Privacy hedge along fence line

7 years ago

We are located in Zone 5a, South Central Wisconsin

Our family moved into a new home one year ago. We love almost everything about the home (schools, neighborhood, the house itself) but the yard was in extremely rough shape, not to mention the giant pool we're having filled in this year.

We removed quite a few weed trees on the other side of our back yard fence. We still have a lot of work yet, but eventually we are hoping to create an evergreen privacy hedge along that fence. In addition to a busy road in the distance, there is a church parking lot directly behind the fence which is up on an incline, so cars parked there have a direct view into our living room despite the 6-foot fence. Our neighborhood only allows 6 foot fences so a privacy hedge is the only way I can see getting any privacy long term.

I planted four upright junipers last fall that have done very well so far. I love the look of them and am very happy with them, but I've heard they don't grow as quickly as I would ideally like, and I'm concerned that I planted them too close to the fence. I originally intended to plant arborvitae on the other side of the fence and juniper on our side, since I prefer the look of the junipers and I know they are slower growing. There are two Moonglow junipers and two Wichita Blue junipers, all planted about 3 and a half feet from the fence. Will they be okay or should I move them further from the fence? They are planted about 8 feet apart.

I purchased two Hetz Wintergreen arborvitae a few days ago. Should I plant them on the other side of the fence (where they would get more sun) or between the junipers? My property line extends only about 5 feet on that side of the fence, and I'm concerned that with the church parking lot being raised up, they will suffer from root rot or moisture damage being at the bottom of the small incline. Should I plant them on my side of the fence in between the junipers? Can they coexist peacefully as a mixed hedge? Or will one species eventually crowd the other out?

Ignore the giant pool that takes up our entire yard and the sunken cover...that's a whole other issue!

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Comments (5)

maggie_ll
Original Author
7 years ago
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
but I've heard they don't grow as quickly as I would ideally like,

===>> conifers are trees ... and they grow in tree time.. and you are correct .. they simply arent going to fix the problem.. as fast as you probably want ....

but they will eventually ...

all are full ... and only tolerant to shade ... and yes.. if you plant something in more sun ... then those will probably grow faster.. once they get established ...

one of my usual caveats ... is to not get caught in the property line box ... when trying to solve this issue ...

perhaps you are leaving out the best place.. for the fastest solution ... and that would be a tree.. closer to the house .. namely.. where the pool is ... something in the lines of a redbud.. might work well ..even obscuring the sightline when bare in winter ... but of course.. we in snow country leave the drapes closed then ...

btw.. i note the power lines ... you are planting in an easement ... so you dont want anything too fast ... else they tree maintenance guys will show up faster ...

the Wichita blue grow rather fast ... but after about 10 years.. i got rid of all mine.. due to juniper tip blight ... the lesson here.. is to think of this as an ongoing process ...

also with pool removal.. you will have a larger planting bed ... btw .. again.. are you having the pool removed.. or just filled in .. if filled in.. i think it is advisable to have the bottom broken up ... else you might end up with a water retaining bog .. which may or may not be a new type of garden you would want to mess with ...

you might also want to look into viburnum .. or other shrubs besides conifers ... they can grow faster.. but will probably take up more ground space ...

think of this as a decade long evolution of a solution ... and if you have to remove things down the road.. so be it ... in other words.. think and work in tree time ....

ken
maggie_ll thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
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maggie_ll
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you Ken, I am definitely willing to be patient and I have tried to do my research on finding varieties that will grow the fastest, but I realize it will at least be four or five years before they grow substantially enough to my liking. I had considered green giant arborvitae for growth rate, but Hetz Wintergreen had a better look in my opinion. We plan to be in this house at least until retirement so I have a good 30 years left to watch them grow! In the meantime I might look into adding some trellising to the top of the fence, if the neighborhood association will allow it that is. Even just raising the fence up three feet would provide enough privacy from the parking lot, until the trees have a chance to grow taller...

I really like your idea about planting trees in full sun of the yard, and definitely plan to put in a few apple trees and possibly another crabapple or two once the pool is filled in. The yard is large by suburban standards but not extremely so... I will consider what I have to work with.

And yes we consulted an engineer about the pool, we are planning on having them drill lots of holes at the bottom for drainage and backfill with rock rather than just soil to prevent settling.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
you dont have room for green giants ... so dont go back on that decision ... and they would easily be into the power lines ... ken
Embothrium
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
If you want something much taller than the fence that bed will have to be made much wider, just to accommodate their physical spread. Really for plants to not look too tall (overgrown) to many viewers beds need to be as wide as corresponds to a pretty good proportion of the height of the planting. For instance it has been suggested that shrubs should be 1 1/2 times as high as a bed is wide at the point they are planted in order for the combination to look balanced. So in such an instance a bed would have a shrub 4 1/2 tall where the bed was 3 ft. wide. And judging by what is often done there are a lot of people that would not be comfortable with even this much plant height in such a situation.

Another point relevant to your scheme is that when conical conifers are relied on for screening it takes a longer time for the upper parts of the tops to merge. And sometimes much broader lower parts of their crowns will be growing together well before this happens. Unless year-round foliage is required you might be better off using broad-leaved trees and shrubs that have instead more bulk in their upper part than in the lower. Something like whatever that is against the fence at the back of your last picture.