P. caroliniana gets considerably wider than 3-4' unless you plan to trim it regularly, and there is a spot-hole disease that can make them shabby looking. Reseeding can be a problem when they mature, as well. I would look at some of the fastigate junipers. They are quite fast and much smaller than mature Thuja or Italian Cypress. Italian Cypress will want to get much, much larger than your requirements. Here is a link that might be useful: blue arrow juniper, for example

Hand picking bags now is an effective and easy control measure (if the plants aren't too tall yet!). But it is also easy to overlook a bag or two, and that's all it takes for another infestation. In our area, bagworms hatch in late May, roughly, and can be spotted and sprayed in early June, usually. At that time they are very easy to kill, use sevin, BT, or other labelled products. Where do they come from? That is a very good question that has never been satisfactorily answered for me. They can and do "go for walks" in their bags, but I have seen them show up in isolated beds of junipers, far from any potential batch of bags. One time a county agent made an offhand comment that he thought they might hitch a ride on birds. When I asked him later to elaborate on that, he vehemently denied any such thing... Bottom line - a very easy pest for us to control, I wish all horticultural pests were so easy. brian

It was planted last fall and then transplanted to different part of the patio a few weeks later after determining we needed something that would much more quickly provide some privacy from the 2nd floor windows of a neighbors house. So, 6ft+ Juniper Skyrockets were put in the place these used to be that I hope to be 10-12ft tall each in a few years. See photo. 4 of these were moved to new locations on the same day last fall and this is the only one of the 4 that has these brown branches near the ground and randomly in other spots, so I was wondering if maybe the drip line to it has a problem or it has a disease issue.

agree ... the space isnt suited to trees or conifers ... i like the drape idea ... can be pulled back when not in use.. but if you are sitting out there.. release it for a bit of privacy ... https://duckduckgo.com/?q=patio+curtains+for+privacy+&t=ffnt&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images but i wouldnt hurry on all that.. just see what happens this summer ... do you spend a lot of time out there ... do the neighbors ... is it even really a problem that need be fixed ...??? ==== moving on from that ... do you need the front lawn for anything??? ... .. bocci ... kids.. etc ... if not use the space in landscaping ... i really like your stone work.. and i wouldnt hide it by planting stuff to hide.. crikey.. you just paid a boatload of money for it.. show it off .. and dont forget.. foundations plantings are planted to hide the foundation .. NOT ON THE FOUNDATION ... [and btw.. that the base issue with the de groot space ... they would literally be on the foundation ....] so i would come out at lest 10 feet .. and make some plantings out there.. berms or beds ... to give a 3D impact between the plants.. and the stone work ... and again ... a plan for this could evolve while you are testing the porch this summer .. lol ... the next best planting time to spring.. is fall ... so you have plenty of time to come up with a unified landscape .. unifying the the stone.. to the lawn.. to the beds ... ken another idea would be akin to old fashioned window shades.. something the rolls itself up ... and it could easily be hidden in the top of the porch https://duckduckgo.com/?q=deck+shades+privacy&t=ffnt&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images