Software
Houzz Logo Print
tower59

Privacy trees in Central Texas

18 years ago

Hello, all! I have a 30 acre farm in Central Texas and would like to make a fast growing privacy barrier along one side of my property. I'm looking for something that grows quickly and preferably stays green year around. I'm next to a river so I plan on rigging up a solar powered drip irrigation system to handle watering needs. My initial plan is planting a line of Austrees every five feet or so. I really like evergreens, though, so was thinking about planting maybe some Loblolly Pines or Eastern Red Cedar in addition or instead of the Austrees. I'd love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, and recommendations. I'm a novice, so keep it simple! Thanks!!!

Comments (7)

  • 18 years ago

    Yep what ltruett said. Try Madrone Nursery in San Marcos for montezuma cypress in 1g that you can buy for 5 dollars or something each. Once established, they will take off when they get enough water. Montezuma cypress is evergreen cousin of bald cypress but do better in area that do not get as much rain and tolerate alkaline soil better as well.

    Mexican white oak is a nice one too. It will grow fast once they are established after 1-2 years depending on how serious you are with watering and mulching (and planting the right way makes a huge difference so if you don't know, ask for some details).

    Loblolly pines? Where exactly are you? It needs sandy acidic soil to thrive. The only place that I know of in Central Texas is somewhere in Bastrop which is rare. So called Lost Pine Forest or something like that. Loblolly pines are commonly grown along I-45 from Houston to Centerville and goes east/northeast toward Louisana-Texas border because of sandy acidic soil.

  • 18 years ago

    Best place to get MWO trees for the money is Texas Forest Service if you are looking to get a lot of trees.

    I think Texas Forest Service also sells Eastern Cedar. There are a few other evergreen trees that you can also get. Mix them up!

  • 18 years ago

    Note that those "austrees" are just cheap hybrid willow cuttings sold with a lot of cr@p hype, a thick coat of snake oil, and a grossly over-inflated price tag. Production costs, about 5 cents each; compare that with the list price. If you want willows (yes, they're good for a short-term screen and attractive to wildlife), get your own cuttings from local native willows instead.

    Resin

  • 18 years ago

    Eastern Red Cedar should grow well there. If you pay attention to watering, they can grow as fast as 28"/yr in good soil but 18" is more normal. Waco has several nice examples of large older Eastern Red Cedar. These trees are drought resistant but can handle wetter years.
    Arizona Cypress is another conifer that should grow well if you have good drainage. They look similar to ERC but have thicker foliage and are gray-greenish in color. Both Killeen and Waco have several large specimens of these trees. Mine have only grown 12-16"/yr. but reports indicate they can grow faster. These trees are drought resistant.
    Loblolly pine only does well in a few selected spots where the soil is locally neutral to acidic. If you have a spot like that they will thrive, if not, they will turn yellow and die.
    Afghan Pine will grow here, but they often die after about 10 yrs or so as the climate here is too wet for them. They do much better planted in west Tx. There are no examples of large Afghan Pines that I know of here.

  • 18 years ago

    Italian stone pine is another option to try as well for alkaline soil instead of loblolly pines.

  • 18 years ago

    Live Oak is another "evergreen" candidate.