Living Screens....

What do you use for a living screen of trees? And have you tried any you decided you didn't like and wouldn't recommend? I am just interested in learning about all kinds and your experience can help me and others. Thanks!

The plants I use for screening are:
Wax Myrtle
Cherry Laurel
Camellia
Indica Azalea
American, Gallberry, and Yaupon Holly
Devilwood (wild olive)
Southern Magnolia

PLEASE ! Dont ever plant Ligustrum (privet)

I use different layers of trees shrubs and vines. Most of my screening to the only close neighbor is a columnar fir species native to Montana here. I have planted them very close so when they get more mature I can remove every other to continue to get the proper spacing. This sets a quicker screen with out waiting for full maturity. Behind them is virgina creeper on the 10' fence. And 2 other raised beds are in the yard area between the firs and the house. They have several deciduous trees and large stoneworks to block the view. My neighbor has helped with a "stone henge" like wall of granite on his side. This area I have low bushes and perenials. I don't have my pictures here so If you need I'll Dmail them to you. Steve

The one thing I never recommend is a solid monoculture of anything. Consider your screen as part of your landscape and liven it up with diversity. Otherwise, it always will look like it was only planted to hide soemthing, calling attention to whatever is being hidden. Also, if some pest nails one plant it could zoom right down the row affecting all of them.

Guy S.

Star, good point! I was thinking of a tall skinny growing cypress or is it juniper? Anyways, heard spider mites affect these plants a lot. It was recommended that they need little water so you can hose the whole tree down and wash away the mites before they cause some ugly damage.

Sofer, your landscape sounds awesome. Like it should be in a book.

You know, I've bought some landscaping books but they just seem to lack something. What I am really really wanting is a book of "real life" everyday landscapes in America, I know not all the plants would grow in my zone....but I'd still like to see the whole package, along with the plant names used in each. Have any of you seen such a book?

this is a shot of screening from the road. I have used Artic willow, Potentilla, and Karl Forester with rock landscaping for winter. This is a deer accessable area so I am limited here.

A very long time ago, we were told the way to go for a living screen was Lombardy Poplar alternating with Privet or Chinese Elm. We let them add the Lombardy Poplar the first year then went for one of the other ones that was suggested the next year. A mistake that somebody else is living with right now because I didn't know any better and we moved a few years later. Back when we first we here at this house, a soldier row of Burning Bushes was suggested and I did it. They've been removed now and I haven't quite built that area back up but I started by adding White Knight Weigela and a few Viburnum interspersed with Astilbe of all things. I've since added River Birch for height and a Carolina Silverbell. I'll add more Viburnum in that area as well as another Weigela.

I've been thinking about living screens and I'm going to create a windbreak/living screen about 100' or so from the nw corner of my house. I'm contemplating 5 Eastern White Pines as the backrow with 4 Pinus banksiana in front but I might swap those out for P. rigida. I'd underplant those with ferns and quite possibly some form of Ilex.

There's another area I want to create a living screen for but I've started with wetland grasses and sedges there and will probably add in a few Bald Cypress for even greater height.

I'd like to do create a living screen with Kalmia latifolia (it's late and I forgot the common name of that one) but haven't quite figured out where. I'd probably go with Viburnum again.

I agree with Guy in spicing up any landscape design with diversity. I used to gravitate toward soldier rows of the same species but really moved away from that "look" quite a few years ago. The look was too uniform and it sorely lacked visual interest.

I took this photo this morning. It does not do the plantings justice as it was so overcast but you can at least get a feel for the plants they chose to create a living screen. I particularly liked the mix of coniferous and deciduous.

Equil, of course every on up north considers the jack pine to be a weed tree, but I like it as well, being light and airy, it supports clematis for me without competing. However, that said, there seems to be "a bug" attacking stands of jack pine in the Minocqua area and as far north as Bolder Junction. The answer seems to be to clear cut any jack pine of value to the lumber industry. Yet another reason for diversity within the woodlot or the forest. Ken

I'm going to have to get a better photo of that on a brighter day. That planting was actually very tastefully arranged. I don't have a good eye for arranging plants and have a tendency of just sticking them where every I think they will work but I can copy designs and this was actually one that I wanted to copy on a smaller scale for myself using different plants.

The ones we are finding weedy here in addition to the Jack Pine are the Scotch and Mugo Pines.

I'm not familiar with Scotch Pine...do you mean Scots Pine? :)

Oops, we call it Scotch Pine here. Which ever one is Pinus sylvestris. It's all over the place. Very attractive looking tree though.

Got home from Alaska this is what i described above. This view is from our sun room/living room towards our neighbors house off to upper left of photo. Please note no fir trees can be seen here due to their small size. IE 3-4'

I am jealous. I have never been to Alaska and I have always wanted to go there. Please post some photos of your trip to Alaska somewhere and leave a link to the new thread. I would really love it if you shared some photos of Alaske.

Psst... the view from your sunroom looks grrrrrrrrrrreat!

This is a great topic, because it is one of the things that I am considering now.

I am looking for something that is going to be fast growing, and provide more privacy that we currently have - none.

Right now, I am considering wax myrtle, viburnum or perhaps rhododendren. The area is mostly sunny in the winter because there are deciduous trees there. During the summer, I believe that it will be sunny in the pm.

I want something that will grow roughly 6-8 ft or can be pruned to that height. If we tried planting taller trees we would interfer with the magnolia and other trees hanging over our fence. I also would like it to be fast growing so that I am not waiting ten years for privacy!

Blooms and berries are optional. I figuired that I would add some interesting smaller plants in front of them so that I don't get the soldier effect. I am thinking of a mix of smaller azaleas, hollies, and in at least one sunny section a small tree.

The quickest cover is supported vines but in your area they might be invasive. I like hops also because they would cover any support and smell great until the other plants mature. 1 year and they cover 20' then here (zone 4b) die to the ground with the first frost. They can be easily cleaned up with one match and they are gone. No cleanup needed. I call them my temporary barrier. But we can burn here in montana.

Pennefeather, check to make sure Wax Myrtle is hardy in your area. If it is, it is a great fast growing screen. It can even be limbed up into a small tree. There are so many uses for this plant. The birds love the small berries during the winter too.

Wax Myrtle, cousin to Crepe Myrtal?

No, Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera) is not related to Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia). Wax Myrtle is a native evergreen shrub/tree of the southeastern US . Crape Myrtle originated in Asia.

I took some more photos of that area that I tried to photopgraph before. This time I took them from a few different angles. The freshly fallen snow really showed up the strong design elements. Here's the first photo-

Here's a different angle. There wasn't a lot of traffic on the road this morning so I was able to pull over and park-

And another angle-

And another-

Another-

Those photos are all of a strip of land that rests between a 6 lane highway and a frontage road. It is an industrial/farm area. I took these photos from the south side of an entrance road into the farming area. Here is the last photo of what they did on the south side of the entrance. Somebody knew what they were doing. I am convinced this is the work of somebody skilled such as a landscape designer-

Here's a photo of the landscape design on the north side of the entrance. I only have one photo from this direction but attention to detail is present in this design also-

There is a balance here that I really enjoy, not one bit formal, but relaxed and pleasing from all angles. All local government officials should be aware of how plantings such as these can benefit a community. There is so much "wasted" land owned and maintained by local governments. I think we should drive about locally "with an open eye" for oppertunities to convert much of what is an invitation to plant such spots into a natural setting of what was there in the first place. Ken

Yes, I was very impressed with what I saw also. On the west side of all the lanes was one industrial site after the next. On the east side was one farm after the next. And in between all of it was what I photographed. Looked almost as if it was a park of some sort. I'm beginning to see more and more of these as time goes on. The remainder of these strip areas was planted with Oaks, Sumac, Cedar, and Dogwoods. What a pleasant change.

Roadside Holiday Greetings!

A little Currier & Ives going there, especially number four. I think I hear sleigh bells...

I believe that most people equate park with open areas and recreation equipment. We Tree and Shrub people can always ask the "powers that be" locally: "can I plant that?". Show then a design, adopt an open space. Ken

Well, at least Ken and I have good taste for something other than fine wine.

Most of our communities think of a park as an open area with recreation equipment. As Equil says, it is areas like this that we identify with. It is up to us: Tree and Shrub people to ask the "powers that be" ; can I plant that? Adopt an empty space! Ken

sorry for the dup

What's a dup?

I ought to make a smart aleck remark related to folks from/near that northerly part of Michigan, but we southerners have a bit more decorum about us.

Whereas, our beloved Cacographer may be an unwitting dupe.

Now, who's trying to distract me with the comment about wine? Is that a roundabout way to suggest that a row of espaliered Vitis vinifera would make a fine multipurpose living screen?

Funny how things dovetail...

A duplication, ninnies!

Ok, I got it now. Takes me a while but sooner or later I get with the program.

Equilibrium you have to be a morning person because I never have time to stop,let alone take multiple photos on my way to work. LOL
You are right about the design it is not only functional but it is unique to the thinking of a person who sat there and thought about it for several hours or they were living nearby and knew what needed to be.

Did they plant all those large conifers right under the power lines?

The depth of field is off because I don't see well enough to use anything but automatic settings but the power lines actually dissect the plantings or are set back from the plantings. The Trees will grow on either side of them or in front of them without having to be trimmed in the years to come.