Tree Privacy Wall

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M

Madmartigan

New Member
Hello everyone,

My wife and I bought our first home a few months ago and the back yard is completely unlandscaped. That is a downer, but at least we get to create it just how we want. Our lot is .29 acres if I remember right so the back yard is decent sized (at least as lots go around here). We love the lot, but one of the things we had to sacrifice on was the fact that the house neighboring our backyard fence immediately to the rear of the house is on a raised hill and very close to the fence. So when I'm in my back yard I feel like I'm on stage to this other house.

Well, what I would like to do is build a "tree wall" of sorts against the back fence so that when we have BBQ's or whatever, we have some element of privacy. My question for you all is what suggestions do you have for trees?

Before doing this, I plan on consulting with my neighbor to make sure they are okay with the idea (I really don't expect much push-back because they are never in their back yard [partially because they don't have much of one] and because my house is two-stories, the only view out their back window is the back of my house). If anything I'm betting they'll be happy about having some trees to look at instead of my ugly dirt plot.

Anyway, I want some trees that won't explode in size and then crowd in to their yard. I also don't want anything super tall that will one day fall over and crush our shared fence or, heaven forbid, their house.

So what species of trees should I get, how close should I put them together, how far from the fence should I plant them?

Any thoughts, advice, suggestions are appreciated. Sorry for the winded explanation, but I wanted to provide the whole picture. :D

Thanks All!
 
Think cedar! Emerald Cedar is the way to go for a solid wall hedge!
They can be trimmed 2x's a year to keep them in good shape! They can take partial shade with some sun!
Spacing every 3'-4' and at least 3' away from the fence so you can keep them trimmed back from growing over the fence!
Prune them to the height you want and they pretty much co-operate by filling in sideways so you will have a solid wall of green in a few short years!
 
RonsGarden said:
Actually a photo of the area you are talking about would be a big help!
Click to expand...

Hi Ron, thanks for replying. Yes, I will get some photos up. I also have a map/plan of sorts that I can post that shows what we plan to do with the whole back yard.

RonsGarden said:
Think cedar! Emerald Cedar is the way to go for a solid wall hedge!
They can be trimmed 2x's a year to keep them in good shape! They can take partial shade with some sun!
Spacing every 3'-4' and at least 3' away from the fence so you can keep them trimmed back from growing over the fence!
Prune them to the height you want and they pretty much co-operate by filling in sideways so you will have a solid wall of green in a few short years!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was trying to decide between some thing like that (someone suggested a type of Juniper) or a deciduous kind of tree. The only reason I'd shy away from a cedar or juniper is it can look too wall-like and boxed in for my tastes, but I'm not sure the alternative is much better (it has its own set of cons). I guess my initial thought was to put up trees that are commonly used in park strips, but the cedar really isn't a bad idea. It would provide a completely solid visual barrier were the other kind wouldn't, even less in winter. I definitely won't rule those out as options. You said to trim them 2x per yer - spring and fall? How drout resistant/water hungry are they?

The fence where these will be placed runs almost exactly North/South and the only time this area would be shaded is during the morning when the house blocks the sun and when my neighbors house blocks the sun in the evening. It's fully exposed to the sun all afternoon. The soil in our area is also very clay-like.

My zone and local is also in my profile details if that makes a difference.
 
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The N/S alignment would be perfect for them!
Pruning is only done to maintain the shape you want after the first spirt of growth of the year. It is the new growth that you need to prune back to force side growth to develop. In late summer a light shearing is needed to give that clean look of a wall.
You do not have to do much pruning for the first year or two.
I've used cedars in the past and they are pretty drought tolerant once they establish a good root system and will grow in ammended clay soil with a summer mulch!
I used the clippings as a mulch around them, and you will notice that they shed older foliage during the summer months which can be left on the ground as a mulch!
You will need to water them the first year, then less often in the second!

The con on junipers is that their foliage is spiney, whereas the cedars are soft and easy to handle without the need for leather gloves!
 
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Kya D said:
It's not a tree but I have had good luck with privet hedge, it can get 10 to 15 feet tall and can be left "Not" pruned and are very cheap. They grow pretty fast and do well in our zone.
Here is a little info.

http://landscaping.about.com/od/hedgesfences/p/privet_hedges.htm
Click to expand...

RonsGarden said:
The N/S alignment would be perfect for them!
Pruning is only done to maintain the shape you want after the first spirt of growth of the year. It is the new growth that you need to prune back to force side growth to develop. In late summer a light shearing is needed to give that clean look of a wall.
You do not have to do much pruning for the first year or two.
I've used cedars in the past and they are pretty drought tolerant once they establish a good root system and will grow in ammended clay soil with a summer mulch!
I used the clippings as a mulch around them, and you will notice that they shed older foliage during the summer months which can be left on the ground as a mulch!
You will need to water them the first year, then less often in the second!

The con on junipers is that their foliage is spiney, whereas the cedars are soft and easy to handle without the need for leather gloves!
Click to expand...

Wow, great suggestions and very helpful information, both of you. Thank you so much! I'm going to work on those photos (I didn't have time last night) and then my back yard plan and you can tell me what you think? Every yard in my neighborhood is landscaped except mine and I'm sure the neighbors have hated it. The P/O's of the home let everything go and fortunately we got to the front yard in time to save it.

I'm really starting to enjoy putting a yard together and seeing the whole thing blossom. It's a lot of fun. :)
 
Ok, here are some pics of the back yard and a crude plan that I have for it. What do you think?

DSCN3700_12-02-26519.jpg

DSCN3699_12-02-26518.jpg

DSCN3701_12-02-26520.jpg

Plan.jpg
 
You have a nice area to landscape!
I like the way you are minimizing the use of grass!
The cedars will look great and give you green all year round compaired to the starkness of the the other yards around yours.
You could also use yews to add to this year round color along with some of the Japanese Maples that prefer full sun!
 
Thanks! Yeah, I think it has potential - it's just going to be a lot of work. Should be rewarding to watch it take shape though. Within the next month I'm going to be working on getting all the sprinkler lines/heads in.

We live in a valley that is technically a desert so that's exactly what I'm trying to keep in mind as I do this. I don't want a huge water bill if I can help it. That area to the North West is going to be a vegetable garden with some fruit trees. All around the shed is going to be a rock pathway with a dry river bed running from the North West downspout down to the fence by the garden. That area in the south with a "?" I'm not decided what to do there. Maybe a shed, maybe put some pavers down and extend the RV pad, I don't know.

I didn't revise my yard plan picture to account for using the cedars instead of the other trees. What you do you all think? Should I do a solid wall of cedars that runs the entire length of the fence, or should I just run them between the sandbox (for the kids) and the vegetable garden?

Also, I'm thinking about pruning the cedars. I'm guessing I will need some space between the fence and the trees so that I can also keep the back of them trimmed/clean for the rear neighbor's sake. I wouldn't want the trees going crazy towards their house or growing over the fence in the back. That in mind, how far should they be from the fence to give me room to do that? Still only 2-3 feet?
What's a typical price per tree for these things?


I'm not the most creative/artistic person so if you all have any other ideas about how to paint this yard, please chime in.

Ron, those Japanese Maples are very nice looking. Definitely going to keep that in mind.
 
Kya might be able to give you a list of plants that are hardy to your conditions!

You can use any search engine to look up drought tolerant plants for your zone 5/6!
It would be the way to go so you wont need to molly coddle them!
 
Welcome Mad!
You have 2 of the best giving you suggestions.
I like your layout and as Ron says , I also like the use of less grass. Let us know what you decide to go with.
 
Madmartigan said:
I didn't revise my yard plan picture to account for using the cedars instead of the other trees. What you do you all think? Should I do a solid wall of cedars that runs the entire length of the fence, or should I just run them between the sandbox (for the kids) and the vegetable garden? Also, I'm thinking about pruning the cedars. I'm guessing I will need some space between the fence and the trees so that I can also keep the back of them trimmed/clean for the rear neighbor's sake. I wouldn't want the trees going crazy towards their house or growing over the fence in the back. That in mind, how far should they be from the fence to give me room to do that? Still only 2-3 feet?What's a typical price per tree for these things?
Click to expand...

Thanks everyone! :)

Do you have any input on these questions above? I'm still wrestling with those.
 
I wouldn't do the full length of the property! A solid wall that length would make the yard closed in and would interfere with air circulation
I would do the 2 corners with cedar (or other evergreens) and fill in between with other small trees, or tall shrubs!
With the solid fencing I would plant the cedars around 4ft from the fence to give them some room, but 3ft would be ok if you don't mind squeezing up against the fence to prune them for the first couple of years.
Price per tree would depend on how tall they are! and which species. For a 2-3 ft tree you would be looking at maybe $15 to $20 unless you keep your eyes out for sales at Lowes or Home Depot or other local nurseries!
 
Thank goodness noone suggested Leyland Cypress...our neighbor put them in 3 years ago as a screen between her property and ours. They will be over the border this year...ha. I told her that I will be sending her the pruning bills. Don't know who gave her that advice, but they were clueless. There are lots of nice pyramidal trees and shrubs now, and also Miscanthus giganticus, it gets about ten or twelve feet tall and might add some nice interest in your border. They give great winter interest too.
 
Leyland Cypress grow fast so I wouldn't recommend them to anyone, unless they have a huge property! The other draw back is that they produce a chemical that suppresses other plants from growing within their dripline. The chemical is similar to the one walnut trees produce to prevent competition from other plants!
 
RonsGarden said:
Leyland Cypress grow fast so I wouldn't recommend them to anyone, unless they have a huge property! The other draw back is that they produce a chemical that suppresses other plants from growing within their dripline. The chemical is similar to the one walnut trees produce to prevent competition from other plants!
Click to expand...

oh good, more good news! We havent spoken in the 2 years since she planted them. And, imagine this...our neighborhood isn't allowed to have a fence over 4 feet tall, but the leylands get 50-100 feet.
 
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