As more and more houses are being built closer together than ever, and yards seem to be getting smaller, it gets more challenging to find trees that can provide you with some privacy — while not taking over your space at the same time. 

With the demand for skinnier trees to meet these needs, the nursery industry has been able to breed different plants that will remain narrow while still providing that privacy to block off those unwanted views.

Narrow growing trees can also create bold statements in your yard. They can be used as specimen plants to draw a person’s eye to a certain feature.

Here are a few deciduous and coniferous trees you might want to consider when looking for privacy.

Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Slender Silhouette’ — Slender Silhouette sweetgum

Slender Silhouette is a tall columnar cultivar of the sweetgum.

As it matures, it will maintain its erect, uniform, columnar form, growing upwards with the top of the tree about the same width as near the bottom.

It will grow to a height of 50 to 60 feet and a width of five to six feet. The bark is deeply furrowed or ridged as the tree ages.

The deciduous leaves are star-shaped and the tree produces fruits that are rounded prickly, woody capsules.

Initially, they seem fruitless, but gradually they begin to produce a few fruits. The yields from year to year can fluctuate, but they are much less in number than the species.

The fall foliage color is unpredictable, but it may be in shades of yellow, orange, red or burgundy.

Picea abies ‘Cuppressina’ — columnar Norway spruce

The elegant columnar Norway spruce is highly valued as an accent or perimeter planting where a strong vertical effect is needed.

Dark green evergreen needles are slightly curved on upright branches, creating a slender, uniform form with dense branching to the ground.

Withstands heavy snow loads. It tolerates heat and humidity better than others spruces. They are an ideal windbreak or privacy wall. 

Spruce grows best in full sun. ‘Cuppressina’ spruce will grow approximately 20 feet tall and five to six feet wide.

Pica glauca ‘Pendula’ — weeping white spruce

The weeping white spruce is a unusually, slender conifer with drooping branches and a narrow growth pattern.

The tree features attractive, densely packed, blue-green needles. The fast-growing, columnar weeping evergreen tree grows between 20 to 40 feet tall and five feet wide.

Weeping white spruce can be planted as a vertical accent while keeping the planting area to a minimum.

Its distinctive shape makes it a great choice for planting as a specimen plant. 

Thuja occidentalis ‘North Pole’ — North Pole cedar

The North Pole cedar is a narrow, columnar evergreen tree with dark green foliage that holds its color well throughout the winter. They make an excellent hedge or screen.

Because pruning is not usually needed, it makes for a very low maintenance plant. 

North Pole cedars are faster growing and will reach a height of 15 feet and six feet wide.

Picea pungens ‘Fastigiata’ — Columnar Blue Spruce

Have you always liked the powdery blue colour of Colorado blue spruce, but you don’t have the space for one? Then the columnar blue spruce might be the answer.

It is an excellent choice for a tall, columnar evergreen tree. zThe conifer has a distinct tight, pyramidal growth pattern and columnar habit. 

This spectacular narrow, columnar blue spruce grows 20 tall and has a spread four feet after a period 10 years.

Joanne Young is a Niagara-on-the-Lake garden expert and coach. See her website at joanneyoung.ca

The Niagara-on-the-Lake Horticultural Society is pleased to be hosting a series of Saturday morning gardening classes, available to the public. They will be facilitated by Joanne Young starting on March 1 and they will run until May 31 at the NOTL Community Centre. Join us for the classes that interest you. For all the details and to pre-register for the classes visit notlhortsociety.com/classes.