff). Are there varieties of clumping bamboo that would grow steadily upwards and remain erect? I'd like something w/ a mature growth of about 30', which would be enough to screen out the 3 story apartment building abutting our single family home. The article below suggest Bambusa Multiplex (Silverstripe or Alphonse Karr). Ideas?

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/fast-growing-clumping-bamboo-70969.html

What did you decide to go with? I'm in Seattle looking for a way to ad some privacy since my laurels were recently cut down (without my permission!) to make a new deck. The strip is narrow, and the house next door sits above me so I'd need at least 15' high. Are you happy with your choice?