Upgrading our curtains

Upgrading our curtains

Choosing The Right Tree Species For Creating Privacy Screens In Commercial Spaces

by Felecia Banks

Stately, organic screens of closely-planted trees can be vital additions to many commercial spaces, providing privacy and limiting views while also creating handy shelter against wind and weather. However, tree screens can't be made from just any old tree, and only a limited number of trees possess the necessary properties to create a truly effective screen. As such, you should take care to ask yourself the following questions when looking for new screen trees at a wholesale nursery, such as Din San Nursery, or other tree seller:

Should I choose evergreen or deciduous trees?

You might assume that evergreen are always preferable to deciduous trees when it comes to creating a privacy screen. Evergreens have thick, bushy foliage that lasts all year round and generally grows along most or all of the trunk's length, making trees as conifers and ornamental pines ideal for privacy screening purposes. With higher crowns of foliage that disappear every autumn and winter, deciduous trees are decidedly less suited to screening.

However, there are cases in which deciduous screens may still be more desirable than conventional evergreen screens. In particularly, they are useful for screening shaded areas that may become uncomfortably cold when masked by a full-scale evergreen screen. Deciduous trees are also ideal for providing screens that will only be used during warmer months, such as screens around personal swimming pools. Ask nurseries and other tree experts which deciduous trees are best suited for screening -- beech trees are particularly suitable for deciduous screening, as they tend to shed their leaves very late in the year and grow them back early.

Should I choose fast or slow growing trees?

The answer to this question will depend largely on how isolated your screen's location will be. If a screen is in a quiet location where regular maintenance may be difficult or expensive, slow growing trees should be chosen to minimise maintenance and trimming needs. On the other hand, trees in busy areas are liable to take a lot of damage from accidents, crowding and deliberate vandalism. Choosing a faster growing species for these locations will help screens to recover from damage more quickly, maintaining a permanently solid screen.

Should I choose a fruiting tree?

Many trees suitable for screening also produce attractive blossoms and fruits when allowed to perform their natural life cycles, but these colourful summer additions to your trees are not always desirable. While they provide splashes of vibrant colour in screens of otherwise uniform green, they can also fall to the ground in large numbers,  potentially creating sticky, slippery messes on concrete and asphalt. Naturally, this can be a severe liability issue for trees grown in commercial areas, so fruiting trees should be limited to screens located away from public thoroughfares and paths.


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About Me

Upgrading our curtains

We have just bought a new house, and the guy who lived here before us smoked in the house for close to 40 years. The first thing I knew we had to change as soon as we moved in was the curtains, because I can't bear the smell of stale smoke. I looked around at a few different options and settled on some beautiful cream curtains with a delicate pattern and a blackout backing so that the dawn doesn't wake me each morning. This blog explains some different stylish options for window coverings for your home, including curtains and blinds.