Fast Growing Screening Tree?

[BMG580]

We are moving into a brand new home soon and while the lot as a whole is a decent size (a little over a 1/3 acre in a suburban neighborhood) all the yard is on the sides and in the front. Our back yard space is teensy tiny, I would say maybe 30 feet from the back of the house to the property line. To make matters worse, our property is on a corner, and the house that our back covered porch looks out on is the driveway and garage of our neighbor. Not really the view I had in mind for enjoying the covered porch.

The house comes with some new house landscaping package (sure to be basic and not very exciting) and we have some plans for raised beds and landscaping in other areas. The only thing we can think to do with the back is to come up with a denser style fast growing tree that will give us rapid privacy over the next couple years. After doing a lot of research we are intrigued by the many willow hybrid varieties. The nursery sites make it sound so perfect - fast growing, tall and narrow, not finicky about soil/climate and relatively inexpensive. I cannot find out what the tree looks like in the winter (it isn't an evergreen so I am guessing it is bare?), how much room we really need for the tree inside the property line and whether or not the trees drop any sort of leaf/needle that will stain or make a mess in the yard. I want privacy but not a killer load of work along with it.

We would like to do a fence right within the property line (we have a large dog and little kids) and I am also unsure of what type of privacy screen tree would work well right along a fence line. And I also assume we would have to do a lot of pruning to keep these things in check since the yard space is so small.

Help! We need advice! We are also considering the leyland cypress and the thuja green giant. They just all look SO BIG after a few years of growth. It would be perfect if we could find a dense tree that grows quickly and maxes out at about 20-30 ft. of height with not a huge amount girth.

http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/PrivacyTrees.htm

[Owen'nZoe]

Your yard sounds almost exactly like ours (but no covered porch here, I'm afraid - just an open deck ). What a lot of folks here use (and I'm in zone 4b) are the upright arborvitae and upright junipers. They are tall and narrow, so make a good screen without taking up too much space. And many of them only grow 10-20' tall.

I think I'll probably still do this with part of my yard, but for now I've gone with a mixed hedge of lilacs, korean spice bushes, goumis, american highbush cranberry and elderberries. They are all tall shurbs that will block out enough of the view to give us privacy in the summer (winter doesn't matter - we won't be sitting out there), and they don't get too big for the space. If you really prefer the look of a small tree to a line of shrubs, there are quite a few large shrubs which you can prune into a small tree that might work for you. Once you've shaped them, they don't require a ton of care.

I've also started training vines over the deck (you could do this around your porch, as well, I'm sure), to block off the view of our deck from the street.

I love willows, but I know a lot of people dislike them because they do tend to drop a lot of leaves and twigs throughout the year. My grandmother had them at her cottage, and spent a lot of time picking up after them. If those sorts of things don't bother you, I'd say go for it (I tend not to mind messy trees, so I'd consider it), but if a really neat yard is important to you, maybe a different tree would be better for you.

[BMG580]

Originally Posted by Owen'nZoe

Your yard sounds almost exactly like ours (but no covered porch here, I'm afraid - just an open deck ). What a lot of folks here use (and I'm in zone 4b) are the upright arborvitae and upright junipers. They are tall and narrow, so make a good screen without taking up too much space. And many of them only grow 10-20' tall.

Thank you for the suggestions. Do you know about how many feet the upright junipers grow in a year? It isn't that I want monster trees, I just want some privacy relatively quickly, I'm not sure how realistic that is though with our specific yard space situation.

[Owen'nZoe]

You know, I didn't know offhand, but just looked up a Blue Point Juniper, which seems to be a popular one, and they are supposed to grow 12-18 inches a year. You're in new construction, though, so the soil is probably terrible. I would expect that it will take quite awhile for anything you plant to get established, and they probably won't grow that much until they are established.

We just finished up our third summer here, and things I planted the very first spring are just starting to finally take off and really grow. I have some shrubs out there that are not much bigger than they were when I planted them.

[tanyalynn]

Have you considered bamboo? It grows fast, and when my parents put some in several years ago, I was surprised at the number of varieties they had to choose from and how beautiful some of it was. The biggest downside is that some of the prettiest kinds are also invasive, they had to put in a thick barrier, we dug the edges down about 2.5 feet (trying to remember from years ago). There are clumping varieties of bamboo that don't spread in the same aggressive manner, but the choices are fewer.

[Fuamami]

What zone are you in? Have you heard of Pawlonia/Empress trees? They grow very fast, and are pretty.

[BMG580]

We are in zone 6.

[Frisha]

Be careful of Empress trees they are extremely invasive

[kdabbler]

Have you considered bamboo? It's very fast growing. But it does have a reputation for becoming invasive. If you consider it, do you homework to find out which variety is best for you. Just for fun, I googled "zone 6 bamboo" and came up with this site that gives the numbers you were asking in previous posts.

[sidandspencersmom]

Remember, there are two types of bamboo-- runners and clumpers. Runners are invasive, and clumpers are not. Both types have 100's of varieties. So you will have plenty to choose from. You can mail order bamboo (they will be smaller) or check out a nursery near you.

We live on 1/5 acre in the suburbs. Our neighbors are very close on both sides. This is the third year we've had bamboo, and barely see our back fence from our house. The bamboo on our side fence completely hides two trampolines and a play structure, which is right on the fence line.

My husband is somewhat of an expert on bamboo, and would be happy to answer any of your questions. Also check out this site http://www.americanbamboo.org/

[wildmonkeys]

Most neighborhoods around here with HOAs don't let you plant bamboo - I know that ours specifically prohibits planting any variety of bamboo.

We have a yard much like the op but older and already have nice privacy in the back. We want to do a side screen to make our sideyard more like a backyard - so these are great suggestions!

[rubyeta]

We planted 4' leyland(sp) cypress trees 3 years ago on our border. our neighbor planted 10' arborvitae on the same border at the same time. Our cypress are almost as tall as his arborvitae and much prettier (imo) I don't think they get any bigger than 15-20'.

[BMG580]

I've come to the conclusion that Leyland's are just going to get too tall and have too much girth for the property line that I am trying to screen.

This site has some interesting choices, does anyone have any experience with magnolias? The Little Gem Magnolia looks appealing. The hollies are also an interesting idea but with a bunch of little ones running around I'm not sure I want sharp leaves all along the back of our very shallow back yard.

Bamboo is out, not only is it not allowed I can't deal with how aggressively it grows. I want something fast growing but not something that is going to take over my life and yard!

http://www.living-fences.com/living_fence_options.asp

[noobmom]

You definitely don't want hollies. They grow insanely fast and they're a pain to keep pruned. My husband hates the ones we have and has tried to kill them many times by just cutting them down to stumps. They always grow back. DS fell into a holly bush ones and I just felt awful about it.

I really like the idea of a mixed hedge. I've always wanted to do one in my yard, but we already have ugly horrible privet hedges. Some day they'll get pulled out and I'd like to put in some small trees, blueberry bushes, etc.

I think you probably have to adjust your idea of how fast you can get your privacy screen to grow. The plants that grow fast tend to either be invasive or quickly outgrow their space. I think long term you'll be happier if you just accept that you may have to wait a little longer than you like.

We do have one beautiful hedge of camellias. I'm very grateful that the previous owners has the patience and foresight to chose such a beautiful plant. Once they are full size they make a great screen because of their evergreen nature and their off-season flowers (blooming when nothing else is).

I would go to the website of the agricultural university in your state and contact the extension service. They will have good recommendations for not only your particular zone, but soil type, average rainfall, etc.

[mattemma04]

What about some ornamental grasses? Some grow to 8-10 ft. I have a varigated type that I planted along the driveway that is about 5 feet tall after 2 years.My mom has it and it is over 6 feet tall.Nice screen.I am hoping to trade some with a neighbor who I see has a really tall grass. I love tall plants!

I also have corkscrew willow that grows fast and is a decent screen.

Forthsyia(sp) also grew fast for me.I took my neighbors cuttings and rooted them,and after 3 years have some big shrubs.

And I know you can't do it but corn can grow tall until the other stuff grows in height.I have a corn that grew to 8 ft,but if I planted it earlier it would have gone to 12ft! Sunflowers too.

Putting up some lattice and growing morning glory on it will give a quick screen.

[BMG580]

Originally Posted by mattemma04

What about some ornamental grasses? Some grow to 8-10 ft. I have a varigated type that I planted along the driveway that is about 5 feet tall after 2 years.My mom has it and it is over 6 feet tall.Nice screen.I am hoping to trade some with a neighbor who I see has a really tall grass. I love tall plants!

I also have corkscrew willow that grows fast and is a decent screen.

Forthsyia(sp) also grew fast for me.I took my neighbors cuttings and rooted them,and after 3 years have some big shrubs.

And I know you can't do it but corn can grow tall until the other stuff grows in height.I have a corn that grew to 8 ft,but if I planted it earlier it would have gone to 12ft! Sunflowers too.

Putting up some lattice and growing morning glory on it will give a quick screen.

I need something that is going to work year round and grasses are probably going to die off during the fall and winter, right?

Willows look to be invasive, and this is bordering someone's driveway and I don't want to make any choice that will impact someone else's property with either berries/fruit dropping, invasive root systems, or crazy growth.

Corn and sunflowers, both neat ideas, but once again will only be good for a couple months out of the year, and there is no chance my HOA would be happy about either (well, maybe the sunflowers would be OK).

Morning glories are as hated by some as they are loved by others. Talk about a plant that prolifically drops seeds and loves to spread. I agree they are pretty, but they can be a real pest to get rid of if you don't want them around and once again, they would really only provide good screening for a couple months.

I think we've pretty much decided to go with Emerald Aborvitae. They grow relatively quickly, provide a dense screen and their maximum height is about 20 feet and their girth is only about 4 ft, so workable with our space issues. These will be bordering a fence line and I think they will work out well.

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I have really looked into most of them and I appreciate all the help.