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rmak
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2015 01:46pm
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I searched because I would think this is a topic someone would have discussed before. Maybe my seach-fu is weak.
Since we built our cabin at the back of our property, I want to block off some unsightly rooftops, fence and barn corners that we can see at different views. So far we have planted white pine and spruce at strategic locations. I also joined the Arbor Day Foundation and bought a number of hybrid poplar, willow and river birch that are promised to grow rapidly. I have consulted books and internet.
I'm wondering if anyone has personal experience with fast growing trees, windbreaks and screen plants that they have found shoots right up fast. I'd like to increase my seclusion to enjoy and not have to wait the rest of my life to see results.
BTW, I'm in Ohio so that's the focus of my question. Thanks!
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2015 01:58pm
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I'd suggest checking with one of the Ohio colleges that have a AG division. They should know what grows best in OH. Keep in mind that fast growing trees also frequently have shorter lives.
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Gary O
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2015 01:59pm
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Well, bamboo is rather prolific....but, can rapidly become the problem.
Here in the Willamette valley of Oregon, willow is a fast grower, but doesn't get very big.
My experience has been alder, as a fast grower and decent for the wood stove.
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OwenChristensen
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2015 02:21pm
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Poplar seems the fastest up here, but I have been surprised how fast my white oaks are growing. Because they are hard, I thought they would be slow.
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buckybuck
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2015 03:56pm - Edited by: buckybuck
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Dunno what part of Ohio you're in, but I've had best success with hybrid poplars at a couple of places I've had in southern Ohio. They grow fast, but are brittle and short-lived. You don't want to plant them close to anything that they might crash into in 7-10 years. Three years ago, I ordered a bunch through the Vinton County Soil and Water Conservation District for a nominal price. Survival rate wasn't great (lot of deer and wild hogs in my 'hood) but those that made it have been growing 2-3 feet a year.
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neb
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2015 06:01pm
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Caragana>>Check them out they grow fast and great for wildlife and don't get very tall. They attract birds and are a great wind break and boarder privacy.
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Littlecooner
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2015 06:21pm
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I would and I did go with a yellow popular for fast growth for a tree that will last for years. Build my house many years ago on the family farm in the edge of the cultivated field. No trees so I needed fast shade on the south side. I transplanted local native Yellow Popular, about 14 of them to the south side of the house. What did I learn - water and fertilizer all summer long will produce 5-8 may be even 10 foot of growth once they get the root system in place. I use to water them twice a week in mid summer when they were 15-25 feet high. The new growth was unreal. My trees are now 80 foot high and 16-20 inch in diameter. when it gets a little dry in the summer, I still water them to keep the leaf cover on til November.
Liriodendron tulipifera — known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddle-tree, and yellow poplar — is the Western Hemisphere representative of the two-species genus Liriodendron, and the tallest eastern hardwood. It is native to eastern North America from Southern Ontario and Illinois eastward to Connecticut and southern New York, and south to central Florida and Louisiana. It can grow to more than 50 m (165 feet) in virgin cove forests of the Appalachian Mountains, often with no limbs until it reaches 25–30 m (80–100 feet) in height, making it a very valuable timber tree. It is fast-growing, without the common problems of weak wood strength and short lifespan often seen in fast-growing species. April marks the start of the flowering period in the southern USA (except as noted below); trees at the northern limit of cultivation begin to flower in June. The flowers are pale green or yellow (rarely white), with an orange band on the tepals; they yield large quantities of nectar. The tulip tree is the state tree of Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
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Littlecooner
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2015 06:25pm
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No matter what species you chose, fast growth will be dictated by how much fertilizer and water you apply, just like growing any other plant. everything needs H20 to grow
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2015 06:33pm
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Mesquite, but that's Texas and you wouldn't want it, anyway, lol. How close are these going to be to your cabin and, more importantly, underground pipes? The fast-growers tend to have very invasive root systems that can mess up your pipes and septic. That has to be taken into account!
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rmak
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2015 06:39pm
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Thanks to all for your input. Julie, that's a good point, but this is at the end of an old farm field by our woods, so no underground concerns. I want to put up trees around the periphery of the property line only.
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2015 06:52pm
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Oh, that's good, rmak! I'm going to have to deal with juniper, I think. They call them tree "camels" because their roots supposedly seek out and suck up all of the water in the ground! 
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SE Ohio
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2015 07:46pm
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I wonder if there are fast growing evergreens? It would be nice to block the view even when deciduous tree leaves are down, I would think.
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turkeyhunter
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2015 08:01pm
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Leland Cypress grown up to 3 feet a year and stay green all year and are reasonable priced....I just looked on the web~~they were lots of images on google of them growning in Ohio.
I planted leland crypress and sawtooth oaks....both fast growers.
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Don_P
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# Posted: 16 Feb 2015 01:09am
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I have Leylands and white pines planted, ultimately the pines will get bigger when they kick in. Leylands provide more cover to the ground where the pines will self prune to a large extent. An antiquated name for a loblolly pine is "oldfield pine", it can handle pretty depleted soils. Tulip Poplar is one of my favorite trees and woods and grows as fast as a pine, lifespan is ultimately about 400 years vs about 20 for the hybrids. They prefer bare soil to start I've noticed. Do find a better source than where you've been getting your trees. I applaud the mission, the trees leave much to be desired. Dept of forestry is a good source. Oh and generally if a government agency tries to get you to plant something that doesn't already grow there and says that wildlife loves it, decline the offer of their next kudzu or autumn olive 
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bigriver
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# Posted: 16 Feb 2015 09:17am
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I use eastern red cedar as a wind block and privacy grove. I transplanted them from a field where they popped up. The are planted near my property line and do an excellent job of providing privacy and blocking the wind. They grow fairly fast and live a reasonable amount of time. They can become weeded if you let them but are very useful when kept under control.
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Just
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# Posted: 16 Feb 2015 09:44am - Edited by: Just
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All of the suggestions above are good and fast but,,,, if you plant sugar maples in OH. they grow almost as fast , last a lifetime ,make excellent furniture , make very good fire wood , and you can make your own sugar in the spring , one of the best things to do at the cabin . plant anything , but the sooner you plant the sooner you will get their rewards ,, TO SAY NOTHING ABOUT THE FALL COLORS
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rmak
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# Posted: 16 Feb 2015 11:17am
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Thanks again folks! I found Ohio forestry service will sell 25 indigenous trees for $50.00. I think for $200.00 I could have quite a forest.
I'm liking the sugar maples idea, Just. My wife makes maple butter out of the syrup that will knock your socks off. It would be super cool to make the syrup too.
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Don_P
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# Posted: 16 Feb 2015 02:17pm
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Yesterday I was surfing around the net. One colonial sweetner you don't hear much about was apple cider molasses, or boiled cider, pretty much the same process as maple syrup, only difference is if you go a little long the natural pectin kicks in and you get cider jelly, which sounds ok too. Usually about now our extension dept gets together with the local dept of forestry for an apple grafting workshop, usually for $10 you walk out with 10 grafted apple trees and the skills do do many more. Might be worth checking out locally.
Any of the acer's can be tapped, I think sugar maple is ~40:1 red maple runs about 43:1, exen boxelder can be tapped. Our birch/beech forest contains sweet, or black, birch. This was also tapped and made into syrup or birch beer, a kind of root beer/sarsaparilla flavor that is very good. A tapped tree is usually not furniture grade in the end due to the dark streaks in the wood that follow tapping, although there is a specialty niche for the lumber in a few circles. Generally you are either growing lumber or a sugar bush
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TheWildMan
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# Posted: 16 Feb 2015 04:00pm
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generally early succession species will grow the fastest. willow species (willow, poplar, cottonwood, etc), birch, cherry etc. they cannot survive in shade so aggressivly grow into any opening, after a blow down they are the first species to take over, they grow in fast but don't live too long, then the late succession trees (maple, oak, etc) that can survive in shade will grow in under them and take their place when the early trees die off.
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smallworks
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# Posted: 16 Feb 2015 11:44pm
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Quoting: SE Ohio I wonder if there are fast growing evergreens? It would be nice to block the view even when deciduous tree leaves are down, I would think.
I've been keeping watch over a small spruce that was spared when we cleared our place for the cabin. It's growing at a rate about a foot a year. Thick and beautiful branches, they get my vote.
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duster
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# Posted: 23 Sep 2015 03:15pm - Edited by: duster
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My land went from from being cleared bare to largely overgrown in one year. The white birch grew the fastest - the young saplings that I just spent a weekend cuttting back were as tall as 8 ft. or so - in the space of one year.
Striped maple are also pesky and looked to be taking over but not quite as fast as the birch. Also, I believe the striped maple is a weed tree.
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