Awesome.

I don't know what's good for that area.

Call the county folk, maybe they have a tree program / free advice.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ablany County NY -- call the local extension / ag agent?

and we are shooting for the next PROPER PLANTING SEASON...???

which would probably be fall ...

whats your budget.. in the sense of size???

i prefer oak ... once established .... for me.. in sand.. they grew 3 to 5 feet per year .. and anything that grows faster will fail faster .... and are weak-wooded ...

IMHO.. no tree marketed as fast growing.. is worthwhile ...

and .. finally.. what do you plan to do under your trees ..

some trees will not even allow grass.. others will not allow gardening.. etc ... so i would start by delineating what you want beyond shade .. and site blocking ...

ken

hogmanay, Thanks� for the link, I'll check out the Cornell ext.

Ken, Yes we will do the bulk of the planting in the fall. As I said we will be planting hard woods but since they can only be expected to be in leaf in this area for 5-6 months we need mostly evergreens to work as shade and wind blocking all year.

What kind of Oak? The last batch of oak trees I planted, the last time I lived in this area grew at best a few inches a year. I had them in the ground for 8 years before I moved and they looked much the same as when I planted them.
I will leave space in the back for a vegetable garden and any flower beds will be made to work around trees. The less grass the better.

Faster growing oaks include Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea) and Northern red oak (Quercus rubra).

What are the trees in the treeline in the distance? Are they evergreens or deciduous trees primarily?

Chestnut. Elm. Get the disease resistant ones, obviously. Just don't plant chestnut near the house where you walk! They get nasty burs.

The trees to the right of the house are evergreens, the property line just cuts the edge of them. There is nothing but open field in front of them and the other side of the house is field for about 4 miles. The trees to the back are mixed but are at the edge of the back property line.

Down here, I would plant big southern yellow pines for quick shade/sun block/evergreen color on southern/western sides, and something like Eastern Red Cedar/Arizona Cypress for wind block/evergreen color on north and eastern sides. That would probably translate to something like White Pines/Spruce up there, and maybe Arborvita/Green Giants/ERC for the wind-block. Sure someone more familiar with the appropiate varieties will chime in.
Oh and some native Larch somewhere. A deciduous conifer or two would be a must.

Norway spruce, Colorado spruce, as far as oaks, most of mine grow pretty fast, mulching may help them grow faster. Those mentioned already, Red oak, scarlet oak and black oak, plus Pin oak if you don't have alkaline soil. Sycamore grows fast and usually lives long. Check out what there is out there in peoples yards or easier yet, online. Arbor days website may help you see what is out there for your purpose. I personally don't like the way they care for their plant stock, and would not advise to order from them, just my opinion.

most large growing trees are fast growing. it just depends on your timeline.

as far as evergreens...spruce, norway and white. others exist but are either not really suited to the purpose (colorado) or lose their impact as a screen (serbian). pines. hard to get too much faster than a white pine...and no.matter what the estewmed ken in adrian has to say abou fast growing trees, few would call white pine a ploy or a flop.

arbs. many varietes, many sizes, much color. certain chamaecyparis.

if you habe some time before planting, take a few drives. visit some colleges, parks, perhaps the Landis Arboretum. get some ideas of your own.

I've always been partial to Norway Spruce. It's a beautiful tree and fairly hardy.

No Colorado Spruce, yuck!

As far as hardwoods, I would go with Northern Red Oak, Sugar Maple, and either a birch or aspen somewhere away from the house for some fast-growing shade and screening. All of these would be decently fast growing depending on conditions.

I am partial to tulip tree, they grow pretty fast, and they are hardy to Zone 4, I'm not sure how well they grow in northern NY though.