Question
QUESTION: I am having a swimming pool in my back yard,i am overlooked on all sides of my house so i need fast growing trees for privacy the yard is not overly big and i live in the desert of southern California.i don't want to make a mistake and put the wrong trees in,but desperately need privacy. Yours Faithfully Carol.

ANSWER: I would suggest you look at two tree that will make a good hedge and are fast growing.  Thuja Green Giant and Nellie Stevens Holly. Both grow fast the green giant has a more column like shape and the holly can be pruned as a box wall shape. I would suggest that you visit a local tree nursery and check these out. However I would wait until the Fall to plant them--now the weather is too hot and dry and the Fall or early spring planting will give the trees a much better chance to survive. Here are web links to the descriptions of these two trees.


http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/ThujaGiant.htm

http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/NellieStevensHolly.htm

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QUESTION: Thankyou for the advice,one thing i need to ask is how much space would i need width wise between the swimming pool and my wood fence to plant the Thuja Green Giant or the Nellie Stevens holly and i know Length wise to create a privcy wall,the reason i ask is i only have so much space,and we share all the fences with neighbors.

ANSWER: The thuga would need about 8 feet but you could keep it pruned on the side back further.
The Holly would need about 5- 10 feet but it also could be pruned back some. I hope this helps

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QUESTION: Two quick questions,one part of my pool is only 4 ft from the pool to the fence will i have enough room to plant the Thuja green giants and also the pipes from the pool run about 2 ft deep would the roots of these trees hurt the pipes,could i plant these trees in big plant boxes if so would it control how they grow and would it affect how high they get and how fast. Yours faithfully Carol.

Answer
If I am reading you right the walkway around the pool is 4 feet from the fence. That leaves 4 feet of planting space.  I think you may have trouble keeping the Green Giant at the 4 foot width. Look at Italian Cypress these have a mature width of 5 feet. You will need to plant them  at 2 1/ to 3 feet apart to get a closed hedge. They will grow tall if left alone but not wide. Growth rate of about 3 feet per year but this can be faster depending on the soil and fertilizer and water applied. Here is a web link to this tree,

The pipes will not be a problem except when digging the planting hole you will need to take care of not hitting the pipes. The roots will not harm the pipes.  


http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/ItalianCypress.htm