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Need Privacy screen on busy road

14 years ago

I know this has been asked many times. I have searched the forums first, but I do not see a solution for my problem.

I currently have 20 Arborvatie in the front of my property. I live in Northern NJ. The Arbs have been there for 6 years. They are in good shape but are not really doing well due to the area being shaded by much larger trees(oak and ash), the busy road(wind) and the winter salt spray from snow plows.

I am going to move these Arbs to the rear of my property(I have good use from them).

I now need to plant something more appropriate for the coditions.

The soil is rich, drainage is good. What can I plant?

I am looking for a 10 -12 feet screen.(70ft wide)

Thanks.

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Comments (6)

gardener365
14 years ago
I'm not trying to bore you with Thuja's/Arborvitae but 'Techny' is a real good choice. It's wide-growing and at the same time, it's height grows similary. It's also rich army green. A different color. Foliage sprays are nice too.
Thuja is tolerant of salt too. This plant was made for your growing situation. I'll tell ya what also would be more sharp would be a row of 'Sherwood Frost'. That would tickle everyone. These guys should be shade tolerant. Hemlock in your part of the country is a waste of time because of the Wolly Agelid.

Dax
roccol
Original Author
14 years ago
I have not seen these at any nursery in my area. They do look very nice. Would Thuja Steeplechase be good? I say 10 - 12 fett, but 25 feet would not be an issue.
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I would avoid planting anything at this point. As sure as you do, a potential buyer will not like what you've selected. That you are being told "lack of privacy is the problem" may not be the problem at all. People seem to frequently look for ways to avoid telling the truth. They might not like the house for some other reason, but latch on to any easy and obvious excuse. Everyone would know that they could plant any privacy screen they wished so, as Woody says, it would not be a deal-breaker. Why not invite someone knowledgeable about real estate, who will be honest, to visit the house and get their unvarnished feedback? Landscaping is what a person should employ early on--right after they buy a house--to get the biggest, exponential bang for their buck. With the exception of adding a few annuals, it's not cost effective at the end of home ownership. This post was edited by Yardvaark on Sat, May 18, 13 at 19:45
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lazygardens: I have measured that distance. The driver is 15 feet back from the edge of the pavement when trying to merge into traffic, so can't have anything tall in that first 15 feet. There are three large trees (2 Sycamores that are 30-40 feet and a mature Horsechestnut) set back 25 feet from the road. So that leaves just ten feet that could have taller planting on the way to the trees. I understand your idea of gradually increasing heights from perennials to shrubs to low growing trees to the big trees, I just don't think there is room to implement it. I have seen people try to fill in a line of shrubs between existing tall trees and that always seems to look wrong, so the more naturalistic idea does make more sense. Yardvaark: Yes, I did fail to profess my love of the house! It is lovely and I would hope whatever we end up doing adds to that. I would certainly agree that the existing plantings don't show off the house and the yews are certainly not doing it any favors, but haven't had the budget previously to deal with this. Old houses and upkeep, you know! Remember that photos always focus your eye on what is close up in a way that you don't do in real life, so the house is more visible that it appears above. So I think you are saying that you don't think it's right to try to make the front private at all? I do feel that these old places are sort of in the public domain. On the other hand, for fourteen years I've been able to go grab the paper in the morning without getting dressed. Now that the lilac hedge that did run the length of the house is gone, I'm finding that lack of privacy irritating. So what would you do to complement the house in your ideal world?
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Include a photo or give some dimensions of the whole yard for a better answer. It also depends on how much traffic and at what speeds people drive on this side road. If it is a short cul-de-sac, and people have such a short distance to get to their own house that they tend to slow down, the sight lines can be much less. It also depends on how much of your inside the screen/private yard space you need to keep to make it look right from the house. Your greatest risk is that you can't see a pedestrian or dog approaching the driveway, so I'd think you would want at least 15 feet clear of the curb. Cars coming by you can usually hear, it is people,kids and animals that are of more concern. In any case, you will hopefully not be having to constantly back out of your drive onto the street, which is even more dangerous for hitting unseen things. You also don't say how high a screen you intend, as this will make a difference too.
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Remember that you don't need a wall of green to have an effective screen. Why not consider a mixture of shrubs and trees in layered border rather than a straight row? There are many plants that would work with the conditions and, used together in a mixed shrub border, would give you the screening you want.
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gardener365
14 years ago
Go with the smaller when in doubt.

Dax
gardener365
14 years ago
Would 9" starts be too small? of Techny. I ask because I know of a place that sells them (100) for 44$ - tax and shipping is included. It's the same price for any of these:

"Nigra"

"Pyramidalis"

"Techny"

"Smaragd"

"Woodwardi"

"Holmstrup"

"Hetz Wintergreen"

"Green Giant"

These guys do big business obviously. I bought from them last year upon recommendation from a friend that's in the growing business. I was sent over 120 cuttings. I just about had a heart attack. They're called, Rens Nursery. Click Here: Their Website

Dax
gardener365
14 years ago
RE: Rens

All you need to do is call them and have a credit card ready.

Dax
jinxz5
14 years ago
Another idea is Thuja occ. Green Giant. We use them as a screen, they grow fast and single trunked (or prune out a secondary if necessary) to keep them strong against splaying out with wet snow/ice load. The multi-trunked types will fail eventually in that regard. Green Giants will get tall in a few years, but if they have to be topped in 10 years, I'd take the quick screen now. They have them at Walmart. Hubby picked some up today to add to our existing neighbor screen where other plants need to be removed. They do get wider and it is coarser than the other arbs, but deer resistant to foraging (not raking).

Even if you go with the other varieties, try to prune the secondary trunks out by taking 1/3 of the length each year for 3 years. I always prune to keep my arbs single trunked, strong and straight so they will look great for the next decades and hold up in ice storms. Nothing is harder than trying to remove/replace a damaged tree in a hedgerow of mature trees, even if you could afford to replace a very large tree in 15 years.

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