screen ideas

Mitch

Active Member
I am looking for something to plant along a fenceline for screen. Normally I'd just go with MG but the limiting factor here is the lack of dirt. You get about 2 inches down and it's rock. Not solid rock, but chunk rock. Will MG still grow in that situation?
 
I am looking for something to plant along a fenceline for screen. Normally I'd just go with MG but the limiting factor here is the lack of dirt. You get about 2 inches down and it's rock. Not solid rock, but chunk rock. Will MG still grow in that situation?
An evergreen like Norway Spruce might be an option?
 
I really think were on the right path, much more interest from top talent than weve had in a long time. Bring in the talent, with some good coaching, and now were in the thick of things.
 
What about something like Sorghum, Egyptian Wheat, (if wet area Reed canary grass), Sunflower mixed in with sorghum. No one around me really sells switchgrass due to fact most people the first year think it junk but it seems to take off year two. Or idea Egyptian wheat with native grass mix
 
What do you have below two inches? Solid rock or gravelly stuff? I would guess that MG would be stunted there. But only a guess. A very hardy switch might be a better option. I seeded some on an old gravel roadbed that i cant get a shovel into more than 2 inches and its a decent stand now 3 years later.
 
Not the best, but these are pics of my switch last summer. I couldn't dig a hole for cedar planting, so I settled for the switch.
The area in front of the tall trees was a roadbed. I took the pic looking down it. Not the best pics to glorify the switch, but it really is in there and made a nice screen with the broadleaves going into winter. I'm sure with any TLC, it would have been a much better stand of solid switch.
I nuked the cool seasons just as the switch started up this spring, and it sure looked like the switch was taking off last I looked at it.

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If I lived in OK and wanted a good screen in an area with good sunshine, I'd consider transplanting cedar trees (sorta of what Fish implied) that will reach 5-6 feet in just a few years. My guess is you can get all you want from several land owners for free. They grow like a weed (damn near grow on top of a flat rock) and hot dry weather doesn't seem to bother them. I imagine they are considered invasive in much of OK. If you have enough room for a double row with staggered plantings, you'll end up with a pretty good screen. However, it might make your neighbors frown .... good luck :)
 
What do you have below two inches? Solid rock or gravelly stuff? I would guess that MG would be stunted there. But only a guess. A very hardy switch might be a better option. I seeded some on an old gravel roadbed that i cant get a shovel into more than 2 inches and its a decent stand now 3 years later.
it's chunk rock....baseball size mixed in with gravely stuff. How tall is that switch grass?
 
If I lived in OK and wanted a good screen in an area with good sunshine, I'd consider transplanting cedar trees (sorta of what Fish implied) that will reach 5-6 feet in just a few years. My guess is you can get all you want from several land owners for free. They grow like a weed (damn near grow on top of a flat rock) and hot dry weather doesn't seem to bother them. I imagine they are considered invasive in much of OK. If you have enough room for a double row with staggered plantings, you'll end up with a pretty good screen. However, it might make your neighbors frown .... good luck :)
Well considering I want all of my cedar trees gone.....gone gone gone gone! Did I mention I want them gone? lol
My land is over run with them. I've actually spent the last two years running a dozer to knock them down, pile them up, and burn them.
Still nowhere close to where I want it. They suck all the moisture from the ground and nothing else can grow and spread literally like wildfire. Crazy things. Thanks for the suggestion though :)
 
+1000000 I know cedars make good habitat, but here they are a noxious weed, that we have to spend thousands of dollars to control. They were planted in shelterbelts, and they work great there, but they've taken over pastures. Plus we spend all kinds of time to remove them from fencelines just so we can fix fence.

But they are a damn hardy tree and will grow damn near everywhere, thankfully they don't grow back from the stump
 
it's chunk rock....baseball size mixed in with gravely stuff. How tall is that switch grass?
Ok. Thats pretty much what i deal with on these roadbeds. That switch ended up around 4 ft last year. Its Cave in Rock and has heavy competition. I wasnt taking care of it because i didnt think it was there until last summer....... its 3rd growing season. Then it just sort of showed up after id given up on it. This year it should do much better.
But im telling you, i cant put a 2" hole in that ground. The roots find their way down.
 
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