Hemlocks are great trees but they are very expensive and slow growing.

And oh yeah they are huge. Tell us how big your yard is please. I may be jumping to conclusions as it sounds of things you may not have enough space and need to stick with columnar trees that don't get too big. Also the practice of planting a giant wall of like trees in a row has fallen out of favor with gardeners and avid tree enthusiasts due to the eventuality that one tree in the row will die or something could potentially happen to it leaving an awkward gap. Mix it up with different trees. Using trees with a canopy means less trees are needed and faster privacy.

why do you have to pay for them ....

let him put in his 13 on the other lot .. and find something diverse and cheaper for the back of your lot ...

if he is required to do this by the new owner ... or by city code ... don't let him bamboozle you into paying for half of them ..

and.. smaller trees cost less .. and reacquire vigor faster than larger trees ... so smaller cheaper stock will probably out grow bigger more expensive stock in a 5 year period ...

good luck

ken

The plusses on hemlock are that they are fast growing, shade tolerant, and don't tend to lose their lower branches.

The minuses are that they can get very large very quickly if not pruned, and require a lot of pruning to keep them at a certain size. They are also subject to a serious insect pest in the northeast - wooly adelgid. Left unchecked, it will kill them. For a lot of people, wooly adelgid alone is reason enough to avoid hemlock.

Other suggestions are going to depend on things like how much sun the area gets, how cold it gets, how tall the screen will have to be to be effective, etc.

Thanks for all the great advice. Sorry I'm responding late. My lot size is 3/4 acre. The way that my house is set up is that the back of the house is facing the side yard as supposed to the back yard. The set backs for the side yard is 15 feet however, my deck is sitting at only 7 feet to the property yard and it some how gradfathered in. Can you give me names of some types of other trees or trees that are recommended to be planted on the property for privacy purposes? The trees will be planted on the property line which is 261 linear feet. Maybe it would be cheaper to build The Great Wall of China. Thanks again!!!

So you're saying you want to plant a tree 7 feet away from a deck? If the deck is not very high off the ground, that's not so bad. If your deck is 8 or 10 feet above the ground, that could be trickier.

I would think about planting a few trees that will mature at different heights. You could plant one or two liriodendrons, a couple of dogwoods and a cercis canadensis or three, and a few witchhazels and wind up with a decent visual screen that is also beautiful. The dogwoods, redbuds and witchhazels will be OK under the larger trees.

These trees are all deciduous, but most people stay inside a lot during the winter and outdoor "privacy" is not so important.

Pay attention, if you get dogwoods, and buy cultivars that are disease resistant. Redbuds and tulip trees are generally healthy and fast growing. American elm is also fast growing (though it is not risk-free), so you might consider adding a 'Valley Force' or 'Princeton' in the mix.

I don't think it makes sense to try to block off everything everywhere or look for something that will be a complete visual block. You probably really don't need the Great Wall.

I think planting hemlocks WOULD make the Great Wall!!!

I am still not clear, from what you say, about exactly how much room you have to plant in. I get the length being over 250', but how much room is there between your deck and your back fence/boundary? If it really is only 7', that may not be enough room for a tree on your side of the line. And how much room is here between the back of the new house and the fence? You may do better right opposite your deck to build a tall trellis, and plant vines on it, evergreen or otherwise.

Don't forget that trees grow wide as well as tall, so that growth has to be considered. The new neighbor may NOT appreciate trees on your side of the line encroaching into his property - and he will be legally entitled to cut off whatever is over the line - never mind that it gives him privacy as well as you. Will all the trees be planted on your property, or on the neighbor's, or split between you?

Who is going to plant these trees, and will they be guaranteed and for how long? Where will they be purchased from? Unless you are getting trees of over 10-15' tall, that price sounds a bit high. Despite that hemlocks do have the plusses listed, they will also be a problem if the wooly adelgid hits them - you CAN treat for them, but it's an ongoing process (at least annually), and can get expensive as the trees get bigger.

I would rather, IMO, go with a mixed planting of various trees, from tall to shorter, deciduous and evergreen, and with spring flowers, maybe fall fruit, and certainly fall color for at least some of them. As said above, you probably won't be using the deck much when any leaves are off the trees, and if you do, then evergreens can go in that area. For that amount of money, you should be able to get a very attractive grouping of trees.