Windbreak recommendations for VERY windy area

2 years ago

Hello,

We live close to the ocean (around 300') in the Pacific Northwest on a 2.5 acre property. Our local geography works in such a way that we are pelted by really strong winds most of the fall and winter. The winds are VERY STRONG (enough to almost knock over an adult sometimes)! Two years ago we planted a leyland cypress windbreak along the windward side. We started with small plants (about 3 feet tall) so that they could establish some root systems to secure themselves against the wind. They are growing (albeit slowly), but I am concerned that the wind will prevent them from becoming very dense. I tried planting a second row of cherry laurel in front of the cypress, but the ones exposed to the wind are either dying or barely holding on to life.

We have enough room for a 40' wide windbreak, and I am eager to have some protection as soon as is reasonably possible (10 years?) because I am a small scale farmer and need to protect my crops. Does anyone have any recommendations for conifers that can survive and do well in these hard conditions? The soil is very sandy and the windbreak will be exposed to salt spray coming in on the wind. The plants will be irrigated by a drip system and I will amend the soil and mulch to try to give the plants a head start on our very difficult site.

Pines tend to grow very sparsely in this neighourhood, and don't offer much if any wind protection (they lose their branches and look more like big bonsai!).

Douglas fir look beautiful when young, but they drop their lower limbs as they age. Things grow quickly here due to our long growing season and mild temperatures, and I worry that a Douglas Fir windbreak would be ineffective in 20 years.

I am considering Norway spruce, but I don't know if they would cope with our salt spray and sandy soil.

Any suggestions are really appreciated!

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Comments (9)

Christopher CNC
2 years ago
Look into the larger sized cultivars of Junipers, Juniperus chinensis and J. x pfitzeriana. They can get almost tree like with age when left unmolested. What conifers grow naturally on your coastline? Look there for plant choices. That brings things like Monterey Cypress to mind.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
windbreaks are usually the providence of your local federal Ag office or state COUNTY extension office .... they are often in the same building ...

you might be further ahead.. if you start by looking for information from your local resources ...

watering large tree/conifer transplants on irrigation can be very hard to do ... as you need to saturate the soil down thru the gob planted.. to insure that the roots.. at depth.. have the moisture they need .. you cant water them like perennials.. for 15 mins a day or something ...

if i knew what state you were in.. i would search out the AG or extension office for you.. but you can do that ... besides.. as a farmer.. one would suspect you are already working with either or both ... or them ...

ken
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wantabe: the wind speed increases after a short distance down/up wind. I think the reasons for this is the bernoulli effect due to the local space for the air being restricted, and the momentum being transfered down the face of the wall by the coanda effect, perhaps google can tell you? The theory is sound. Solid objects will reduce the wind speed up close, but then the wind will travel faster further downstream. A porous screen on the other hand will have a large area of reduced wind with a gradual return to original speed. Regarding theories being wrong, science does not make incorrect theories so much as theories with low predictive accuracy. The classic bumblebee argument is discredited here: http://www.math.niu.edu/~rusin/known-math/98/bees We replace theories with more predictive ones as we get better. This does not mean the old theories are wrong, and often they are still used when precision is not requried (I use Newtonian mechanics when designing mechanisms rather than Einsteinian mechanics, because at everyday speeds the two have the same predictive power. Rather than building a wind break (which is a tricky art), a simple and effective solution would be to buy a taped shade sail large enough to cover the whole greenhouse and anchor that into the ground over the top to form a flatish tent. There are screw in soil anchors that would be quite adequate for this job, as long as the sail can't flap. http://www.shadesails.com/ready%20made.htm
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I have also been searching for different types of screening plants. Not being able to trim on the other side of the property is certainly restrictive. You might consider some of the juniper tree cultivars (very good with wind and columnar growth - don't know about salt). I like the Spartan Juniper about the best. Gets to be maybe 16' by 4' - of course the hedge has gaps at the top as they grow together at the bottom - not too fast growing. The other plant the people in the UK just rave about is something called a gilt edged silverberry (Elaeagnus x ebbingei). This is more of fast growing shrub that can be trimmed freely - it is specifically called out for tough coastal conditions in the UK. The most recent plant I have fallen in love with is a Carolina Cherry Laurel. This is a beautiful hedging plant that can also be trimmed freely. And of course for fast growth and dense screening there is always oleander - but I hear those are dying off in CA. Here in Tucson they grow like crazy with almost complete neglect
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Eastern Red Cedar would do it. Except for maybe the "drapey feel", although some older one do have that look. They are a drought resistant tree native to your area that is often used for windbreaks. Typical height down here is in the 30-40' range. Some have a wider spread than others, so if you don't get the extra lot, be choosy to pick ones that will tend to remain more narrow. I'm using them down here to break up my view of the highway and slow down the north wind somewhat.
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nandina
2 years ago
I am familiar with your problem here on the east coast, zone 6. There are solutions, but they require a detailed study of the situation. Have you considered a line of sturdy board fencing backed by evergreens on the windward side of your farming operation? Or can you change its location to an area where a building{s} coupled with fencing might provide protection? I always plant Cryptomeria japonica in this type of situation. It is resistant to salt spray and retains bottom branching. Just check to see if it is prone to scale problems in your area.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
There is a difficulty in combining wind resistance or blocking ability and a tolerance for coastal conditions.....very few plants will measure up satisfactorily to both situations. The Sunset Western Garden book carries lists of plants well suited to both of these conditions in our area but provide very little overlap. A few native conifers offer the best solutions - shore pine (Pinus contorta, native to coastal areas), western red cedar (Thuja plicata) and Doug firs lead the list. You may want to fill in gaps with shrubs like Arbutus unedo, cistus, cotoneaster, escallonia and eleagnus. If shielded from salt spray, you could add ceanothus, Pacific wax myrtle, junipers, nandina, barberry and chamaecyparis.

Here's a local publication that could be useful: Trees Against the Wind
isabellagracepan
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you so much to everyone for your really helpful suggestions!

I am in Canada, so we don't have a state county office dedicated to agriculture. I have looked into our provincial supports for farmers, but there are really diverse ecosystems in our province, and their general info (or that from our federal government, for that matter) wasn't super helpful.

I haven't considered several of your suggestions, so I am off to research shore pine, juniper and cotoneaster. Our whole area is zone 7, but I think our farm might be zone 8, since we rarely get snow even when everyone else does and calla lilies overwinter well out here.

Cryptomeria japonica is really beautiful, but it grows very slowly out here (my five year old one only reached 4 feet). Douglas firs look great when young (are nice and bushy), but as soon as they stretch out they loose their branches near the ground and don't offer much wind protection. Red cedar doesn't like the Mediterranean climate we have at our specific location (very dry summers), and tends to turn brown and barely survive unless it is located within a forest.

Cotoneaster is a great suggestion. Have people found it to be quick growing?

I love the idea of a board fence to reduce wind speed and to plant the evergreens in front of it. I think it would really help to give them the protection they need as they establish. I will have to see if we have the budget for several hundred feet of fencing!

Great suggestions everyone. Thank you again :)
isabellagracepan
Original Author
2 years ago
Has anyone done a mixed hedgerow in an English style? Hawthorne seems to be a dominant plant in these, but I am concerned about disease doing from it to our apple orchard.
isabellagracepan
Original Author
2 years ago
I have been reading about Juniper chinensis cultivars and it seems like they might be a good fit. We have very well drained soil (since our soil has a lot of beach sand in it) and full sun. According to the internet junipers do well with salt spray. Does anyone know how they hold up to winds? Will they still grow upright in the face of very strong wind?

I haven't seen any large junipers in our area, and I am not sure why. I don't know if it is fashion or if there is a local problem. I will consult with a local nursery when they open.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
Minnesota may as well be canada.. lol ...

just some general info here: https://extension.umn.edu/agroforestry/windbreaks

appears you have a minister of natural resources: https://www.canada.ca/en/natural-resources-canada/news/2021/02/new-program-launches-to-plant-two-billion-trees.html

gotta think he has a whole bureaucracy below him or her ....

heres another link

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=farm+windbreaks+canada+natural+resources&t=ffab&ia=web

good luck

ken
Embothrium
2 years ago
bc ag windbreaks - Bing

Windbreak recommendations for VERY windy area

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Christopher CNC

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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Windbreak recommendations for VERY windy area

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Christopher CNC

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