Hi everyone. I am not very versed on the topic of plants and species, so I turn to you all for help. 4 years ago, I bought a wooded acre and built a little house on it. For 3 years or so, it was my little haven. Away from other neighbors, and tucked in the woods, it was our little paradise. Then the lot next to me got purchased by a mad man. He cut down all the trees on his 1.3 acres, and built a huge 3 story box right on top of my home .
Despite my begging, he put it literally as close as possible to my property line and next to my back yard, so now when I go in my back there, it's all I see. My wife and I are still devastated and would do anything to make the row of Leyland Cypress trees grow faster. However, we realize there is not much we can do to rush nature.
I wish the problem could be solved by putting up a fence. But because the house is so close and so tall, the towering hulk will loom over any fence we can put up. Also, our windows are about 8' off the ground, since the home is situated on a hill. These factors make fences a waste of money, hence the Leylands, which should get up to 70' tall (someday).
This brings me to my next question. I still have a few tall trees growing on my property line. Would it be possible to string some sort of wire or netting and have vines grow up them? How tall can they get? How thick of a wall could they make? Are there ones that stay green year-round? We live in NC and it gets pretty cold in the winters.
All responses and ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Hi and welcome to ATP!!!

How big are your Cypress trees? If they are over 4 feet tall you can help the Leyland Cypress grow a bit faster by feeding the bajeebers out of them. Get some of that granular stuff, work it into the soil and water - use a little over half what they recommend per tree. Do this every 2 weeks and the operative word here is WATER. Water them every day if possible unless they are growing in a normally moist area.

Your vine idea is a good one .. a really fast growing dense vine is Loofa, Luffa acutangula - the same plant loofah sponges are made of .. they produce pretty yellow flowers.

I see that you are in North Carolina but you do not say which county; that information might help get better answers. There are rules/laws/ordinances regarding what can be plants/constructed near a property line the it varies from one county to the next.

When you say, ..."he put it literally as close as possible to my property line..." how many feet from the line is his house? You might contact your local government to see if the neighbor's house had the proper permits to begin with.

Thanks for the replies everyone!

@Xeramtheum - what is this feed you mentioned? I fertilize them with 10-10-10 a few times during the growing season, but I don't water them every day. Perhaps I will finally install that drip line I keep thinking about in my head.

Does the vine you mentioned stay green in the winter? Can it grow on a loose wire lattice? I can't make it tight, as the trees must have some room to sway in the breeze. How fast will it grow?

@greene - I live in Wake county, and according to the rules, the setback limits are 15', which is what he put his house at. I am not sure however on any ordinance regarding what trees can be planted where on the property line.

The leylands are only about 3-4' tall. Some don't get very much sun unfortunately and aren't growing much at all. I don't want to cut down any more trees to give them more light however. I feel that the lots are thinned out enough as is The important ones are getting plenty of light however, and are showing signs of vertical progress.

According to a website I found, the best food for your Cypress trees is 18-6-12.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/p...

The Loofah is an annual doesn't stay around for winter. In my experience when happy with enough food water and sun they can fill in a 10 food wide and 5 food high frame in about 6 weeks. Because they are dense they would do better on something a bit more sturdier than a loose wire lattice.

Could you post a picture of the area?

@Xeramtheum - The site you showed me mentions to water the Leyland once per week, as I live in 6b or 7a USDA zone. And it says to use that fertilizer once per year. Is there such thing as overfeeding or overwatering these plants?

I just bought a drip line kit and will put them all on it. I will automate the system so that I don't have to be mindful (I can be forgetful). But how much should I water them? (Gallons and frequency?) I don't want to cause them any adverse effects. I have a well, so water restrictions aren't a thing, and I will water at night so as to avoid evaporation.

A drip line is good - when I had them I used half the recommended amount of a monthly evergreen shrub food (don't remember what kind) every 2 weeks and they were in full sun for 6 hours. Your biggest problem is that it sounds like they aren't getting very much sun which can definitely have an affect on growth rate.