Anonymous wrote:Leyland Cyprus is the vinyl siding of evergreen trees.

+1,000

Wow. I started this thread and its really steamed ahead. Thank you for all the different suggestions.

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, Leylands are terrible and ugly. Menace to the suburbs everywhere. They grow fast then tip over. My neighbor planted a row of leylands that are now diseased. They look terrible.

You can't go wrong with American Holly (Ilex opaca). They grow from 15-50 feet, are native, deer resistant, grow in full sun or shade, and are evergreen.

Yes. We have some in our yard (planted prior to us moving in). I remember thinking - wow it will be so great when they are tall. Now we don't ever use our backyard because it has these huge ugly towering cypresses (and my apologies if I am your neighbor, we've been too busy to find someone to take them down).

Leyland Cyprus is the vinyl siding of evergreen trees.

Anonymous wrote:

I had a row of Leyland Cypresses that had been there for several years taken out by one of the big snowstorms. They grow fast, but I think they are a bit of a short term fix.

Yup, had two fall over in big snows. Established ones--one was 15' high and one nearly 20'. They're tall but have shallow root systems. They're wimps.

If that happens, then you have holes in your row and it's going to be uneven--so the whole row looks bad.

I wish I'd done holly.

What kind of holly? Not holly trees with the prickly leaves from hell, right?

I had a row of Leyland Cypresses that had been there for several years taken out by one of the big snowstorms. They grow fast, but I think they are a bit of a short term fix.

Yup, had two fall over in big snows. Established ones--one was 15' high and one nearly 20'. They're tall but have shallow root systems. They're wimps.

If that happens, then you have holes in your row and it's going to be uneven--so the whole row looks bad.

I wish I'd done holly.

Green Giant Arborvitae.

How about Fraser Photinia?

For a tall, relatively fast growing evergreen screen, there's nothing better than Chindo Viburnum. It's an excellent dense tall hedge with the bonus of fragrant spring blooms. Lustrous dark green leaves back clusters of white flowers followed by red berries that later turn black. Mature size is approximately 15' tall and 8' wide.