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TRANSPLANTS:
Austrian Pine
Black Hills Spruce
Colorado Blue Spruce
Douglas Fir
Fraser Fir
Norway Spruce
Serbian Spruce
White Pine
White Spruce
Transplant Variety Packs

SEEDLINGS:
Austrian Pine
Black Hills Spruce
Colorado Blue Spruce
Concolor Fir
Douglas Fir
Fraser Fir
Norway Spruce
Red Pine
Serbian Spruce
White Pine
White Spruce
Seedling Variety Packs

SEEDLING PLUGS:
Balsam Fir
Colorado Blue Spruce
Meyer's Spruce
Norway Spruce
Plug Variety Packs

Trees for windbreaks and privacy fences

Windbreaks (wind breaks, wind screens) and privacy fences (privacy screens) are popular uses for our evergreen transplants, and we often get questions about planting and installation tips and techniques. Here are a few tips to get the best out of your windscreen or privacy fence project:

Spruce, Fir and Cedar are generally better than Pines for living windscreens and privacy fences, and Black Hills Spruce and Eastern Red Cedar are among the best. Spruce are more dense and the branches do not tend to die back on the bottom. However, your personal taste is just as important as any of these factors, so feel free to buy what YOU want.

Use Transplants

We do not recommend evergreen seedlings for this type of application. Yes, seedlings are cheaper than transplants, but they're very small and require special care during the first few years. Their root systems are much shorter than transplants, making seedlings much more succeptible to dry spells. Seedlings are also easily choked out by taller grasses and weeds, and can even be forgotten and mowed by your neighbor, or even you (it happens!). Transplants are the way to go.

Proper Spacing

It is best to space the trees at least 8 feet apart. You can space them as close as 4 feet to get them to "close in" in just a few years. However, at this shorter spacing they'll eventually start competing for water, sunshine and nutrients. At 4 foot spacing, you'll need to cut down every other tree after 5-10 years to allow the rest to mature naturally. Alternatively, you can speed up the close in rate by planting two parallel rows of trees, one offset from the other. The "two row offset" privacy fence or windscreen will tighten up a bit faster, but without the side effects of 4 foot spacing. But hey, you could always sell or give away the ones you cut down as christmas trees!