They take forever to grow. Here is our hedge that has been growing for 1.5 years. It has barely spread width wise and grown maybe 3-6 inches in height...maybe

They can get big....both in width and in height. But much of the size will be influenced by location and growing conditions. And to be precise, various yew hybrids are sold under that cultivar designation so actual results may vary.

I agree with AS that in my area these grow relatively slowly but if left untouched, will also grow quite large.....15-20' tall and 6-10' wide and with an arching, fountaining habit. But they can be pruned to size easily - they take to pruning, even hard pruning, very well

Make the space between the hedge and the fence as wide as you think you will need in order to have adequate access for pruning the hedge indefinitely into the future - you aren't likely to be able to let the hedge reach over onto the neighboring property without doing so becoming a problem. Making how wide the unpruned hedge might get at some point partly irrelevant.

conifers are trees.. and basically never stop growing ... both in height and width ... there is no magical stopping at some preferred width of say.. 4 feet ... its all about the annual growth rate ... and when you want to start shearing them ... if space limited ...

many size estimates are at 10 years .. and at 20.. they will usually be twice as big ...

if you GOAL is a sight block.. you plant them closer together.. to achieve said goal faster ...

if your goal is individual specimens.. you plant them further apart ...

and any variation therein ... including budget ...

the plant itself.. really doesnt grow according to your goal.. its just deals with whatever is provided ... and once established.. will grow its usual annual growth ...

location is important as to the length of growing season ... and how much they grow ... e.g. in my MI i have about a 5 month growing season.. 2 months of cold either side of that ... and 3 months of ground freeze ... compare such to z 6 or 7 or 8 ... where they might actually grow almost year around ...

if you could provide a pic or 2 of the situation.. it might help the discussion ...

welcome to the forums ....

ken

How far you space them from the chain link so you can prune that side of them on your property will depend on how much you care what that side looks like and how skinny and nimble the gardener doing the trimming is. The human body will not be fond of this scenario.

Thanks for all the help so far! It is very much appreciated. Here is a photo of the area if it helps!

The gate on the left side has me confused as to what is whose and if side yards join back yards and how many neighbors might be involved. I don't think that really matters though. Are you sure the neighbor would object to you just letting the yew grow through the chain link thus hiding it on both sides and you trimming it when needed (not that often) on their side where the nice concrete floor will make cleanup quick and easy?

The gate would quickly become inaccessible.. And I'd be concerned about the access or air movement on that one side of the AC or heat exchanger. Pretty tight siting for the Hicks, IMO.

The gate is on my property. The concrete is the neighbor's driveway, with the structure on the right side of the photo being their garage. I don't know that I/the neighbor would want the Yew to grow through the fence because it would begin to start obstructing their driveway if that makes sense and we have pretty narrow driveways in our community - just wide enough for a vehicle. Of course, I could keep it tightly clipped against the fence...however that's why I would need to know how far away to plant it from the fence so that a "tight clip" doesn't look awful or harm the plant as it grows and matures.

I'm also open to other ideas of what I could plant here if Yew isn't the best option. It's a fairly shady spot despite what the photo may make it seem like which is why I was thinking of going with Yew. This is the Northeast corner of my house...the area gets morning sun..a lot of it filtered by some very tall maple trees that overhang my property from another neighbor's yard. After early afternoon (1 pm-ish?)...my house keeps this area in the shade the rest of the day as the sun moves west. I am in Zone 5b.

Can you take a picture from further back?

Lord a mercy! The need for a tall, super skinny, shade tolerant, deer resistant evergreen shrub for the NE is a gold mine for that plant patent. If you plan to keep it four feet wide, two feet on the fence side with a tight clip at the fence should be fine. That may not last forever, but you will get a great many years of use from it.

Haha. It is definitely a challenge! I just hate this view so much...but would much rather have a “natural” screen vs. building a privacy fence.

Here are a few more views! Thanks again for all the help! One of you guys just may have the solution for me! I’m crossing my fingers!

Also, I would potentially not plant anything immediately in front of the air conditioner unit and gate...i don’t mind leaving that open. So even if something could block most of the fence...that would be good enough. It’s about a 15 foot stretch.

It doesn’t HAVE to be evergreen either. As long as the view is blocked in the summer!

Well … there is Sky Pencil Holly you could have a look at. It's skinnier. It may want a bit more sun for best results and someone from Boston I think thoroughly hated on them in another thread here today.

I would suggest a small arbor and vine … but the neighbor's drive and garage are too close for an unruly vine.

Plant smaller shrubs that will be about fence height and then plant small growing, deciduous trees above that level. Ones with upright branching that does not soon reach over the fence. The area given this treatment could include part of the space between the patio and the garage, for additional effectiveness. And/or add an architectural solution like an arbor over where the patio is - something horizontal like that would cut off the view of the upper part of the neighboring house. When sitting on the patio.

A Hick's Yew that only grows a few inches per year is probably a new one that doesn't have its roots much into the ground yet. This was one of the most common foundation plants where I grew up. Part of the time while going to school I worked summers trimming shrubs. I'd put Hick's at, at least, a good 12" height growth per year, once established. I would call a 4' ground space tight. Very tight. Not for the first 4 or 5 years, but eventually. They'd be growing through the chain link fence in your situation.

Diligent formal shearing - including eventually the use of ladders - would have to be undertaken to end up with a yew hedge tall enough to block out the neighboring house yet still fit in the available horizontal space. And a tall formal (geometric) hedge limited to that one small part of the property would look a bit odd.