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The Right Size Evergreen Tree
I am looking at putting in some Evergreen Trees to form a barrior between my house and my down hill neighbor.My house has a good view of the valley so I want trees that will go to a max of 20 to 20 feet. So I don't see my neighbor but see over the treesI like Douglas Fir trees and White Pine (except deer eat the pine but not the Fir) but I think they will get too big eventually, although I probably won't be here by then, or I could plant a second row later and cut the first one down, I think I am being optimistic about how long I will be in this house also  If there is such a thing as an ideal plant for this purpose I'd love to knowThanksPete
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The Right Size Evergreen Tree
If 'privacy now' is the issue, both the pine and fir are pretty slow growing. What you plant is what you get for quite awhile.
In terms of a choice: Pine and fir tend to prefer different locations. In Ontario, spruce and fir tend to grow naturally further north than pine. We're lucky to live in a transition area where everything grows. Maybe your location doesn't have a strong preference for pine or fir, but I'd stick with any dominant tree in your area.
Myself, I'd rather look at white pine than fir. Since these both are large trees, especially the Western White Pine, eventually that's all you'd be looking at. However, fir keep their branches close to the ground while pine loose theirs to form a crown. Eventually the pine crowns would be higher than the view of your neighbours. Coastal Douglas does tend to crown a bit, but Rocky Mountain Douglas keep branches right to the ground.
An alternative might be to put in some aspen and plant evergreen beneath them. The aspen will grow fast and provide more immediate privacy, but eventually the evergreen would take over. The deer would prefer browsing on aspen anyway. I'm not sure whether pine or fir samplings do better under aspen. We have pine, fir and spruce growing below our birch and poplars.
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The Right Size Evergreen Tree
I don't know what area you live in but if they are available I would strongly suggest White cedars (commonly known as 'Swamp' cedar), they are very inexpensive, will form a very dense hedge with a minimum of pruning, and will almost never grow to more than 30 feet even never pruned at all. Besides they initially grow very quickly, sometimes too fast, in the right conditions they will grow 2' per year. Best of luck.
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The Right Size Evergreen Tree
Do not plant pine or fir (or spruce either) if you want an evergreen which will not grow taller than 20-30 feet. You need to find a short growing species of juniper (Maybe Rocky Mountain juniper or Eastern red cedar). Also possibly an arborvitae species. I'm a forester and these would be my best suggestion, short of some exotic species which I'm not familiar with.
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The Right Size Evergreen Tree
Pete; I'm new to the board and would be glad to help. I have a background in horticulture and a degree in design. What USDA zone do you live in, how fast do you want a screen? I assume you want something evergreen.
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The Right Size Evergreen Tree
I agree with Murph, 'White Cedar' (Cedrus) makes a nice looking screen. Also worth considering is Fastigiate Atlas Cedar (C. atlantica 'Glauca Fastigiata'), it grows about 10 to 12 inches per year and its columnar shape rarely exceeds 10 feet in diameter. I prefer Eastern or Canadian Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), however, with the invasion of the Asian Wooly Adelgid, hemlocks may be going by way of the great American elm. Hemlocks need spraying for control twice a year, not an easy thing. Anyway, try stagger planting regardless of your choice (two lines of plantings, the back row being aligned with the open spaces of the front line), this form of planting provides maximum screen density and doesn't interfer with growth.
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The Right Size Evergreen Tree
I've got quite a few aspen, douglas fir, and ponderosa pine....never have counted them, but there is a bunch. I've noticed that the young ponderosa pine in the Colorado mountains grow fairly thick and bushy for the first 15 years or so. When they decide to become a tree they shoot up and become more of a crown tree. The douglas fir are almost opposite. They like a little more water and shade than the ponderosa, which makes them end up competing for sunlight in the wild. Around here, young doug firs tend to be thin and spindly. Older trees can spread out and develop a a thick set of lower branches as long as they are not competing for height with other trees.
It depends on your climate. If you have sandy well-drained soil with lots of sun I'd try some ponderosa pine. They do best on a sunny hillside and tolerate crowding very well. Young ones seem to thrive on being overcrowded until they are maybe 10 years old and 6 or 8 feet tall. This compensates for any lack of lower branches.
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The Right Size Evergreen Tree
Not knowing your location, what we have found to be excellent trees that will probably not reach the 20 ft. mark in a while are Black Hills Spruce. They make excellent windbreak trees. Short needles, very dense foliage to the ground level, and heat and cold tolerant. Cons: slower growing. Plant 5-6 ft. trees, wait 3 years and then they will take off pretty good. We average under irrigation at least 8 inches year minimum. Depends on soil type, and moisture.
Virginia Junipers may work well also, or Arborvitae, in shorter form. Techny or Pyrimidal Arborvitae are good. Just be cautious of cold north winds if less than Zone 4, can windburn.
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The Right Size Evergreen Tree
Pete; You have received some great advice already. I went through the same thing a couple of years back when landscapeing our home. A few thoughts I have. If you are in the typical suburbian neighborhood I would suggest you stay away from the Pines. They sometimes diminish the value of your home as they simply do not look professionaly installed like most of the spruces. The same goes for a lot of the Cedars, theese are mostly the less expensive varities but there are some that can work great for a hedge. This of course will depend on your location and the your neighborhood. A good key is to look at what others in your area have. Here the Pines stand out like a sore thumb. Also You might consider offsetting or staggering them instead of a straight line. I personally like the Black hills Spruce as suggested. I also use Norways, Blue and white spruce but all of theese will get larger than what you want.
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The Right Size Evergreen Tree
Again not knowing your location it is tough to know what to get. Holly, Rhodos, Azaelia or other evergreens make a good barrier tree in the north west. Here we can use Bamboo. The nice thing about the bamboo is that they have a fixed height that they grow to once mature. The difficult part is limiting their spread.
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