Need help picking out Bushes/Shrubs that will be good for a privacy border.

[JOE G]

Hi, I am Wondering what kind of bushes/shrubs would make a nice Privacy border around a property edge.
My Home and land sit off the road and I do live in the country, But I still would like to put bushes and or shrubs on the fence line near the road.

I am in NY and there will be a mixture of shade and sun, there are Oak,maple,fruit and Pine trees there now. I would like something that gets at least 6 foot tall, I would like it to stay green all year long but I can work around that.

So what do you suggest, There are animals, Wild and domestic along with farm animals to consider, I could Use fencing if need be. Thanks

[ritmatt]

I think a layered approach with several varieties works best. Here's a link to a Cornell document that might help.

[Egon]

Evergreens planted like a hedge.

Holly would really look nice too.

[flusher]

Boxwood, Viburnum

Native Shrubs for Southern New England

Good luck

[mjw357]

Arborvitae.

[JOE G]

Arborvitae Looks like a good choice.

[forgeblast]

I would look at evergreens as a first layer but then sometheing edible after that, if your doing the work might as well get some "payback". We have pinetrees as our first layer, in front of them we have forsithia, in front of them we have some dogwoods. Behind the pine trees we have hazelnuts, and then I want to interplant some blueberries between them. I just need the hazelnuts to show me how large they are going to get.
If you are going to buy a lot I can recommend lawyer nursery. There is a minimum amount you have to buy but the product is great. I have used them in my crep plantings.

[JOE G]

Lawyer Nursery do they do mail order or are they near me? Never heard of them.

[sixdogs]

American Arborvitae, often called Northern White Cedar planted on a four ft center would be great. Two rows even better.
Don't use Emerald Arborvitae--too picky, not as hardy, more pyramidal growth and you have to plant those on a three ft center.

[dan ny escarpment]

Layered different evergreens does look fantastic, more natural than other choices.

If you have the room and some patience, arborvitae planted in a couple of rows, or one zig zag row, with @6 foot spacing between them, and at least that distance between the rows will get you broader plants, that hold up to snow and ice better than those planted closer together, but take longer to provide privacy. They do need good sun to flourish. In our primary home in NE Ohio the dark green (nigra) arbs do very well, in your area I'd check with a local nursery, and as mentioned above, avoid the pyramidial ones. Oddly after planting them over the past 20 years, only in the past year have deer in this area started browsing on them in the winter, and have stripped many of them clean from 4 feet down, due to over population. In more rural WNY no over population issue, so less concern. This year I used burlap to deter the deer. They produce great privacy fairly fast.

Good luck

Dan