hey ...

what is your base soil ... i am thinking clay with the standing water ... see link for planting guide.. the trick.. if you read closely ... is to plant high ... ask about what isnt clear ... have you ever perked the area in the dry season????

you dont mention vermin with white tails ... is that an issue ...

low branches is a function of growing in full blinding sun ... its usually a shade issue when the top [the part in full sun] thrives.. and the bottom is turning into a telephone pole .;.. your 'plenty of sun' may or may not be good enough.. how many hours.. at what time of day????

and lets be clear... ALL evergreen plants... including conifers.. shed their leaves.. aka needles .. in conifers its usually 1 to 3 years ... but instead of blowing around the yard like deciduous leaves .... they create a beautiful and natural carpet under the tree ... but if you cant get wifey past that ... then i dont know what to tell you ...

if you are ever out tecumseh way .. there is a brilliant conifer display garden at hidden lakes gardens just west of such ... if you really want to get beyond the run of the mill ... it would be worth the drive ... but you would have to move past the 'fast growing' aspect ...

and finally ... you dont mention volume... NEVER plant a lot of anything ... diversify.. and you can avoid nightmare plagues that come along.. usually right after you are fully happy about how well they have done ...

this MI boy wants to know what city ... and i presume you must be near that great nursery.. that i never went to, and cant remember the name of.. lol .. somewhere up 75 ...

BTW ... no young tree is going to stop invasive bramble.. anytime soon ... so i will burst that bubble now too ....

good luck

ken

ps: the MI soil conservation offices.. sponsor an annual plant sale.. small, cheap plants .. of many kinds .. they sell them as wind breaks... but they would work just fine in your circs.... i cant do another link.. just google: MI soil conservation plant sale

Here is a link that might be useful: link

I personally wouldn't worry if they shed needles... every tree does this. My neighbor has about 200 white pines, they over hang my property by 20+ feet. They lost their lower branches so I can walk under them and they look good. Each fall they shed their needles and create a nice layer. I usually pick the needles up with my riding mower and dump them in my mulch beds. No better fall smell than chopped up pine needles and other leaves. Even if you didn't want to use the needles, a couple passes with the riding mower grounds them up to where you can't see them.

As far as spruces... I have a few larger spruces and to be honest they don't really shed needles that bad. Just because their needles are so short that they fall between the grass.

But that's just me... I like falling needles... free mulch & it adds organic matter to the soil, what's not to like?

Definitely your best choice is Thuja occidentalis. The (2) that grow very rapidly are:
Thuja occidentalis 'Hetz Wintergreen'
Thuja x 'Green Giant'

'Hetz Wintergreen' will become 35' tall x 6-8' wide and will continue growing. It stays quite narrow.

'Green Giant' will become very large in width. It's parents are Thuja plicata and Thuja standishii. Easily expect 30' width, however.... when planted together as screens, Thuja's retain their foliage from the ground up. They do, stay solid.

A caution about buying 'Hetz Wintergreen' from 'Musser Forest Nursery' - they sell seedlings and not the true cultivar. It's in the fine print. So do not purchase 'Hetz Wintergreen' from Musser Forest. The cheapest and great stock (nursery) is 'Evergreen Nursery'.

Congrats on your new property and home.

Dax