Tree Purchase/Planting/Suggested Types

[thinkxingu]

My neighbors and we would like to put two or three trees between our properties. We are only about 30 feet apart. The goal is afternoon shade for them, a bit of privacy between us, and a little more "naturey" feeling.

1. Suggested trees? No pine or excessively littering species, of course, since we'll be parking below them.

2. Where to buy? How big to get for usefulness? Who to plant?

Anything else to consider?

Thanks!

Sent from my SM-S911U using Tapatalk

[mcdude]

Cameron's in Farmington used to have quite a selection of trees. I haven't been in a while so best to call first. http://www.cameronsnh.com/commercial-landscaping.html
Don't bother with Spider Web Gardens in Tuftonboro. I don't know what's going on there but their inventory has been almost nonexistent this season.

[ITD]

15 feet from your house is kind of close for trees. They get big and will cause issues for you and your neighbor, unless you get some type of dwarf tree. When we bought this house the previous owner had planted some type of special maple about 20 feet from the house. There were two and the second was maybe 10 feet from the first (further from the house). Well they got huge, were dropping leaves and sap on the deck and house, branches rubbing the house. We had to remove them.

I would keep them away from the house. Your neighbor can get a large umbrella from Lowe's for a few hundred dollars, they work great.

That's my experience with trees close to the house.

[John Mercier]

ITD would be correct.
15 or so feet from the house is more of a shrub situation... especially if you want privacy.

[8gv]

Cash crop?

I hear (smell) it's all the rage!

[Susie Cougar]

I would suggest something like lilac bushes. They grow very well in New Hampshire. You can also drive around and see what you like that other people have in their yards. This way you know for sure it will do well for you, too.

[Descant]

Shade is a problem. Do you want to shade the house or just a small section of the yard to sit under? Perhaps a grape arbor instead of trees? Owned by you or the neighbor? Anything that gets big enough to provide shade will take several years to reach that point. (Grape vines grow quickly.) At that time the tree branches will potentially be too close to the houses. Since you're not there in the winter, I guess you don't care about "privacy year round". Lilacs, as suggested above, will fill in fairly quickly. Rhododendrons can make a nice barrier, but grow horizontally as well as vertically. Once they reach 6-8' tall they also start spreading horizontally. Green year round, nice flowers. In many areas, Arbor Vitae make a nice wall. Plant a row on your side, neighbor plants a staggered row on his side. Slow growing, but not much spread. Buying, say 5'-6' tall for any extended distance may get expensive. 3' tall will take some time to grow. In the old days, 50's
and 60's, people would plant California Privet as a hedge. Cheap, grows quickly, but requires routine trimming.

You can stagger fence sections, some on your side, some on the neighbor's and do some decorative plantings in the gaps.
I don't see an easy solution for shade trees in the space/time available, at least if you want to sit under it and sip ice tea.
Buy from a local nursery. The big box stores tend to buy stock that is ordered for all of New England, not for truly local conditions.

[SAB1]

Keep in mind whatever you plant you will likely need to fence in for a few years if you have deer around. Deer love young lilacs and Rhodies get nailed in winter.

[Descant]

From time to time I have 4-6 deer wandering around my yard and the neighborhood. Outside my fence, I have planted lilacs, mountain laurel, Rhododendrons, Rose of Sharon, Forsythia, Yews, Arbor Vitae, Bayberry, Frasier Fir, Dwarf Alberta Spruce, White Spruce, Colorado Blue Spruce and high bush blueberries. No deer problems. I have planted Holly and Andromeda with similar success. Pines, birch, hemlock, all appear and grow naturally. The deer never touched any of them. They do make a special effort to find and eat Hosta. Deer will graze on grass, but leave Vinca, low blueberries and Pachysandra alone.

On Welch Island, 10 years ago you could see deep into the woods. There was virtually no undergrowth as the deer ate it all, mostly pines. The herd thinned or moved on and we now have white pines 6-8 feet tall, and less, filling in like an invasive species. We have deer, but not enough to do any damage that I'm aware of.

It seems to depend a lot on eating what is available and how hungry they are.

[John Mercier]

Originally Posted by Descant

Shade is a problem. Do you want to shade the house or just a small section of the yard to sit under? Perhaps a grape arbor instead of trees? Owned by you or the neighbor? Anything that gets big enough to provide shade will take several years to reach that point. (Grape vines grow quickly.) At that time the tree branches will potentially be too close to the houses. Since you're not there in the winter, I guess you don't care about "privacy year round". Lilacs, as suggested above, will fill in fairly quickly. Rhododendrons can make a nice barrier, but grow horizontally as well as vertically. Once they reach 6-8' tall they also start spreading horizontally. Green year round, nice flowers. In many areas, Arbor Vitae make a nice wall. Plant a row on your side, neighbor plants a staggered row on his side. Slow growing, but not much spread. Buying, say 5'-6' tall for any extended distance may get expensive. 3' tall will take some time to grow. In the old days, 50's
and 60's, people would plant California Privet as a hedge. Cheap, grows quickly, but requires routine trimming.

You can stagger fence sections, some on your side, some on the neighbor's and do some decorative plantings in the gaps.
I don't see an easy solution for shade trees in the space/time available, at least if you want to sit under it and sip ice tea.
Buy from a local nursery. The big box stores tend to buy stock that is ordered for all of New England, not for truly local conditions.

Actually they don't buy. They partner with a sizeable nursery, and the nursery supplies all the plants. The store sells on a type of consignment, where the store gets credits for plants that ''fail'' (I think that is the industry term since not all of them are dead). The nursery supplies what is known as ''customer-friendly'' varieties... because ''idiot-proof'' doesn't sound all that positive in the retail industry.
The biggest job of the store is quality of watering.

You can get a wider variety at the local nursery because the nursery is expecting the customer to take very good care of their purchase.
Correct sunlight, correct soil type, correct hole size, correct fertilizer, correct pH, etc.

[eyenotall777]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

My neighbors and we would like to put two or three trees between our properties. We are only about 30 feet apart. The goal is afternoon shade for them, a bit of privacy between us, and a little more "naturey" feeling.

1. Suggested trees? No pine or excessively littering species, of course, since we'll be parking below them.

2. Where to buy? How big to get for usefulness? Who to plant?

Anything else to consider?

Thanks!

Sent from my SM-S911U using Tapatalk

What about Arborvitae Emerald Green?

They are fast growing, great privacy screens and great for narrow spaces.They also stay green all year round

[TheProfessor]

Originally Posted by ITD

15 feet from your house is kind of close for trees. They get big and will cause issues for you and your neighbor, unless you get some type of dwarf tree. When we bought this house the previous owner had planted some type of special maple about 20 feet from the house. There were two and the second was maybe 10 feet from the first (further from the house). Well they got huge, were dropping leaves and sap on the deck and house, branches rubbing the house. We had to remove them.

I would keep them away from the house. Your neighbor can get a large umbrella from Lowe's for a few hundred dollars, they work great.

That's my experience with trees close to the house.

Excellent summary.

Originally Posted by eyenotall777

What about Arborvitae Emerald Green?

They are fast growing, great privacy screens and great for narrow spaces.They also stay green all year round

Purchased 10 of these at Exit 23. Larger ones wrapped in burlap in ground. Planted them close enough so in future they well grow together for barrier. Placement may be different for others.

If one wants larger "trees". Then any one of the large landscape company can do this for you. The price for size goes up dramatically. Each can visit your property with a mini excavator to dig hole for trees.

Good Luck !

[Woody38]

We planted several of these and they are doing well. Purchased from Connecticut Trees. They dug them, brough them and planted where we wanted them. If you plant two rows, it looks great. Space them five feet apart and the second row lined up between the space of the first row. Really nice tall hedge.

____________________________________

I am a retired workaholic and continuing aquaholic

[thinkxingu]

Thanks for all the comments. I'm going to do a bit of measuring and see if I can't find some older photos of my camp since we used to have trees there but had to pull them out to get a crane in for some site work.

I'll be back!

Sent from my SM-S911U using Tapatalk

[Sue Doe-Nym]

Arborvitae are gorgeous, but the deer love them! We had 5 gorgeous plants decimated last winter….it was the first time in 23 years the deer had bothered our plants. We have purchased something called Plantskydd, which is supposed to deter the deer for up to 6 months if applied when dormant. We shall see! 🤞

[TheProfessor]

Originally Posted by Sue Doe-Nym

Arborvitae are gorgeous, but the deer love them! We had 5 gorgeous plants decimated last winter….it was the first time in 23 years the deer had bothered our plants. We have purchased something called Plantskydd, which is supposed to deter the deer for up to 6 months if applied when dormant. We shall see! 🤞

This may be an exception.

Have had arborvitae for over 20 years in two different locations.
Never any problems with deer or any vermin.
And I have seen deer in both locations nearby.