I need to get some to replace the old spruce trees I had to remove recently. What do you suggest? I need them to be tall, fast growing and green all year. I also don't want to break the bank. The taller the better... Thanx

I'd say Hemlock at first but there is a bug killing them all up and down the east coast. I real shame. Have to spray them constantly if you want them to last. Not worth it. All mine are on decline. You are asking for a lot in meeting all your criteria. So that being said I would lean towards Leyland Cypress. The only problem is they might be a little expensive but fits all your other criteria.
http://www.kaitlinfarms.com/Leyland-Cypress-p/lc-3.htm

Arborvitae is good too but a little slow. Norway spruce is good to but also a little slow in the growth department., but the fastest of the firs and spruces. If you could live with a deciduous shrub I'd say Russian Oil. Fast and thick growing and cheap but leafless in the winter, although very thick and knarly so some privacy. I have also seen white pines pruned to stay thick and dense but that is a lot of work, but they are cheap. Good luck

Leyland Cypress looks like the way to go. Thanx Paul, have you ever ordered them online? Or am I better off looking local?

I order tons of plants on line and have never had any problems. The only problem is they will be pretty small, but cheap. If you have the time it is the way to go. I like watching things grow so I like the smaller plants. If not hit the local nursery to see what they have. That being said I would imagine you will pay $35 to $50 for a 3 to 4 foot tree. I put one in about 2 years ago, 3 foot, to see if I liked them and it is 7 foot now and looks to be off and running. They usually start off slow the first year. I have used these guys many times.
http://www.musserforests.com/prod.asp?p=LEC
Just make sure you follow the planting instructions and the keep the spacing to what they recommend. If you want semi instant I would go with a local nursery. I need to get a few more myself to replace the dying Hemlocks. I will probably go mail order. Have fun and remember dig a 20 dollar hole for a 5 dollar plant as you can only do it once if you intend on leaving it there for life, so do it right.

http://cgi.ebay.com/10-Leyland-Cypress-Trees-2-1-2-3-Feet-Tall_W0QQitemZ170204694925QQihZ007QQcategoryZ42352 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
What do ya think?

I was going to mention Leyland Cypress as well as they grow fast and are attractive.

Not exactly cheap, unless you buy them small...

-spence

Looks like good deal to me Dave. I may have to get some. Free shipping. That right there is a great deal as that is what usually kills you when you try to get larger plants thru the mail. I think I may order some too. Good find.

I'm not sure I understand how they can offer those shipped for so cheap???

-spence

I just e-mailed them to find out. Asked them how they can make any profit offering free shipping. Just shows you how much nurseries mark these things up. They probably grow so many that they can offer the shipping free. I am curious to find out. If so a great deal.

http://www.leyland-cypress-growers.net/ more info.

I just e-mailed them to find out. Asked them how they can make any profit offering free shipping. Just shows you how much nurseries mark these things up. They probably grow so many that they can offer the shipping free. I am curious to find out. If so a great deal.
I was going to email them the same question. I'll just wait for your response b4 I order. Let me know Paul.

I just called them. They grow so many and get such a good deal thru fed ex that half the price you see is shipping she said. Growing so many the price of the actual tree is very small. She also said the she might recommend the green giant Arborvitae over the leyland cypress, although she does like the Leyland too. Maybe she has too many. Both are very fast growing. The green giant has some Leyland in its make up. More expensive too. She ships all the way to Maine so they are hardy for our zone. She said plant 6 feet apart as they are trees. So figure on that as to how many to order. Sounds like a good deal which ever you choose. I am leaning towards the Green Giant Arborvitaes

This is what you are shooting for. These are Arborvitaes on the side of my yard. Probably 35 years old and 50 feet high. Can't get any thicker than that. You can see in the second photo how the Hemlocks are declining. They used to be very dense but bugs have killed them. They are maybe 10 years old. This is where I need to plant a new screen.

I think I'll order 10 of the Leyland Cypress, I don't think you can do any better on $$$

that's a steal...

http://www.lazyssfarm.com/Inquiring%20Minds/leyland_vs_arborvitae.htm

I just got back from Lowes, they have 5' Emerald Green Arborvitae's for 29.98 each. Hmmmmmm. Although I don't think they grow very fast which is not what I'm looking for..

Someone told me when I planted my fruit trees, you put a $5 tree in a $50 hole. It is worth the extra effort.

I listened and belive me when I tell you the squirrels in my 'hood eat well.

Someone told me when I planted my fruit trees, you put a $5 tree in a $50 hole. It is worth the extra effort.

I listened and belive me when I tell you the squirrels in my 'hood eat well.

Who???:bshake:

Paul, do you know if the deer eat the Leyland Cypress? They are eating the $h!t out of my Arborvitaes! Bare from the ground to deer head height.
I was also curious about your Hemlocks. I planted some Canadian Hemlock seedlings a few years ago and they are doing great. Deer don't seem to touch them. But is there a bug down your way that I may see soon before I go and plant more?
Also as far as screens go, I don't know if they are actually cedars or junipers but they grow all over the highways and power lines. I always liked them and have dug up a couple dozen. They seem to grow fast enough. The deer munch on them a little but not like the arborvitaes.

Arbor Vities are the norm around here. I think they grow a foot per year?

http://na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/pest_al/hemlock/hwa05.htm
Here is the bug. I would not plant any more. I have 60 year old trees that will be dead in a year or 2 more. All the ones I have planted in the last 15 years have the bug. You can control it with sprays but very expensive and time consuming and who wants extra pesticides in your yard. It is wiping out the Hemlocks all up and down the east coast and Nova Scotia is hit hard too. A real shame as the Hemlock is a beautiful tree.

That web site said that the deer don't seem to care for the green giant arborvitae. Could be a sales ploy. They do eat Cypress. Deer will eat anything if they are hungry enough.

Dave I don't think the Emerald green is the same variety as the green giant. Green giant is a mix, thus faster growing. Emerald is slow growing and very common around here. Arborvitae is also called white cedar or northern white cedar too. Foot a year sounds right.

Stay away from those red cedars if you have fruit trees. Cedar apple rust. PIA.

Dave you may want to read this about cypress compared to green giant. You may change your mind
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/plant-green-giants-not-leyland-cypress-20970.html

How much is the shipping per?

free shipping

You should consider that both cypress and hemlocks or giant arborvitae take up much more space than most common arborvitae's used for hedges. When hemlocks start getting big there's only so much you can cut back before they get bare...and they keep growing, accept where you cut. I often see He & Cy planted staggered, they need space, planting them that way gives you faster cover. Driving around my towns back roads there are a few arborvitae growers, people have turned their properties into mini farmers. They go anywhere $12-20 a plant average 3'. I'll be buying about 15 or so in a few weeks for my place and that's the rout I'm taking. Personally, I like a nice tight green hedge for small to medium landscapes that need borders

We always dig a extra big hole filled it with peat moss and water and seated the plant....If you mix in compost they'll grow even faster.

Now I'm totally confused on what to get..

I went with the "10 Thuja Green Giant Arborvitae 3- 3 1/2 Feet Tall" on Ebay. I looked around locally and they can't match that deal. I'll let you guys know how the quality is when they arrive..

the idea of the $50.00 hole

you make it so it can hold water

when you leave the hose there tricklin...

Good choice Dave. That is what I would do, and may soon.

Tony the reason I liked the Hemlocks so much is they can be pruned, sheared and stay very dense. You can keep them 10' tall forever as long as you prune every year. Makes a great fence, hedge. But with this bug problem it isn't worth it. Too expensive to keep it at bay. I think Dave is looking for a large dense, relatively fast growing plant for privacy and not so much a border, hedge. Most any plant can be keep in bounds and height as long s you keep after it and prune. Once they are too big to control you are out of luck and better off leaving them alone or you will end up with an ugly plant most likely.

Well, I ordered mine on Wed. and got FedEx tracking #'s on Thurs. I hope this works out OK///

I have ordered tons of stuff from all over the country including Hawaii and have never had a problem. If one arises i am sure they will send you a replacement. Something that is as mature as what you are ordering will grow easily for you. Sometimes you will loose a plant when they are real small. Just dig a big hole and not plant too deep and water in good and through out the hot summer and you should be good to go. Post some pictures when you get them in. BTW did you ever get that rod from Mr. Assylum?

BTW did you ever get that rod from Mr. Assylum?

Negative..He's a hard guy to track down...:deadhorse:

He was just at my house this week. I will start sending him nasty e-mails once a week to guilt him into it. Nothing works like guilt. I am Irish, I know.

Did your trees show up yet?

How did you guys make out last season with the Cypress? Specifically, did they survive the deer?
Paul, how are your Hemlocks making out? The deer did a number on EVERYTHING I have EXCEPT the Canadian Hemlocks. I planted them from bare root 2' mail orders a few years back and they are doing tremendously! No sign of that bug.

I planted a screen of arborvitae (not sure of the variety) along one side of my yard to block a view of the pool from the street and they have grown about 4 feet in three years . . . they are beginning to grow through the chain link fence.


ProfessorM - how aggressive can I trim the fence side of the shrubs without killing them? They were the perfect solution for me - I bought them as 5 -6 foot shrubs from a local grower and they are now a perfect 10 foot pool screen - just gotta maintain them - or she'll kill me :D

They take pruning good. just try to keep them in a semi pyramid shape, larger at bottom than top, dia. wise. You can lop them off at 10 foot and keep them there with constant pruning every year. Not too much hassle. I wish the previous owner of my house did that as mine are 50 foot high now and out of the question for me. I wouldn't cut them flat up the tree to the top from bottom on the fence side. Try to leave bottom a little larger if possible. You will learn as you go to how much you can take off from year to year. You really can't kill the tree, but you can make it look ugly. Just take off some this year and see what happens thru out the year as too how much grows back and next year adjust for that. You just don't want them to get too tall as they will be tough to get at, so height should be kept at bay. Hope that helps.

I went with the "10 Thuja Green Giant Arborvitae 3- 3 1/2 Feet Tall"

Planted 5 of those last year.....they seem to be doing well.....they are supposed to grow very fast...

Thanks very much that is exactly the type guidance I needed - like I said The Queen thinks 10 feet is perfect and expects the gardner to keep them that way :D