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I've been on the net for hours and the sites disagree way too much on growth rates for me to decide. I'd call 7 Dees but they would probably suggest whatever they have on hand like the websites do.

I'd appreciate suggestions from posters here with experience.

I need a narrow (8' wide), shade tolerant privacy screen for the fence line. 10' to 12' is all the height I need here.

And I need fast growing trees for the inside.

I want to purchase them personally in the Portland/Vancouver area. I suppose that I'll balance cost vs growth rate.

Thanks.
 
We had a row of them at our old house. They were great for privacy but coop44 is right. Each night around sundown our tiny dog would patrol the back yard. 3 or 4 times a week he would get an opossum backed up against a tree. Lots of barking from him and hissing from the opossums.
 
Craigslist.

Just type in arborvitae in the search box and you will ba able to buy them direct from the field/farmer for wholesale or less. It's good advice to buy them as tall as you can afford.

Whoa. Yeah, I C. :s0155:

Now what type? I want something like the Green Giant but according to the plant Zone Map Western Oregon is out of it's range. Can't figure that one out, they do grow them at nurseries so they grow... I'll have to call a nursery Mon and ask what grows best here.
 
Hey Bigfoot, strong warning, as the arborvitae mature don't let them get away from you! Out of control arborvitae tend to spread out at the top and then the center becomes a hollow area with the branches drooping away from center. Then when you prune them back it creates big holes in the hedge. Ugly and privacy is gone. I had to tear out a 12-15ft x 70ft arborvitae hedge and it was unpleasant!
 
Hey Bigfoot, strong warning, as the arborvitae mature don't let them get away from you! Out of control arborvitae tend to spread out at the top and then the center becomes a hollow area with the branches drooping away from center. Then when you prune them back it creates big holes in the hedge. Ugly and privacy is gone. I had to tear out a 12-15ft x 70ft arborvitae hedge and it was unpleasant!

Yeah I've seen that, plus they are prone to spider mites. I hate spider mites.
 
Laurel and Photinia are options, without the spidermites. Be aware though, nothing in the way of a hedge is going to grow well in shade. It will be a job to get a high hedge to grow if you have it in part sun and part shade, say, half the length of the hedge gets mostly full sun and the other half is under a large mature oak.

Mike
 
Bamboo grows encredibly fast and tall. Mowing around it will keep it from spreading.

There are two types of bamboo. Running & non-running.
Unless you want bamboo spreading everywhere, including your neighbors yard and pushing up through your driveway, plant non-running varieties, otherwise you have to surround the running type with a permanent barrier at least 12"-16" deep.

Also, look around your neighbor hood for any cedar trees, arborvitae hedges and similar type shrubs / trees that have turned a bright rust color and died.
There is a new disease infecting these type of plants and it spreads under ground through the roots.
There is no cure except pulling out the dead plant and waiting a couple of years before replanting.

My vote goes for the Leyland Cypress.
 
The problem with fast growing vegetation is that is tends to continue to grow-FAST! Arborvitae is relatively slow growing IMO, so if you need instant privacy then you'd need to buy them as tall as can as was mentioned previously.

Photinia grow like freakin weeds, and once established will easily grow to 20' tall or more unless kept whacked back on a regular basis.
 
PBinWA is right. I'll take a row of these cypress over arbor vitae any day. I planted one about 8-9 years ago at less than 3 feet tall. Now it's 15 feet tall with full, attractive branches. my neighbor has a privacy hedge of them, as well as arbor vitae. The Cypress are more attractive (pleasant greenery with yellow highlights), faster growing, and appear to be hardier. She's lost a couple arbor vitae, but the cypress are doing fine.
 
I researched Leyland Cypress this morning and came away thinking that they might grow out of control. Just now I found out that you can control the size by crowding. Sounds odd.

Fast-growers, they climb 3 to 4 feet a year and provide a solid wall of privacy. When hedge-planting, space leyland cypress trees 6 feet apart.

Spacing for Height Control

At maturity, a single leyland cypress tree can grow up to 60 or 70 feet, but only 20 to 30 feet if planted in 6 foot-apart rows.

Spacing for Spread Control

Leyland cypress trees can grow up to 15 to 20 feet in diameter if planted individually, but will maintain a diameter of 6 feet if planted in rows 6 feet apart.
 
My favorite is Quaking Aspen, but they won't grow on the West side of the Cascades, too wet.
Not an evergreen, but they are really beautiful when a slight breeze moves through them.
 
The problem with fast growing vegetation is that is tends to continue to grow-FAST! Arborvitae is relatively slow growing IMO, so if you need instant privacy then you'd need to buy them as tall as can as was mentioned previously.

Photinia grow like freakin weeds, and once established will easily grow to 20' tall or more unless kept whacked back on a regular basis.

It should go without saying that a fast growing hedge in the Northwest also means a once a year "whackback"!

Mike
 
It should go without saying that a fast growing hedge in the Northwest also means a once a year "whackback"!

Mike
+1 You can prune Leyland's and they recover nicely. If your are looking for a narrow little hedge then they would not be a good choice. If you have a big property and want a fast thick privacy screen then they are great. You can also try Thuja Green Giants they grow reasonably fast and the deer don't seem to like them as much as arborvitae. They are also prunable and resemble arborvitae to a degree.
 

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