FunnyFarm14 said:
Currently have a fence row between tracts, wanting to plant a tree row to block the direct line of sight to the neighbors pastures/houses (20+ acre tracts in the country). Madisonville TX area.
What's the go to tree for such an endeavor? Evergreen something or other so I don't have to look at my neighbors across the pasture? Water not an issue with a well -
Farm,
I just recently did this in suburbia with the same criteria to screen out some neighbors, especially second story homes.
Needed to be:
-evergreen
-will grow to fully block out neighbors line of sight (hedge)
-hardy enough to deal with houston texas summers and winters
-trees planted close to fence, so ideal height is to trim from the ground up to 4-5ish feet but let the trees grow up to 20ish feet.
There were only a couple of answers after all of those criteria.
-hollies
-sweet viburnum
-ligustrum
I've had trouble with ligustrums keeping leaves during freezes, and also being dense enough when the leaves grow back. The viburnum weren't ideal because they start as a shrub. It was going to take 5 years to get over the fence line.
I went to a huge nursery out in wharton and they recommended eagleston hollies. They're tree form, super hardy, evergreen, and will form a dense hedge once they all grow together. Trees are skinny right now because of how they grew them on the nursery but they're tall. Between 7-12 feet.
I planted them 6 feet apart, and installed a deep root watering system. Just a few months in and they're already starting to push leaves up and out. They'll grow 10 feet in diameter and 20-30 feet tall eventually.
If you youtube eagleston holly you can find a couple videos doing rows of them.