Gardeners and homeowners can easily become overwhelmed when considering what kind of trees to place in their yards near a fence line. Perhaps you want to add some seasonal color to your lawn, or maybe you’re looking for more privacy. It’s important to know which trees make good neighbors for a fence line and which will grow best in the Kingsport climate.
Privacy trees
Italian Cypress — One of the fastest-growing trees, the Italian Cypress is a tall and very narrow conifer. It can grow up to 3 feet per growing season until it reaches maturity, which is usually 40 to 60 feet high and 4 to 5 feet wide. If you want to make an elegant statement in just a little full-sun landscape space, add a row of Italian Cypress trees!
Colorado Blue Spruce — Whether you’re looking for show-stopping beauty, a windbreak or privacy, consider a Carolina Blue Spruce. New growth on this majestic tree emerges a beautiful blue-green color. With age, the needles look silvery-blue. This sturdy, low-maintenance tree with dense branches is often used as a Christmas tree and can tolerate drought and extreme cold, high winds and snow. Mature height for this moderate-growing, full-sun-loving tree is 100+ feet tall, and mature width is 25-30 feet.
Eastern Redcedar — Resistant to drought, heat and cold and tolerant of a wide range of soils and salt, this tree, which loves full sun exposure, is great along fences, roads, driveways and sidewalks. Full height is 40 to 50 feet, and width can reach 8 to 15 feet.
Rocky Mountain Juniper — This is a great tree to be planted as a windbreak, privacy hedge or in a wildlife garden because of the small, teal-blue berries it produces in the fall. The tree is deer-resistant, drought-tolerant and highly adaptable to most any soil. Early foliage emerges a gray-blue color then matures to a dark blue-green. Mature size is 30 to 40 feet tall and 5 to 15 feet wide. This tree likes full sun or part shade.
Norway Spruce —The quickest-growing of the spruce variety, its strong branches make it the perfect windbreaker tree. This drought-tolerant tree can grow nearly 60 feet tall with a spread of 20 to 30 feet in full sun.
Decorative trees
Adding perennials can bring color and depth to areas at your fence line, which creates visual interest.
Red Twig Dogwood — Just when you thought a regular dogwood tree couldn’t be any prettier, the Red Twig Dogwood enters the chat. This perennial shrub shows off with creamy white flowers in the spring, followed by berries that ripen from green to white by the end of summer and green stems in spring/summer that turn bright red when the foliage drops off in autumn. The Red Twig Dogwood grows to a height of 8 feet with an 8-foot spread.
Forsythia — Forsythia, with its long branches of yellow blooms, is among the first signs of spring in the Johnson City area. The low-maintenance, deciduous and flowering shrub is known to attract bees and butterflies. Along a fence line, it will bring lots of golden spring color in full to partial sun and moist, well-drained soil. Based on the variety, Forsythia can grow from 2 to 10 feet tall and 2 to 10 feet wide.
Arborists in Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol, Tennessee
If you’re looking ahead to spring and starting to think about adding beauty and privacy to your backyard and fence line, give our ISA-certified arborists at Promier Tree in the Tri-cities area a call at (423) 872-2988, or contact us online today to schedule a consultation.