My husband and I have a 1.6 acre yard. We have a neighbor on the south side of our property that we really wish we couldn't see. He's one of those people that keeps his yard un-mowed and has random junk laying everywhere; it's really very displeasing to the eye, and my kitchen window faces directly towards his trailer.

We'd like to plant a row of trees along the property line that borders his property and ours to block at least most of our view of him and his mess. The land is pretty rolling, so from inside my house, you could see directly over a privacy fence.

I'm not a fan of evergreens, and even if I were, they don't grow quickly enough to suit me for this purpose. So, what I want is: a deciduous tree with great fall color. Fast-growing, but not incredibly weak and susceptible to storm damage. I live outside of Louisville, Kentucky...so I'm zone 6. Our soil is mostly clay, but is very fertile; we have great luck with just about any flower or vegetable. I'm not trying to spend a small fortune, as we'll probably be buying 6 or 8 trees, and we're young and not exactly rich, lol. Basically, I want the fastest-growing, prettiest, cheapest tree that I can get that's going to have good fall color. I have dogs, so nothing that has any toxic fruits/nuts/berries/etc. The area they're going is a bit slopey; they'd be at the top of the slope.

I've been looking at honey locust and red maples. We have a bunch of silver maples in the yard, which I loathe and despise. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If you could also tell me how much I can expect the tree to grow per year, that would be great. Also, how many years can I expect to wait for the tree to fill out and provide the view blocking loveliness that I so desperately seek?

I'd like to order the trees from Arbor Day, but I hear you essentially get little twigs. I just can't afford to spend a great deal of money. What's my best option here? Thanks so much for any responses!

Just clicking around on some choices,

I see Yellow Poplar/Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) on there. My neighbor has one growing as fast as my Dawn Redwood.

Also see the standard Sycamore

Tons of Oaks available 10 for $24. Bet someone here like Ken would know which ones grow fast. As an added bonus in your case some oaks seem to hold their leaves almost through the winter and have good fall color.

How many feet worth of a visual border do you have with your neighbor?

Usually I recommend planting at least a couple kinds of trees in the event something goes wrong. A sudden bad year for Pin Oaks or a bug attack might leave Tulip Trees alone for example. Then again I stay away from the formal look with my tree lines.

Here is a link to their order form. Usually I call folks in person to avoid any possible confusion or get any advice they have to offer.Kentucky Seedling Order Form

If they don't have a tree you must have Musser Forest offers good bulk item prices and has a few specialty trees.

To address a few points...

"Fast-growing, but not incredibly weak and susceptible to storm damage."

Most faster growing trees are weak wooded and not as long lived as most slower growing trees.

"(Evergreens) don't grow quickly enough to suit me for this purpose."

2' - 3' per year isn't fast enough, or are you talking about slower growing evergreens? And then there's that ugly junk staring back at you during the winter months...

"We'd like to plant a row of trees along the property line..."

Have you considered a mixed randomized planting? By using a variety of trees you'll have a more interesting landscape, be less likely to have that "snaggle toothed" look in a few years when one of your trees fails, be less likely to experience total loss if you do have a disease or pest issue, and have a planting that doesn't say, "Look at this row of trees I planted to block the mess on the other side."

I would be nice to do a mix of trees - that way you don't have to limit yourself to one kind (as well as the other reasons that toronado and brandon mentioned). Red maple is a fairly fast growing one.

I have considered planting 2 or 3 different kinds of tree, and I'm not at all opposed to that idea. I'm not really going for a formal look...nothing else about my landscaping is formal at all. I'd say the property line between us and the offending party next door is probably 200ft, but I'm only trying to "block" about 100ft. Also, there is a welded wire fence running the 100ft where I'll be planting the trees (it's ours; fenced in a lot of the yard for the dogs). I can't scatter the trees too randomly because of the fence and mowing issues, but I should be able to stagger them somewhat for a more "natural" feel...not just a straight line of trees.

Brandon...the only evergreens I've seen that grow 2-3' per year are ones like arborvitae, or others of the tall, skinny variety...and I just don't like those. I like Christmas tree looking evergreens though, and wouldn't be opposed to throwing a couple of those in the mix in the area that I can see directly out of my kitchen window.

Toronado...thanks very much for the links, I'll go check those out. Tulip Poplars are actually the Kentucky state tree. I've looked at those, as well as hybrid Poplars...but I keep reading that you shouldn't plant a poplar or a willow less than 120' from your house or septic lines because the roots are so invasive? We estimate that it's probably about 50' in a straight line from the house to the property line.

Esh...I've looked at the Kentucky Coffee Trees, and red maples are at the top of my list. I'm worried about getting anything that will eventually grow super tall...but maybe I worry for no reason? My line of thinking is that it's the south/south-east side of the house...and I worry that eventually, huge trees might prevent morning sun from reaching my garden area (which is about 60' away). Then again, by the time any of the trees reached super tall heights, we very likely won't live there anymore.

I'm looking at eastern redbud, crape myrtle, dogwood, wild plum, washington hawthorn, leyland cypress and white pine...some combination of those. I want a color variety, and I know a couple of those offer fall color as well, which would be swell.

So here's where I'm at. Where the heck should I get these from? I don't want sticks, but I can't afford large trees. All of these online nurseries kind of confuse me...they tell you "3-4ft", or whatever, but offer no description as to what you can expect a 3-4ft tree to look like?

Also, I found a nursery near me...don't know how I missed it's existence for this long...Nursery Liquidators Overstock Outlet. On the price list, the tree name is followed by # and then a number (3, 5, 7, 15, 25). What does this mean??? Is that gallons? If so, how big can you expect the aforementioned trees to be in those various sizes?

I'm so overwhelmed, lol. I think I've overcomplicated this.

Just a few random notes about selecting some of the trees you listed...
- Look for single-leader evergreens. They are much less likely to be damaged by wind or snow.
- Consider Green Giant Thuja or possibly some other similar tree as a sub for Leyland Cypress.
- Check for proper branching angles on the redbuds. Weak crotch angles often lead to branch (and sometimes, tree) failure.
- Consider anthracnose and/or powdery mildew resistant varieties of dogwood (if you go with Cornus florida).

Sounds to me like you are on the right path. Maybe in a few years, Trashville will seem more like a place down the road than a neighboring property.

This story reminds me of one of my neighbors. He's really nice and friendly, but that makes things even worse, because now its even harder to consider asking him to clean up his mess. I may end up having to try to block the site of his property out.

Can you be a little more specific/descriptive about checking for proper branching angles on the redbuds? It's all Greek to me, lol. I think I'm going with redbuds and crape myrtles. The others on my list have a moderate growth rate, so I'm going to stick with the fast growers for quick screening right now. I'll check into the thuja...are the leyland's easily damaged or something?

I really appreciate your time and tips. :)

Green Giants and some other alternatives have a number of advantages in our part of the country including being bothered less by pests and disease. If you search this forum, you'll find countless treads on this topic. I'm not saying Leylands would necessarily be a bad choice, but there may be better choices.

1.) Leyland Cypress is often advised against as getting very large (albeit fast) yet being short-lived, canker-prone and even prone to fall over per one source I found. Here are 2 links that discuss this tree (one specifically, one if you scroll down far enough).

http://forestry.about.com/od/treeplanting/p/bad_leyland.htm

http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/spfiles/SP512.pdf

2.) Tulip Poplar (a.k.a. Yellow Poplar) is not a true Poplar (different genus), and it's one of those trees that's often favored, whereas other poplars (i.e.: the Lombardy Poplars) are not - as they're rapid-growing but short-lived.

It's my understanding Leyland Cypress and some Poplars are often planted in a row, rapidly get very large, then down the road age and disease take their toll, and you've got a bad looking row, plus the expense of having large trees removed.

Here's an article on trees recommended against (at least by one guy) - http://forestry.about.com/od/treeplanting/a/ten_bad_trees.htm

and here's an article on some recommended trees - http://forestry.about.com/od/treeplanting/a/best_yard_tree.htm

That said, what's 'best' depends on site, surroundings, intended purpose, soil quality and climate.

It's my understanding Kentucky Coffee tree is fairly toxic; will there be a dog that likes to gnaw on plants around? You have dogs; might better Goggle search on this topic. Here's a link - http://www.library.illinois.edu/vex/toxic/kentucky/kentucky.htm - seeds, leaves and pulp are poisonous.

Unless you get a thornless cultivar, Honeylocust produces huge thorns; I wouldn't want one on my property (imagine a small branch breaks and you step on one, driving a thorn well into your foot).

You may not prefer evergreens, but that's all that's going to give you a year round screen in Zone 6. Just how tall would be required? Emerald Green Arborvitae get 12 - 14 feet tall; planted 3 feet apart (trunk to trunk) that should give you a nice hedge. Green Giants would be much larger, of course.

Have you considered a row of arborvitae, and then in front of that row planting something you like the look of better (say, some colorful barberry bushes, perhaps?).

I can't tell you what to plant; just sharing some ramblings.

Richard.

Thanks for all the links...I'm headed to check those out now. I did read (prior to posting this thread) about the KY Coffee tree being poisonous to animals, so that's definitely out. Never know what my dogs might find chew-worthy. :) As for the Honeylocust, I know about the thorns and the thornless cultivars, which would've been what I went with. But I've pretty much changed my mind completely on what I want, after I started considering the size that a lot of my initially listed trees will grow to.

I have considered a row of some type of evergreen in the back, with other things I find more aesthetically pleasing in front of them. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with some flowering ornamental trees; I'm 75% set on some Redbuds, some Crape Myrtles, and some Wild Plums if I can find them...but I'm still open to ideas there. I won't be doing the entire planting at once; most likely, I'll start with a few things in the area I MOST want coverage (directly out of my kitchen window), and add to the collection as money allows. I think I may start off with a few of the evergreens here in the next couple of weeks, then hopefully be able to add in at least one flowering tree at the end of winter.

There's just so much to choose from, and I'm trying really hard to make sure my selections are well suited for the purpose and location, and that it's something I'm going to be happy with long-term. I'm so tired of looking at Trashville, but I'm trying not to be hasty just for the sake of covering it up.

Brandon- Thanks for the clarification...that makes sense. Essentially, I'm looking for trees that reach out and spread sideways, not ones that branch up too much.

How you considered evergreens such as the Cedrus atlantica-Atlas Blue Cedar, Crytomeria japonica-Japanese Cedar(actually a Cypress), Magnolias, Hollies, hemlocks, some of these trees grow fast, have few problems, and are beautiful.

Don't go with the ordinary, everyday stuff that is over used in the landscape. Take your time, research what works well in your area. Visit some places that grow trees that you may be interested in and see how they look in the landscape.

Here's a couple of pics taken in winter to give you an idea of their color during that season. They don't turn the ugly brownish-yellow that a lot of arborvitaes do.

To give you some idea of their growth rate, here is a pic in 2002 when I planted them and then two years later (my property is to the right of them and not in the picture):

At any rate, I want to block him out both for my own enjoyment and also because should we decide to sell while he's still next door, I think our place would be much more appealing to someone if there were a privacy screen between the two properties. I can't see how anything that would detract from the view of his junkyard could possibly be a bad thing, lol.