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Best species for tree line

Started by bigtreesinwa, April 27, 2008, 06:52:41 PM

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bigtreesinwa

Hello, I am planning to plant a number of trees along my property boundary. I am primarily looking for the asthetic improvement created by a tree line but also would like a bit of privacy screening as well. The trees will be about 500 - 700 feet from my house and the total length of the tree line is about 300 or 400 feet long. It's located in Western Washington.

What species will work the best for the tree line? I'm considering Noble Fir, Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock, Western Redcedar, or any other species that the people here might suggest. I ruled out Douglas-fir because it is self-pruning (sheds lower branches as it grows taller) and I prefer confiers over hardwood species.

My preference is Noble Fir. They look nice Christmas tree size but I don't know what they look like as they continue to grow. I am figuring I want them to look nice for about thirty or forty years or so.

Thanks!

timberfaller390

Don't know haw you spell it perzacklly but leeland cyprus is big around here for that purpose
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Tom

It's Leyland cypress

The Leyland Cypress is a hybrid between the Monterey Cypress, Cupressus macrocarpa, and the Nootka Cypress, Cupressus nootkatensis, family Cupressaceae, both are natives of the mountains of the North American west coast.

Clark

If you're looking for something that doesn't shed it's branches as it grows, I would suggest cedar.  In the open they hold onto their needles real well and will have a great spread, making for a great visual barrier.  The only problem is keeping the deer and elk off of it for a couple of years while it gets established.

I've not dealt with noble fir much, but I would say kudos to trying it.  I'm guessing that much like grand fir it won't make much of a visual screen though.  Unless pruned like a Christmas tree it will have very obvious spaces between the limbs.  You might want to try planting both noble fir and cedar, the fir should outgrow the cedar and create a taller tree line where the cedar will fill in the bottom.

Clark

PS - A minor correction...doug fir doesn't prune real well, the lower limbs do die once the trees form a continuous canopy but the limbs hang on for decades.  IMO, grand fir is a much better natural pruner.
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bigtreesinwa

Quote from: Tom on April 27, 2008, 08:01:41 PM
It's Leyland cypress

The Leyland Cypress is a hybrid between the Monterey Cypress, Cupressus macrocarpa, and the Nootka Cypress, Cupressus nootkatensis, family Cupressaceae, both are natives of the mountains of the North American west coast.

Thanks for the suggestions - I appreciate your help. However, the Leyland Cypress looks to me to be a vertically growing shrub rather than a genuine tree (at least in my opinion). I've looked at lot into the cypress and they're good because they're quick growing but I don't think they have much timber value. I'm leaning toward planting a high quality tree that could be harvested for timber someday if the need arose. I'm also trying to keep the tree line to look like it fits in with the character of western washington, which is primarily the species I mentioned above.

bigtreesinwa

Quote from: Clark on April 27, 2008, 08:03:26 PM
If you're looking for something that doesn't shed it's branches as it grows, I would suggest cedar.  In the open they hold onto their needles real well and will have a great spread, making for a great visual barrier.  The only problem is keeping the deer and elk off of it for a couple of years while it gets established.

I've not dealt with noble fir much, but I would say kudos to trying it.  I'm guessing that much like grand fir it won't make much of a visual screen though.  Unless pruned like a Christmas tree it will have very obvious spaces between the limbs.  You might want to try planting both noble fir and cedar, the fir should outgrow the cedar and create a taller tree line where the cedar will fill in the bottom.

Clark

PS - A minor correction...doug fir doesn't prune real well, the lower limbs do die once the trees form a continuous canopy but the limbs hang on for decades.  IMO, grand fir is a much better natural pruner.

Thanks Clark. I appreciate your info. I have a number of Douglas-fir on the property, and as you described, the lower branches are dead but not yet fallen off. One of my projects is to climb the trees individually and cut them down to improve the timber quality and visual appeal of the land. That's a story for another day, another thread.

As far as the treel line, I don't think I need a real thick privacy screen - just having branches in the view path will be sufficient for me. I forgot to include grand fir on my list although I think I need to look into the pruning function of all of the conifers. My primary goal is to have it look natural and fit in with the area, which rules out cypress or other exotic trees.

The trees will be growing individually in an open meadow so plenty of light will reach the branches. I don't think there ever will be a continuous canopy.

Tom

I don't believe you can have your cake and eat it too, in this situation.  A timber tree must be vertically fast growing with the ability to put on girth and prune limbs.  Without it, the trunk will be full of knots.

The trees that make windbreaks must retain their limbs, and leaves, be able to grow in close proximity to one another, have a dense canopy and sturdy roots.

Read this wikipedia article on Leyland Cypress.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyland_Cypress


It says they grow over 20 meters and often to 35 meters, making them a problem in some Garden environments.  A tree over a hundred feet tall is nothing to sneeze at. :D

Tom



This is actually all one big forum with a lot of chapters.  Posting the same message on different forums can lead to more confusion than awareness.

Members forget which thread they are envolved with. 

Onthesauk

Western Washington here too.  And I vote for western red cedar.  On the last two places I have used both douglas fir and red cedar and have come to prefer the cedar.  The one issue I've had with the fir is that as it matures it will sometimes lose lower branches due to shade or simply get thin and provides less screening.  The cedar gets taller but seems to stay much more dense down low.  Maybe a little slower to get started but once established seems to grow pretty fast.
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bigtreesinwa

I posted a picture of where I'll be planting the trees below. As you can see, I'm not needing much privacy from the neighboring houses, but I'll take all that I can get. My main goal is to have a nice visual location of the property boundary and to improve the visual appearance of the property. I'm looking for information on which tree species (conifers) have the nicest form and shape here in Western Washington. You'll note that the trees will growing in an open meadow so they will have as much light as you'd expect here in Seattle.



Thanks!

LeeB

What tree is it you are wanting to plant? That will make suggestions easyer. There have been several already.
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bigtreesinwa

Quote from: LeeB on April 28, 2008, 12:42:54 AM
What tree is it you are wanting to plant? That will make suggestions easyer. There have been several already.

As I mentioned in the original post, I'm looking to decide between Western Redcedar, Sitka Spruce, Grand Fir, Noble Fir, and Western Hemlock. I have one vote for Western Redcedar, which I'm considering relativey seriously. I have a couple votes for Leyland Cypress but I'm avoiding planting shrubs. I'm still awaiting votes or information on the other trees as well as any insightful advice.

Clark

After rereading your considerations and seeing your picture, it occurred to me that you might be looking at putting in several rows along your line and not just one?  While this might be unnecessary for a visual screen, it does have the possibility of creating some better timber down the road.  Also, if you do go with a true fir, having 2 or more rows would create a better screen.  Just something to consider.

I would still go with redcedar or a true fir.  Maybe even mix it up and plant 2 or 3 species.  It would certainly be more interesting that way and give you a back-up in case one species isn't well adapted to your site.

Clark
SAF Certified Forester

BaldBob

I also vote for Western Red cedar.  As has been mentioned, if you have much of a deer or elk population though, it can be very difficult to get the Red Cedar through their browsing. 
One innovative solution to this that I have see used is to plant Sitka Spruce seedlings in the same planting hole with the Red cedar.  I have seen this work very well.  The deer & elk don't like getting their noses stabbed by the sharp Sitka Spruce needles when trying to get a bite of cedar so they pretty much leave them alone. 
You are far enough inland that you can expect the Spruce tip moth to stunt height growth on most of the spruce you plant. while the cedar keeps growing.  The result is that by the time the spruce reaches about 6' in ht. it will be well overtopped by the cedar. In any case you can always cut any spruce that you don't want as soon as the cedars are out of reach of the critters, or you can leave it for its added screening effect.

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