Fast Growing Trees?

[kbarrett]

Any experience with <font color=green>Fast Growing Trees</font color=green> for a screen to block an undesireable view (aka Neighbor's junk)?

Came across this the other day, it appears that it may work...

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.cdr3.com/willow/>http://www.cdr3.com/willow/</A>

Any experience with these?

 

[scruffy]

stick a chunk of willow in the ground, it will grow...so long as it gets water. you will find along waterways (rivers,creeks,etc) stands of willows where a branch broken off in high water (flood, etc) has stuck in the ground, grown and started a new stand of willows. They will grow fast.

 

[rancar]

Kevin,

I have a bit of forestry in by background education. I viewed your attachment. Not familiar with this species. Looks like it grows fast but more important question is the life span of it. How long will this species live and also is it susceptible to wind blown conditions. It reminds me of the Lombardy Popular...these grow fairly quick but spread is not all that great and they die quickly.

Being in Michigan, what I would recommend is the White Pine (Pinus Strobus)...closely spaced together, let's say 6-8' apart. These grow fairly quickly...about 6-8' in about 5-6 years time if planted as 2' transplants. As they mature, they grow together and fill in the gaps between the trees thus forming a nice barrier hedge. Just don't trim off the lower branches as they mature. These lower branches are what will form your screen. However, white pines are susceptible to White Pine Blister Rust...a fungus disease that causes leaders to die off prematurely...other leaders take over though forming what they call 'cabbage pines'. These may not look all that great but the spreading foliage will block your view of the neighbor's. Hope this helps.

Regards,
Bob Ancar
Cambridge, NY

 

[njrqs]

Not sure about your willows, but ours (Probably from you??) are real keen on getting into drainage pipes etc.

Don't plant them anywhere near pipework. They love watert so much they will seek it out.

Lots of fast growing aussie trees. Little help to you though.

Cheers

PS - Do they grow any Australiam Gums (Eucalypts) over there?

Cheers

 

[kbarrett]

Bob,

My property has various soil properties. Will White Pine do well in heavy soil? I have a friend who has a bazillion white pine on his property, but they are in sandy soil.

He'll give me all the White Pine I want. I may try a few to see how they do.

---

The article on the web claims that the Ameri-Willow will last 70 years. Also, it is a hybrid and supposedly doesn't have a root system that spreads like crazy.

It appears from the neighbor to the east that a Colorado Blue Spruce does quite well in this soil. However, I've heard that they grow slowly.

I actually have a few Cedar trees growing in my open field area. Not sure if that's a good indicator on what an Eastern White Pine will do or not.

Regardless, thank you for endorsing Pinus Strobus I may have to experiment a bit.

 

[rancar]

Kevin,

<font color=blue>Will White Pine do well in heavy soil?</font color=blue>

White Pine does well in most soils from clay loam to moderately sandy. It also likes moist soil conditions over dry rocky soil conditions. I have clay-loam and White Pine does great.

<font color=blue>the neighbor to the east that a Colorado Blue Spruce does quite well in this soil. However, I've heard that they grow slowly. </font color=blue>

Colorado Blue Spruce is a very slow grower. You'll likely be a grandfather before you have a decent size tree screen made of Blue Spruce. I wouln't go here.

<font color=blue>I actually have a few Cedar trees growing in my open field area. Not sure if that's a good indicator on what an Eastern White Pine will do or not.</font color=blue>

Cedars grow in same general soil conditions that White Pines grow in....maybe they can tolerate drier conditions better...but I think White Pine will give you the better, fuller screen that you're looking for.

Hope this helps.

Bob

 

[kbarrett]

Yes, it does!

I feel a little more confident about experimenting now

 

[rancar]

Kevin,

After I come home from the dealer today to order my 4710, I'm going to do some checking in some old forestry books I have. I think I also have some other possibilities. Keep your eyes on this thread as I think I'll have additional options.

Bob

 

[Thomas]

Pasture pines for one..willows roots can be top feeders plus there extra raking etc..to keep the grounds clean.

 

[MossRoad]

We planted many white pines 10 years ago. They were only 6" seedlings. They are now 12' to 15' high and very thick.

 

[PhilNH5]

Kevin,
Back in MD we lined our driveway with Hybrid Poplar. It grows fast - like 20 feet in 3 years. It spreads more than a Lombardy Poplar. But it was not a round tree - still very columnar in shape. The mail order houses all claimed it was long lived. I wasn't so sure about that so on the south side of the tree line I planted pin oaks which grow "fast" for an oak. Since neither the hybrid poplars nor the pin oaks had a huge spread I could put them close together but slightly offset. The long term plan was to cut down the poplars once the oaks reached a decent height.

I moved before that happened but the pin oaks were 8-12 feet tall in 5 years. Poplars were still in good shape at that point. I think I started w/ 4 foot pin oaks and the poplars were just saplings.

I originally tried Canadian Hemlock for a property barrier/windscreen. I had seen those and they look nice closely planted. Unfortunately the first winter the deer ate every single one.

Phil

Phil

 

[Mosey]

I went through the whole process you're going through a couple years ago. I researched the Austree, Ameri-Willow, and Hybrid Poplars among others. The bad things about the Austree and Ameri-Willow is that, despite what their ads say, they produce suckers all over and drop branches all the time (like a weeping willow). the Hybrid Poplars also, despite what their ads say, produce suckers and drop sticky buds in the spring. If the trees are going to be a long way from your house and yard, they might be OK. Austrees are also very expensive.

I ended up going with Eastern White Pines (ordered from Musser Forests) and have been happy so far. I planted them last spring and they're doing great. They don't grow as fast as the willows and poplars, but my brother planted some in Michigan (near Jackson) several years ago and they grow at least a foot a year, usually more. The advantage is that you get a screen all year instead of just in the summer. I planted the 4 year transplants that were only about 1’ tall (bare root), WHTP122. If you can afford it, the WHTP222 would get you off to a faster start. I planted 50 trees and 80% of them survived. I’m going to replace the dead ones with a mix of some WHTP222 and some 2’ potted ones from Lowes (as an experiment). I also planted 10 Virginia Pines, VIRP120, and only 1 survived. Musser credited me for them and I’m going to apply the credit when I buy the WHTP222 this spring.

Good luck and be patient. I think you’ll be better off in the long run with the pines.

 

[hwp]

I have wanted some trees to form a screen along the top of one of my banks for some time. I am an impatient type and couldn't wait for trees to grow. Last fall I found a fellow that had a couple thousand Norwegian Pine trees. They are about 15 feet tall and he wanted $10 a tree. I then found a fellow with a tree spade on a tractor. He dug out the trees, hauled them to my place, dug the holes to put the trees in and set the trees in the holes. All I had to do was set the trees straight and then backfill as necessary. Presto - instant trees. Yes it was more expensive than plant seedlings and waiting for them to grow but I got what I wanted quickly.

 

[beenthere]

Willows are fast growing, but would think you would want a screen in the winter as well. Consider going with the evergreens, as the white pine mentioned in the threads. However, for another thought, unless you are not bothered with deer, consider a spruce. I planted 3500 red oak, white pine, white spruce, and ash. In the photo attached, you can see the spruce about 4'-5', oak, (no white pine because the deer have kept them at ground level), and some ash after three years of growth from seedlings in the 12" size. The spruce have done very well because the deer leave them alone. The oak and ash have been browse for the deer too, but are holding their ground so far.
Maybe intersperse the evergreens with some willow that can always be removed if not wanted in the future.

 

[kbarrett]

Thanks Bob, I'm looking forward to the education!

 

[kbarrett]

Beenthere,

Very nice property you have there. I have thought of interspersing tree varieties. Considering some larger potted spruces (4') - Found a place not too far away that will sell for $25 per tree. Sounds pretty reasonable. My concern is that a larger tree may experience more stress. I do like the idea of a year round screen.

There are a lot of deer around my area. My property is adjacent to some farmland to the east and then the neighor's 25 acres (mostly wooded) and his neighbor's woodlot (10 or so acres.

Never thought a deer would eat a Pine Tree? But, I suppose it might be delicacy to them.

 

[kbarrett]

Howard,

I'm with you. Hurry up and wait for something to grow!
Ten bucks for that size tree is incredible. How much did the labor run?

Nice looking specimens!

 

[kbarrett]

Mossroad,

You must have some great soil in the Southbend area! If I'm not mistaken, isn't there a tree spade attachment for the PT-425?

I was figuring you could grab one of those larger pines on your property and driving it on up to mine /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[kbarrett]

Mosey,

I'm a little ignorant when it comes to trees. What is a sucker?
Doesn't sound very good. I'm assuming it's an out of control root system??

I have the Musser catalogue. They look like a very impressive company.

 

[unaka]

<font color=blue>He'll give me all the White Pine I want. I may try a few to see how they do.</font color=blue>

kbarret,

If you do dig a few to transplant, use the smaller ones, say about 12" in height or less. They will do much better, grow faster, and experience less transplant shock than ones that are taller.

I helped a neighbor plant a screen of white pines several years ago. We dug them ourselves from the forest, and many we just pulled up without any digging at all. We noticed the next year that the smaller ones did FAR better. In a couple years time, the smaller transplants outgrew the larger ones. As another poster has already said, the advantage of the white pine screen is that you'll have it all year round.

Happy planting!