Best Evergreen for Privacy/Road Fence

[cavey]

Hate to be a tree downer. But if you don't have an uphill grade to deal with I'm with J-bird. Miscanthus Giganteus is hard to beat. Mature in 3 years and the deer don't rub it, rabbits don't girdle it and nothing eats it.

"hate to be a tree downer" Talk about trees .... You want a good screen?!?! - we should plant some of your " trees" Bill... even the deer cant get through them..............

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Bill - Thanks for the info on MG in post #7.

I agree with J-bird in post #13 about pines thinning out at the bottom. That's just how pines grow & mature. We have that problem at camp and I planted a double row of Norway spruce along a lane to fill in the ever-opening lower pine limbs. The older guys planted those pines years ago to block the view into the camp, but they're useless for that purpose now.

 

[Bill]

"hate to be a tree downer" Talk about trees .... You want a good screen?!?! - we should plant some of your " trees" Bill... even the deer cant get through them..............

That's my used mower belt holder :)

 

[Rit]

Stay away from Red Pines for a screen. They may grow fast and be okay for a bit but not once they start to mature they will be useless as a screen. Use Norway Spruce or Eastren Red Cedar.

 

[Aaron]

How about a dirt berm with two rows of spruce pines on top to give them a boost in height. Then plant a few rows of red pine and white pine on the back side. You could plant some prairie grass on top to speed up the screen.

 

[H20fwler]

I’ve got a few hundred yards of road front I’m growing a road screen on now.
I planted a thick row of MG about ten yards from road then a row of white pines and behind that a row of Norway spruce staggered. The pines grow fast but loose their bottom limbs after 10-15 years by then the spruce will be big enough to do the job. The MG is for instant gratification until the trees get big enough.

 

[Victor Van Meter]

How about Switchgrass? Any experience with that for a road screen? Just tossing ideas. Not saying I won't go MG or evergreen routes, but just weighing options.

VV

 

[scott44]

I think switch makes a good screen for food plots but for a road screen I think it's too low, most of my switch is 4-6' tall and I think you'd see right over it from a truck. It might not hurt to throw a strip in there but I think you'd not like only switch. Here's a pic of MG on the left and CIR switch on the right, those are 5' tree tubes.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

^^^^ Good illustration.

 

[Victor Van Meter]

I think switch makes a good screen for food plots but for a road screen I think it's too low, most of my switch is 4-6' tall and I think you'd see right over it from a truck. It might not hurt to throw a strip in there but I think you'd not like only switch. Here's a pic of MG on the left and CIR switch on the right, those are 5' tree tubes.

Thanks. The pics really give a good reference.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gyblimp]

Hold up...."mature" and what Bill posted pics of are different things. I doubt you will get a screen like bill posted in 3 years time. My oldest MG has been in the ground 2 years now and it's not near the density or height of what Bill shows. It will get there I am sure....but I really doubt you see 12 feet and as full as in those pics in 3 years without some serious help.....in my opinion. Just trying to keep expectations in check is all....

Also a caution on pines. While they are young they are great, but as they age and get much taller they tend to self prune and loose their lower branches and loose their branch density. My folks have their yard lined in red pine and it's pretty worthless now 20+ years later as a ground level screen.

Here is a pic of my first year's growth from rhizome clusters from Maple River Farms, Michigan

 

[scott44]

Here is a pic of my first year's growth from rhizome clusters from Maple River Farms, Michigan

That's great growth for first year, clusters take off better than rhizomes. Looks good!

 

[Telemark]

How deep do the roots of MG get? Do they tolerate wet soil?

 

[Bill]

How deep do the roots of MG get? Do they tolerate wet soil?

Roots are somewhat shallow but dense. I'd say 12 to 16 inch root cluster. It won't tolerate standing water for to long. I have a wet spot that holds rain water for quite a while. I could not get it to grow there.

 

[Telemark]

Thanks, Bill.