Privacy tree line

[Serigraph]

I'd like to put one up along the fence line around my arena and maybe other parts of the property. Has anyone done this themselves or did you get a landscaper?

What are the best trees for this? Id like it pretty thick and tall.

[MikeP]

You're going to have to tell us what part of the world you live in. Tree selection will depend greatly on your local climate.

Normally, if you can dig holes and handle trees in 5-gallon buckets, this is a DIY project.

[Serigraph]

Oops...Located in NC - Raleigh/Durham area.

[Tangerine Farmer]

We love the Pepper Tree. It isn't native, but was brought here when the Spaniards built the missions. The horses can prune it without problem. Grows like a weed, looks great all year... and is tough as nails. Just dig a hole and run a drip line.

Poplars are good too, but go dormant. Can take trimmings and stick them in the ground and keep moist for months and voila... a tree.

Both are do it yourself types.

[jazzrider]

Here in VA Leland Cypress is pretty popular for privacy. They're fast growing. I'm slowly putting in spruce trees for privacy. I decided that was the least likely to tempt my mischievous horses. But they are slower growing. Talk to your local plant nursery about what evergreens grow well and quickly in your area. Then to be safe, do a little research to be sure they're not toxic to livestock.

[Serigraph]

any pics of your privacy tree lines? If you are putting it along a fence line, do you put in inside or outside the fence?

[Woodland]

Plant a row of Lomarbi poplars with a parallel row of maples or oaks just 15' in. That way you'll have a great row of mature hardwoods to replace the lomardi's when they die in 20 years. The lombardi's will give instant privacy then provide excellent firewood. And you will have a super hardwood barrier after that!

[Guin]

In your neck of the woods, I'd consider Holly trees.

[Bluey]

A friend planted a row of austrees around his roping arena and in six years he has an excellent windbreak of very thick and high trees.
He said those trees will grow several feet a year and will take all the water you want to give them and grow according to that.
He is very happy with them and they look nice.
He can now rope even in the windiest days without a problem.

Check with your local Natural Resources Service, at your USDA office and landscaping business in your area if those would work for you and where you can get some.

[Guin]

Be very cautious about certain types of evergreens. You want to make sure the evil "Woolly Agelids" won't eat them. We can't plant hemlocks anywhere in New England anymore. :no: I'm not sure what other types of coniferous trees they eat; check with your extension agent.

[Tom King]

We're up on Lake Gaston so are in the same zone. We had a gorgeous stand of Leyland Cypress that are over 30 feet tall now. Unfortunately for us they seem to be very fragile and we have lost at least half of them. I don't remember what year I planted them but it's been a while. I wish that I had just dug up cedar trees out of the woods and planted them. That's exactly the plan to fill in the holes this fall.

[twofatponies]

I don't know trees for your climate, so this is more of a strategy thought than a species thought. If you want short-term satisfaction and don't need a lot of height (less than 20 feet), choose tall-growing shrubs rather than trees. If you need height and shade, such as trees provide, plant the trees every 20 feet, and the shrubs in between. The trees will take a long time to grow, but meanwhile you have the shrubs to provide a screen.

Around here, for example, I have a natural-looking hedge of viburnum and pussy-willow type bushes, but I have crabapples planted along the line too. In time the crabapples will fill in (and not get 40 feet high!), but meanwhile the bushes make a pretty border.

Check with your local university agricultural extension - it can be nice to use trees or shrubs that offer berries for wild birds or other benefits to the wildlife.

I didn't use evergreens because I didn't want a heavy, dark, solid boundary, just a bit of privacy. When I bought the house there was a row of enormous dark fir trees on the fenceline - they had grown to 40 feet high over the course of 50 years, and it felt so dark and overwhelming.

[ESG]

Here in Texas, red-top (photinia? fotinia?) is an extremely fast growing, non-toxic, horse friendly shrub that a lot of folks use. You can get the plants at Lowe's or Home Depot, and they grow like weeds. I think they'd do equally as well in NC.

[dmalbone]

We planted one as soon as we moved in (well... had to wait for spring obviously!) for privacy and also safety. We live on a busy road and knew that eventually the trees would be big enough to help protect if a car ever happened to go off the road and towards the fence. With just moving we sadly couldn't afford to buy well established trees, but bought little 1 1/2 ft. tall norway spruces. I was told by a few that they're the fastest growing of the spruces and I like their fullness and size. I wish I had something that would grow quicker than the spruces still but we kind of just needed to get something there and I couldn't make up my mind. :) I would like to possibly plant something quicker to fill in in the meantime.