my folks are in thier mid 80's-have an 11 acre, heavy clay soil, acreage. been here 35 years.

---they have a line of 12 mature redcedars --lower limbs are gone, 4 ft. up from ground(to allow mowing underneath). This empty space created by removing the lower branches opens up an unsightly view of a neighbors junk trucks,tractors and junk equipment.

---they would like to fill in that empty space and block that view---due to thier age, it needs to be relatively "fast".

---there is a pasture behind the line of mature redcedars, therefore there is plenty of room for whichever trees we install.

---There are also a couple limiting factors---they cannot afford mature tree or bigger tree planting by greenhouse or landscapecompanies.

--i will have to dig the holes myself, which is OK, im a grunt. the soil is heavy clay under a 2"-8" layer of loam--whenevcer i plant something small like rose bush or other smaller flowering plantsaround here, i have to dig down about 24" to get to sand below the clay, then refill hole

with black dirt and old barn soil. in some places a new hole into this clay will hold water until it evaporates.

--I was wondering if the clay might cause slower development of the new confiers we plant to block the badview. if i should dig down these new tree holes below the clay line of around 24" to sand-and fill these holes witht he black soil as well. Also, consistent watering might be a problem--but those cedar trees did just fine over a 30 year period, as well as other trees in the yard-maple(gigantic),norweign spruce,oak a few others as well--i doubt these trees were ever pampered or even watered at all.

---any suggestions greatly appreciated thanks, glenn