Selecting the Right Privacy Tree

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SNOHOMISH, WA

“Instant Privacy”tm Tree

Comparison Chart & Checklist

Emerald Green Arborvitae Excelsa Cedar Leyland Cypress Green Giant Virescens Cedar English Laurel Western Red Cedar Douglas Fir

Mature

Growth

Sunlight

Soil

Can Be

Needs to be

TREE

Click tree for

more info

Height

Width

Rate

Requirements

Pruned* ?

Watered**?

Comments

Emerald Green Arborvitae

12-14'

2-3'

Slow

Full/Close to Full

Well-Drained

Not Necessary

YES

The most popular screening tree

Excelsa Cedar

30-35'

10-14'

Medium/Fast

Full/Partial

Wet-soil Tolerant

Yes

YES

The most popular larger screening tree

Leyland Cypress

To 60'

To 25'

Fast

Full

Well-Drained

Yes

YES

The fastest-growing screening tree

Green Giant

30-50'

8-12'

Fast

Full/Partial

Widely Adaptable

Yes

YES

Virescens Cedar

20-25'

10-12'

Medium/Fast

Full/Partial

Wet-soil Tolerant

YES

English Laurel

To 20'

Fast

Shade Tolerant

Well-Drained

Yes

YES

Shipka Laurel

To 15'

To 10'

Medium

Full/Partial

Well-Drained

Yes

YES

Portugal Laurel

To 15'

Medium

Full/Partial

Well-Drained

Yes

YES

Western Red Cedar

80-200'

To 50'

Medium

Shade Tolerant

Wet-soil Tolerant

Yes

YES

The largest trees in the forest

Douglas Fir

70-100'

To 60'

Medium

Full/Partial

Well-Drained

Yes

YES

A great Northwest native.

* All of these trees can be left to grow naturally. Those with a "Yes" can also be pruned to maintain a certain size.

** All newly-planted trees need to be watered. If you don't water them, they won't survive

“Instant Privacy”tm Tree Checklist

The following "checklist" is designed to help you get organized to make the right "Instant Privacy” Tree decision. You might want to print or copy this page and keep notes after each question. This will help us work with you to determine the best tree for you.

1. How tall does your privacy screen need to be when it is full grown?

Emerald Green Arborvitae will grow to a mature height of 12’ or so, which is sufficient for most screening. All the other trees we carry will grow taller than that.

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2. How many feet in width do you need to cover?

You have to know this so you can determine how many trees you need.

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3. How much of your yard can you give up for the screen?

This is a big issue. If you have a large yard, any of our trees will work for you. But if you have either a smaller yard or don’t want to give up a lot of your yard to privacy trees, then you need to look at this carefully. The Emerald Green Arborvitae are popular because they don’t grow more than 2-3’ wide, and don’t require any pruning. Leyland Cypress and Excelsa Cedar will grow to be 12-15’ wide, English Laurel 20’ wide, and the Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar can grow as wide as 50-60 feet. These trees can be pruned to stay in a smaller space, but pruning is tough and/or expensive work.

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4. Are you willing to prune your trees, or do you want “low maintenance”?

See previous question.

5. Will the trees be up against a fence?

If so, you need to be careful about putting larger trees next to it—you’ll either need to leave enough room to get in there and prune the trees (a miserable job), or plant them far enough away so they don’t reach the fence (thus using up a lot of your yard). Basically, big trees will eventually push over the fence if left untended. Here again, Emerald Green Arborvitae avoid this problem.

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6. What is the “look” you want?

Many people love the look of the Emerald Green Arborvitae, while someone looking for a more “rural” or “natural” look will want to go with firs and cedars. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

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7. Are you willing to water your trees?

Your answer has to be “Yes”; otherwise, build a wooden fence. Newly planted trees need water and so you need access to a water source and a watering/sprinkler system. When we plant the trees we provide, for no additional charge, either a custom-cut, water-efficient dual soaker-hose system (Arborvitae, English Laurel and Bamboo) or a custom-length low-volume emitter system (other Instant Privacy Trees) either of which will attach to your garden hose; and we suggest you buy an automatic watering timer (under $50).

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8. What is the soil and sunlight light like where you want to plant the trees?

On our Instant Privacy Tree pages, as part of the description of each tree you will see the tree’s “Attributes” explaining its soil and sunlight needs.

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9. How “full” do you want your privacy screen to be immediately?

Most of our “Instant Privacy” Trees come in more than one size. You also have choices as to how you want to space the trees when you plant them—put them close together to obtain maximum screening now, or space them wider to save on the budget and wait for them to grow together.

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10. Would you like us to deliver and plant the trees?

You are welcome to simply pick-up the trees from us, but most people have us deliver and plant them. These are big, heavy trees.

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11. How good is the access to the planting area?

When we park our trucks, how far do we need to go to get to the planting area? Are there any stairs, narrow gates, rockeries, etc.? Many of the trees we plant are so large that we need to use equipment to put them in place--do we have "equipment access" to the planting area?

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12. Are there any utilities or irrigation systems in the area where we will be planting?

This is usually not a problem, but the question does need to be asked. Your area will have a "one-stop" phone call where you can ask all your utilities at once to come out and mark their location (no charge).

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13. Are there any governmental or private restrictions on planting trees where you'd like to?

This is usually not a problem but there can be governmental height or type restrictions, particularly in parking strips. Also, private covenants can dictate what can or can't be planted.

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14. Where can I go for more information?

You'll want to look at our "Instant Privacy" Photo Gallery, and if you're interested in Emerald Green Arborvitae, see "Everything You Need to Know about 'Emerald Green' Arborvitae". We’d be happy to discuss the options with you over the phone or by e-mail. If you wish, we’ll send you a free, no-obligation estimate of what your project would cost and when we could do it. We also have many happy customers who have agreed to act as references for us--names available upon request.

(425) 343-2650 info@nurserytrees.com

Return to Instant Privacy Page.

NurseryTrees.com, L.L.C.

13520 Old Snohomish-Monroe Road

Snohomish, WA 98290

(425) 343-2650

info@nurserytrees.com

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