trees for screening

[bassmaster17327]

Does anyone know of any trees that will make a really fast screen and where i can get them? I need to plant about 200 feet to block out my neighbor at my cabin in west virginia, i would like somthing that will screen them out or at least break it up as fast as possable. I was thinking about using bamboo but i have heard it is hard to control the spreading

 

[AIM]

I had some hybrid upright willows... I couldn't believe how fast they got to 10' tall.. Maybe 3 years??? They were planted in soil that was rather wet and pretty ideal for that kind of tree though. Plant them about 3-5 feet apart for a thick dense hedge. If you want a better looking hedge in the future just plant the willows and then plant the better stuff in front of them. Once the better stuff has grown just cut the willows down.

Another way is to look at the native shrubs that are growing wild in your area. Find what you like and then look for younger transplantable versions and dig em up.
I have a few pretty nice looking border screen plants that were simply dug up from a fence row and replanted along my yard. Once they are pruned a bit from just growing wild it's amazing how nice they look. Plus, plants that are native to your area will likely be a bit hardier than nursery purchased plants.

That is what I call "no cost landscaping"

Don't overlook the native wild plants around you. Many of them can be quite beautiful once trimmed up.

 

[S Mc]

Checking out native plants is an excellent idea. For information on what is around and their growth characteristics, you could contact your state nursery. This may save you some time and effort on experimentation only to find the shrub or tree you dug up doesn't transplant well, has a slow growth rate, has different site requirements, etc.

Don't plant bamboo.

Sylvia

 

[AIM]

I wish my digital camera was working. I would post a few pics of the native shrubs I planted. None of them are real showy so to speak but have small flowers and a nice shape.
I tried once to transplant the larger native shrubs but that was to hard on them and they suffered. Since then I just look for the smaller 12" versions of what I find that looks good.

Looking back I wish I had planted more native stuff. Alot of the fancy ornamental plants that I planted are constantly being attacked by this bug, that disease, etc. While the native stuff just grows happily along.
People would be amazed at how nice some native stuff looks after a pruning.

But I don't want to hijack this thread so back to screen plants.

 

[S Mc]

Aim, I don't feel you hijacked the thread. I thought you had some very good feedback on the use of native plants in achieving a specific goal.

Sylvia

 

[scotthnelson]

Satsuma Citrus

My satsuma tree flowers each year but never produces fruit. It is about 15 feet tall and blooms on the lower half of the tree only. Any suggestions?

 

[S Mc]

My satsuma tree flowers each year but never produces fruit. It is about 15 feet tall and blooms on the lower half of the tree only. Any suggestions?

Scott, welcome to the site. Unfortunately, this would be termed hijacking a thread. Perhaps you can start a thread of your own with this question. I would enter it in the Plant Health forum.

Look forward to seeing it over there.

Sylvia

 

[AIM]

Well bassmaster what did you come up with?

If the hybrid willows would grow well in west virginia I would probably look hard at them.
Cheap/ astonishing growth rate/ hard to kill.
Buying these "bare root" is pretty inexpensive. Fast to plant being so small, and in about 3-4 years your neighbor would be a thing of the past.

Burgess nursery has them for $28 for 20 trees.
http://www.eburgess.com/detail.asp?pid=7287&nav=tre

I doubt you'll be disappointed with them.

 

[bassmaster17327]

I decided to try the hybrid willows, i ordered some off ebay just becasue i needed them by friday to take to west virginia with me. Hopefully they are good quality, none of the nurseries could get them to me in time. I bought 24 of them, i might order some hybrid poplar to plant the next trip and see if one does better than the other