you know, I'm not really sure what your question is. It looks to me like you've done a lot to ameliorate the wind. You've got trees, shrubs, and fences. Is it that you want to grow more plants which are being damaged by the wind? Is it that you want to hang out in the yards but can't because it's too windy? There are certain laws of wind and physics that can make wind breaks more efficient, in terms of size and structure of wind breaks. Look them up. I have a book called, "Landscaping that Saves Energy and Dollars" by Ruth Foster that has some pretty good info and diagrams. Lastly, you can't stop the wind altogether, so instead of fighting it, you can go with the flow, so to speak. Plant grasses that rustle and sway; put up a wind spiral ornament and watch it spin. This post was edited by Violet.West on Sun, Jul 6, 14 at 12:05

hi you might get more specific information from your county SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICT ... google that plus your county name ... call them .. its the off season ... you might get a lot more help, rather than waiting until their busy season .. most likely they also sell cheap small stock at the proper planting time for your area .... by definition... a wind break is soil conservation .... i am not familiar with your zone.. nor the trees listed.. but will provide some general thoughts ... after planting... you are responsible for all and PROPER watering for 2 years ... in the 2nd year.. they should be weaned.. and only watered in drought ... after that they should be free range... that would be the whole point of getting region specific NATIVE plants ... perhaps.. in your zone.. you might stretch that to 3 years .... that is the part i dont know, based on my experience ... you can double plant your rows ... and when they get to height ... thin out half the plants .... while they are still within you ability to do so for free ... e.g. a tree that gets 30 feet wide.. should be planted 30 feet from trunk to trunk ... but it wont be much of a wind break for 50 years ... so you might plant them 10 feet apart .... and plan on removing half or 1/3 or 2/3, down the line ... there is much science to this.. which the soil conserv peeps can help you with ... i like bboys idea .... of multiple lines of diveserse plants ... which leads me to my last thought... do NOT use ONLY one type of pine.. just in case some plague comes along and destroys ONLY those ... again.. the SCDist peeps ought to be able to offer you ideas on other pines.. specific to you clime ... let me put it this way .. you pay your taxes... use what the gvmt offers ... cant hurt .. unless its the IRS... lol ... but they dont do trees .... good luck ken

Thank you very much for the responses and advice. The pictures of the bamboo look great. How does clumping bamboo reproduce? Is there any way it can spread? Is it considered invasive in Zone 9A? Does bamboo perform well on unirrigated sites? Junkyarkgirl - you bring up a good point. I may not need a wind hedge in the first place. We are growing citrus in 9A, a borderline zone for good citrus performance. The healthiest tress I've seen around here have been well protected. The site we are planting is completely unprotected. It's in the middle of a 1000 acre field. Last winter the winds were constant and chilly from the North and West. I was considering planting a windbreak hedge on the West side and the North side of the area, which, when fully planted, will be about 75' x 100'. On the East and South sides I am considering planting a loose natural hedge row to enclose the grove in a sort of outdoor room. I will look into silverthorn. I don't want to shade the trees and will have to figure out the height of the plants and the sun angle. Thanks again, Tom

Upright yew kind of works. I tend not to find yew interesting, because it was overused some years ago and I see lots of horribly mutilated ones as foundation plantings...but in theory it has lots of qualities I want. Not that familiar with red Spruce...certainly interesting. It could extend this plan into more Northern regions. Part of the benefit of the holly or yew is they can take more butcher...I mean pruning when they reach excessive size. Also, it's unlikely the same disease would threaten your holly and pine. I don't hate Leyland Cypress. I just think folks who use it should have a "backup plan". The proper use of Leyland cypress is to protect slow growing, shade-loving trees from sun and wind while they get established...