Forgot there is a conifer forum. You guys can answer this question, though, without a problem

You have 30-plus-years with this selection of Chamaecyparis pisifera:

C.p. 'Dow Whiting' aka 'Mr. Green Genes' aka Trademarked name 'Soft Serve':

6-10 ft. height in 10-years. As everyone is aware just because the power lines aren't going to get any higher up, the tree will. You could easily enjoy this very soft and beautiful conifer for many-many decades.

Sooner Plant Farm has them for sale as do other nurseries if you Google all the names it falls under. Here is Sooner's page for it:

Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Dow Whiting'/'Soft Serve'/'Mr. Green Genes'

Dax

the only solution to the problem is under the power lines .... ???

any options outside the box you are already standing in???

one tree .... properly placed halfway between the house and the property line.. could probably block the whole site line???

conifers are trees.. so most of us hang in both forums ... so no need to duplicate the post there ....

ken

The Garden in the Woods west of Boston has some gorgeous dwarf thuja with a more naturalistic appearance.

I'd probably go for something that takes better to pruning to limit its height though...American Holly or some kind of yew.

After it gets established it is unlikely to be watered except in a dire emergency. I'd rather not prune at all becsuse it is not getting easier to do . It sounds like a mixed drought tolerant

Border is The way to go. This terribly dry season has been very instructivre as to which h trees and shrubs can go without water fir a long time. As common as it is t. Emerald green earned its keep here in the Boston dust bowl.

No going to plant 10 or even 5 of the same thing. Mix it up, I say.

Anything with a pointed top - as is typical of many conifers - is going to produce a visual tension when beneath wires, well before actually growing to be within close proximity. And when finally deformed by topping to get them out of the lines look worse than kinds with naturally broad growing or otherwise non-pointed shapes. So you would probably get a better result from planting something like a vase-shaped yew cultivar, for instance.

Japanese plum yew. dwarf cherry laurel. 'warreana' arb. actually, a number of arbs, ranging from the likes of holmstrup to Danica. if you're fortunate to be flirt with zone 7, evergreen viburnum.i'm going to guess you're not patient, or else some of the larger rhoddies. globosa cryptomeria. chamaecyparis in abundance. i'd continue, but I've been in the sun too long and need a cold shower.

Notice I did not say "quick growing". ! I'm not impatient with plants; waited 7 years for a climbing hydrangea to bloom.

I have several shrubs I can transplant including rhodies, and viburnums,

!

I don't think arborvitae is your solution. Why not some sort of boxwood topiary?

Caldwell, I must say that never ever crossed my mind. I didn't describe the setting (except the power lines) It's the "back yard", along side my neighbor's sad dead lawn back yard. My goal is to hide our messy yard from her OCD setting, for her sake, not mine. Boxwood too expensive, too prone to boxwood disease/bugs, slow growing . I started a small hedge and 5 years later threw in the towel. And topiary? What are you smoking that would give you the idea that I have the coordination, time or interest in making fish or dog shapes from a plant? You get points for an unconventional suggestion. And for making me grin at the very notion. Thanks!

Marie

Maybe your solution is a 8-10ft privacy hedge. I can suggest (faster) growing plants than boxwood. What USDA hardiness zone are you in?

I still think Holly. It can be trimmed into a hedge or grown into tree form, it tolerates shade, it does better in Massachusetts then boxwood.

Holly would work, preferably the native ilex opaca.

Thanks, people. I have enough ideas to get started, as soon as it cools down.

Marie