Year round privacy sceen shrubs ?

[LT100]

Hopefully someone has some thoughts to address a little problem I have. My house lot abuts the town library parking lot. Lately the scrub brush between us and the parking lot is thinning out a bit more than I would like. When we moved in 10 years ago it was quite a bit thicker. There are a few mature oaks that have created a thick canopy so not a ton of sunlight gets to the ground. This is a problem. Ideally I am looking for something to plant that does well in the shade and grows reasonable quickly. Would mountain laurel or something in that family work. I live in Massachusetts, so it would need to withstand winters here.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[pdqdl]

I am not familiar with your weather there, so I should not comment too much.

You should specify a bit more information. What kind of soil, how much moisture is present, what height screening are you looking to get, what is the local environment. Do you want evergreen plants, or just something that still blocks the view in the winter?

Ex: I might recommend green giant arborvitae, and you might tell me that it is to be planted in a 4' wide strip next to a sidewalk. I might recommend some plant that was could not tolerate wet area, and you might be planting next to the rain downspout.

 

[pdqdl]

When you say "scrub brush", I am seeing many "cane" type of bushes that have become somewhat mature.

If these are not evergreen bushes of any sort, you should probably consider heavy pruning to the ground level of 1/3rd of the canes, choosing the thickest and tallest for removal. This will force additional sprouting at the ground level, and will probably discourage weeds while being a bit more attractive.

While it seems counter-intuitive to prune heavily when you are seeking more screening, that it the best way to get more screening from some bushes. Sadly, this is only a guess, so don't go whacking all your canaerti junipers based on this advice. Pics would help.

 

[Fred Wright]

I may be way off the beam here but I'll offer my thoughts.

If it was me I'd plant holly trees in this scenario. Holly grows like a bush, requires little maintenance and they're tough.

 

[Guido Salvage]

Bamboo... :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[LT100]

All good points. Sorry I wasn't more specific. The strip between my yard and the parking lot at its narrowest point is probably 50' wide then it gets wider like a pie slice. There is a mix of self seeded brush and briars there now with some mature oaks ansd smaller silver maple. I like the briars because it discourages anyone from coming thru.

If I could get something 8' or 10' high to fill in the space that has opened up, it would be ideal. I fought back a nasty invasion of bittersweet that killed a bunch of poplar trees that were 40-60 feet tall a few years ago. If you weren't paying attention in the summer it looked like everything was fine, but the bittersweet was going crazy and destroying everything it could touch.

I really am not qualified to answer your question on soil type., sorry. I know there isn't much clay, but since it is new England there is no shortage of rock. I dont think that is going to help you much. Would a picture or two give you more to go on?

 

[pdqdl]

Green giant arborvitae should work great. They don't mind rocky soil, and they will grow quickly to be a formidable visual barrier. Make sure that you are ready to have very tall plants in that area.

Holly might be good too, although they are a bit pricey and also rather slow growing.

I am really not familiar with which plants work in your area, so I will take a different approach: look around town for other similar landscape areas, and pick something that you like. Then figure out what kind of plant it is, and get some. Most property owners are very pleased if you tell them you like their landscape; they will invariably tell you what they have, if they know.

Failing owner id, take a snip to a landscaper or nursery, and tell them you want some just like it. THEN watch it get identified...quick!

 

[dewmyster]

Nellie Stevens Holly

I've had great luck with my Nellie Stevens Holly bushes. In the two years I've had them (in crappy soil), they've grown nearly two feet.

Nellie Stevens Holly Trees | Nelly Stevens Hollies

Note... site provided for reference only. I've no association to them and have not purchased from them. Their info about the N.S. Holly is thorough.

Dewey

 

[pdqdl]

here is a decent link to these plants: Tree Details—The Tree Guide at arborday.org

Please note how tall they get when mature! "Giant" is not a euphemism.

 

[pdqdl]

Canaerti junipers might be a better choice, if you are only going 10' tall. They can be trimmed to form a very nice formal evergreen hedge, or you can let them go wild to get large diameter junipers 15' tall.

 

[LT100]

Junipers sound perfect and they can be sort of unpleasant to push your way thru which makes them sound even better for what I need. Many thanks and rep sent your way.

 

[sgreanbeans]

+1 on the Arborvitae's, Techneys (sp?) or Emerald will get you the screen ya want. Emerald grows slower than the techney, but has a nicer look around the bottom.

 

[pdqdl]

I had very poor results with Emerald Green this last year, but it was all heat related. I don't suppose that would be a problem up in Maine.

I have always been fond of the Canaerti. They trim to such a nice tight pattern. LT100: emerald green arborvitae have a more natural conical shape, and do not need as much trimming as the Canaerti junipers. On the other hand, they are not as hardy, either. If you are looking for a low maintenance plant that has a nice conical shape, the Emerald green would look better if you don't want to trim them.

The Canaerti will grow faster to form a more dense barrier, too. They get so thick only a rabbit can get through them. Seriously! Even sparrows would never attempt getting through a hedge made out of these plants.