So on the other side of this fence line is a commercial building that I can see from my back patio, and just a general openness that I'd like to make feel a little more private.

Here are some pics:



Here's the view of the commercial building:



I plan to plant a couple of trees (leaning towards the Autumn Blaze Maple) along this fence, but I was wondering what people would recommend that I could plant between the 2 maples to create that private feel (and block my view of that buildling).

The research I've done so far:

Crepe Myrtle - train it up to be a tree (my concern with this is does the flowering attract a lot of wasps/bees? not a fan of this)
Southern Wax Myrtle - trained to be a tree, this seems like a decent choice. I really like that they are evergreen


Or should I just plant more maples and try to get them to eventually overtake the whole area?

Suggestions gladly accepted.

1. Where are you located?
2. Do you want the privacy screen to be evergreen or can it be deciduous?

ftworthag02 said:

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1. Where are you located?
2. Do you want the privacy screen to be evergreen or can it be deciduous?

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I am in Longview, TX. I am at the top of a hill so my soil is well drained. I prefer evergreen, but I wouldn't mind deciduous.

Here in Tennessee, this is the go-to tree if you want to block out everything...

Arborvitae

https://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/plants/1547/nellie-r-stevens-holly/

Nellie is a good choice. We had the same issue and choose Eagleston Holly that are trained as a tree. They do bloom in the spring which attracts bees but then produce berries in fall/winter that the birds love.

https://www.tree-land.com/tree-finder/tree/eagleston-holly/

Our favorite evergreen shrubs are
Hollies: nellies, oakleafs, eagleston, Savannah, Mary Nell.
Magnolias: little gem or teddy bear
Junipers: spartan
Eastern red cedar

Southern wax myrtles are short lived in our area due to the black clay soil and they also can be brittle with ice or snow

ToddyHill said:

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Here in Tennessee, this is the go-to tree if you want to block out everything...

Arborvitae

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I read up on these some. They seem to not do well here in Texas.

DallasAggie89 said:

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https://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/plants/1547/nellie-r-stevens-holly/

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I really like these when trained to be in tree form.



https://www.tree-land.com/sugar-and-sap/arborvitaes-best-left-north/

Bonsai trees on the top fence rail ought to do the trick.

Leyland Cypress are fast growing and low maintenance--there is a new strain called Murray Cypress I believe that is better, I put a few of those in this year, but they are cuttings.

You will want evergreen unless you want to see the office building for the winter months

Japanese yew - podocarpus

Thanks for all the suggestions. Drove to grapevine this morning and I was looking at the evergreen trees along the way that would look good. Most were some type of holly so I'm leaning towards that. Now that I'm in the metroplex I see dozens of evergreen oaks that I am assuming are Monterrey Oaks. Those may work as well.

irish pete ag06 said:

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Thanks for all the suggestions. Drove to grapevine this morning and I was looking at the evergreen trees along the way that would look good. Most were some type of holly so I'm leaning towards that. Now that I'm in the metroplex I see dozens of evergreen oaks that I am assuming are Monterrey Oaks. Those may work as well.

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take some photos and post them so we can identify what you like. Then we can shoot them down real quick.

I will tell you that Monterrey Oaks do REALLY well in South Texas up to San Antonio. My Dad put one in at his house in San Antonio. I have raised one surviving tree from seeling that is now 4 ft tall out of about 15 that I brought up, so they are a bit sensitive when they are moved up here at that stage. I have 2 more survivors out of a batch of 15 that I brought up this summer, will see how they fare. Might have to pay the kids that live at my Pop's old house down there to gather the acorns to get some more going.

I also got a Monterrey from a nursery during their auction (they did it every few years to clear some trees out) and it did great for a year or two, but then croaked unexpectedly in the summer. Could have been the nursery knew something I didn't and that's why they put it up for auction. Just don't see a lot of them up here. In South Texas they keep their leaves year round. Up this way, they drop leaves in the winter for a few months. They are the last to drop them and the first to re-foliate in the spring if that helps.

I'll post a couple of photos when I get a chance and you can tell me if that matches what you saw.

irish pete ag06 said:

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Thanks for all the suggestions. Drove to grapevine this morning and I was looking at the evergreen trees along the way that would look good. Most were some type of holly so I'm leaning towards that. Now that I'm in the metroplex I see dozens of evergreen oaks that I am assuming are Monterrey Oaks. Those may work as well.

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take some photos and post them so we can identify what you like. Then we can shoot them down real quick.

I will tell you that Monterrey Oaks do REALLY well in South Texas up to San Antonio. My Dad put one in at his house in San Antonio. I have raised one surviving tree from seeling that is now 4 ft tall out of about 15 that I brought up, so they are a bit sensitive when they are moved up here at that stage. I have 2 more survivors out of a batch of 15 that I brought up this summer, will see how they fare. Might have to pay the kids that live at my Pop's old house down there to gather the acorns to get some more going.

I also got a Monterrey from a nursery during their auction (they did it every few years to clear some trees out) and it did great for a year or two, but then croaked unexpectedly in the summer. Could have been the nursery knew something I didn't and that's why they put it up for auction. Just don't see a lot of them up here. In South Texas they keep their leaves year round. Up this way, they drop leaves in the winter for a few months. They are the last to drop them and the first to re-foliate in the spring if that helps.

I'll post a couple of photos when I get a chance and you can tell me if that matches what you saw.

irish pete ag06 said:

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Thanks for all the suggestions. Drove to grapevine this morning and I was looking at the evergreen trees along the way that would look good. Most were some type of holly so I'm leaning towards that. Now that I'm in the metroplex I see dozens of evergreen oaks that I am assuming are Monterrey Oaks. Those may work as well.

---

take some photos and post them so we can identify what you like. Then we can shoot them down real quick.

I will tell you that Monterrey Oaks do REALLY well in South Texas up to San Antonio. My Dad put one in at his house in San Antonio. I have raised one surviving tree from seeling that is now 4 ft tall out of about 15 that I brought up, so they are a bit sensitive when they are moved up here at that stage. I have 2 more survivors out of a batch of 15 that I brought up this summer, will see how they fare. Might have to pay the kids that live at my Pop's old house down there to gather the acorns to get some more going.

I also got a Monterrey from a nursery during their auction (they did it every few years to clear some trees out) and it did great for a year or two, but then croaked unexpectedly in the summer. Could have been the nursery knew something I didn't and that's why they put it up for auction. Just don't see a lot of them up here. In South Texas they keep their leaves year round. Up this way, they drop leaves in the winter for a few months. They are the last to drop them and the first to re-foliate in the spring if that helps. I think if you saw Oaks that still had their leaves this time of year, those might not be Monterreys...

I'll post a couple of photos when I get a chance and you can tell me if that matches what you saw.

I really wanted a Monterrey as well, planted a nice 4" caliper tree at my place in Austin only to watch it die. Replaced it with my new favorite tree ever though (desert museum Paolo Verde), so I'm OK besides the money wasted.

Ok. Challenge 1.

This is outside of my rental property and it grows like a weed. What is it?

Is that a photinia?

AggieFanatic09 said:

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Is that a photinia?

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Not a photinia, those are much bushier and vertical.

Ret Tip photinia's would be a great idea--they are very Harty and provide great screening year round.

In the spring, I would have said that is a red oak, but this time of year, red oaks have all dropped their leaves. They are a great choice for a fast growing deciduous tree though and 8 months of the year provide screening.

Need closer pic

ftworthag02 said:

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Need closer pic

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forgot to say that in my response too. Need a closeup of the leaves to identify the tree. and the Bark also.

Here are the Monterrey Oak Photos:

First two photos are "Little Monty"--he is the son of my Dad's tree in San Antonio, but Little Monty lives in Frisco.

Second tree is "Baby Monty" -- Sole Survivor from a batch of 10 that I dug up in July in SA

Third tree is "Peek-A-Boo" -- Sole Survivor from a batch of 11 that I dug up in October in SA, a week after the new homeowner sprayed broadleaf herbicide on the whole yard. Seems to be hanging in there!

So, I've been revisiting this thread lately (I also started a new thread about building a fence screen potentially). I still want to plant an evergreen that will give us some nice green vertical screening.

Is anyone familiar with the Carolina Laurel Cherry?

https://texastreeplanting.tamu.edu/Display_Onetree.aspx?tid=70

I think I had one at my very first house as a newlywed and my wife and I hated it. At that time it was hanging directly over our large wooden deck and the berries would stain the wood something fierce. As a vertical screen some distance from the house though, I think it would be perfect for this.

Now I'm just not sure where to find one.

If you have a hard time finding a tree locally, 9 times out of 10 it doesn't do well due to the soil or climate. The other 1 out of 10 means the rest of us just didn't like it.

Recommend talking to your local nursery to find out what does well in your locale with the soil type and weather you have.