Suggest a "screening" evergreen for me!

We moved last year into a house with a wonderful wooded lot. Problem is, there is a busy road along the back edge (which is south) of the property, and when the leaves drop on the wonderful deciduous trees (mostly oaks), there's a big stretch where we can see the road, and we get a lot more road noise in winter. The basic layout is Road:retention pond:open stretch:deciduous trees:house. I've got plenty of room to plant an evergreen between the retention pond and the deciduous treeline, and don't have to worry about something getting too big, interfering with power lines or sewer or whatnot.

1) So I can (and want to, to try to screen the road view from the second story) go BIG both in height and width.

2) I would like a more "relaxed" looking evergreen. More on the bushy/droopy long needled side. I don't like the very stiff conical giant Christmas tree evergreens as much, and I think one would look out of place amongst the other trees. I saw a Larch at the botanical gardens in Montreal that I loved, and was most sad to discover that they are deciduous.

3) I'm willing to baby it to get it established, but after about 5 years it's on it's own barring really, really extraordinary drought for our area

4) Fastish growing would be good. We plan to be in this house for about 20 years.

5) It will be getting reasonable sun, since it will be on the south side of the tree line.

Thanks in advance!

Norway Spruce would probably be as good as anything. Maybe put in some pines for a bit of variety, though you'd eventually need to underplant these with shrubs as pines don't keep low branches well.

Resin

The fastest growing evergreen for your situation (and fitting your description as I understand it) would be 'Green Giant' arborvitae. After the first year, they grow 3'-5' per year, reaching 50' in height and about 10' in width. You can Google for more information. You didn't say anything about deer being a problem, but this type of arborvitae is supposed to be avoided by deer, unlike other ones. I know you can get small plants cheaply, but they are also available from nurseries starting at about 3'. Lots of sources on-line. They are very hardy, too. I've used them in landscaping jobs, and they make an ideal screen. Every time I've used them, the homeowners are very happy with them and can't believe the quick growth.

How about Tsuga canadensis (Canadian hemlock)? Hemlocks have a nice, soft look, although still a pyramid. For even droopier effect, the weeping hemlock is wonderful, but pretty slow growing for your purposes.

I absolutely love hemlocks, but they are considerably more expensive and slower-growing.

Zieg1027 might check with the local extension service to see if the state has any tree planting program. My state sells seedling of both evergreen and deciduous trees for rock-bottom prices (ex: 50, 18" white pines for about $30, delivered) which I and many other Hoosiers have used to reforest and create windbreaks.

what about this weeping juniper? It's supposed to be hardy to zone 3. Maybe some others with more experience can chime in on it?

http://www.azarboretum.org/plantlist/tolleson.htm

In Dirr's book, he says 'Green Giants' are hardy to zones (4)5 - 7, which is his way of saying that "officially" they are hardy up to zone 5, but experience has shown that they survive fine into zone 4. I can understand if you might not want to take that chance though. To be sure you don't have to rule out on this excellent plant, check at local nurseries to see what they recommend.

Alternatively, you can plant the hardier varieties of regular arborvitae Thuja occidentalis, which again are going to be less expensive that any other evergreens including yews, pines, and spruces. Some great cultivars to check into are 'Techny' (aka 'Mission') 25'x 10', 'Pyramidalis' 30' x 8', and 'Nigra' 20-30' x 10'. The most commonly available is the very popular 'Emerald' 15' x 4', which is stocked by the big box stores every spring. It is hardy to at least -40º and keeps a bright green color all winter. It doesn't get as wide as the others, but since it's cheaper, you can plant closer together. Here's a photo of 'Emerald'.

Another quick-growing, relatively inexpensive choice would be white pine. They are the quickest-growing pine with a soft look and they can be found at big box stores in the spring for pretty cheap.

oh yeah I love white pine, got a couple in the ground in Oct. As many as I could stuff into my car.

There you go! Our local Lowe's had a bunch at 70% off in November. They look about the size you got. I would think white pine would work the best for your need. Deer resistant, very quick growing, relatively inexpensive, and that soft look you want. Be sure to give them plenty of room, at least 10' apart or they will stunt and possibly kill each other out when they get larger. If you have the room and want faster screening, plant TWO rows, staggered with all of the trees 10' apart. Viewed from the front, they will do the job of screening and not compete for space and sun down the years.

I learned from experience that any closer than 10' and you end up with misshaped, weak trees after about 7 years.

We live in town. Our lot is 75ft WX240ft L. When we moved in 40 plus years ago the only growing thing in the yard was a 20-30ft high row of American Arborviae running about 3/4 of the way down our lot-to the back corner and about3/4 of the way across the back, a green wall creating total privacy from the neighbors on the east side. We topped the "hedge" at 20 ft. to even it up and haven't done anything to it since-40 years later it is about 30 ft. tall and going strong!
It creates a feeling of seclusion even though we are located with a state highway running west in front of our house and east behind us.It grows tight enough together that we have never had a problem with kids cutting through, trash blowing through -even our dog thinks it's a fence-he stays in our yard!
We are located in zone 5 in north west Ohio and have had absolutely no cold damage.
I think you would find the eventual width of Am. arborvitae easier to predict (for spacing) than a more traditional "Christmas tree" shaped evergreen since they are columnar in shape.
Just " food for thought" MW

Thanks so much, everybody! I'll do some more sniffing around based on your recommendations.

Green Giant Arborvitae do not do well here in zone 4. I know a couple of plant people that had them planted and they removed them because of winter burn and because this plant would not start to grow until late summer and then not mature the new growth enough for it to survive the winter. Green Giant is not a good plant for us in MN.

I would go with Thuja occidentalis 'Hetz Wintergreen' if you can find them. 'Hetz Wintergreen is a fast growing cultivar that tends to grow with a single leader so this plant does not splay apart during heavy snows. The plant will bend over, but will snap back to its original position once the snow has melted off of the plant. I have a hedge of 'Hetz Wintergreen' planted on the North edge of my property to screen my backyard from the Neighbors.

Here is a link to a photo of the Hetz Wintergreen arbs growing at the Bickelhaupt Arboretum in Clinton, IA.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v280/Cultivar/Green%20Industry%20Copyrighted/ThujaOccidentalisWintergreenHabitPo.jpg

Mike

My brother lives in North Judson, IN and is looking for some inexpensive evergreen screening to block out the alley at the back of the yard. They have very sandy soil and full sun exposure. Do the upright arborvitae handle the snow load better than globe arborvitae? I was hesitant to recommend arborvitae as I had the latter that didn't handle snow very well although I really liked them. I ended up pulling mine out. Of course, he'll want to plant them and forget them (he's not "into" garden maintenance) and I'll have to remind him to keep them watered for the first year, especially with the sandy soil. He does want something that will have a fairly decent growth rate. Would another type be better for him?

Laura, You may also consider the Vanderwolf pine (pinus flexilis). They appear to be fairly dense/well-branched without the rigid Christmas tree form, and the needles are soooo soft - very "touchable" - and rated to zone 4! But, I've heard that the deer love them too.