anyone know of a good tree to plant as a privacy screen that's not too expensive? I've got a few acres that I would like to screen off from the road.

Fast growing...silver leaf maples. Or a good screenmaker is the Redtip Fatina...it's more of a tall shrub that gets about twenty feet and fans out good. I planted them about ten feet apart and 3 years later it looks like a wall.

Bamboo works great. Once you plant it it'll grow fast.

How tall of a screen do you want?

If I was going to plant trees for screening I would plant a Vitex/Chaste. It blooms purple in the summer. It grows fast and tall. I watered mine a little after I planted it, but have never watered it again. Very low maintenance.

It's over fifteen feet tall and wide right now. I keep mine trimmed up so I can walk under it, but if it was a screen I would never trim it. And it will seed and have saplings under it as it grows. You can transplant those saplings all over. I have replanted 5 saplings and they are doing great.

You will see Vitex trees along the highways and interstates.

It is deciduous.

If you want year round foliage, then plant some type of ever green like a Leyland Cypress.

about 25 to 30 feet tall and pretty thick.

thanks for the response....keep em coming

No bamboo - it is invasive and will take over.

Photinias first recommendation. Oleanders second. Either ones are drought tolerant and quick growers.

+1 on redtips. Those thing grow like weeds

1st Leyland Cypress as Sprinklerman suggested
2nd Nellie R Stevens Holly
3rd Chinese Photinia (bigger and more disease resistant as compared to the red tip)

2nd for the Nellie R Stevens. We have them at our house. They are a dark shade of green and are very attractive. Ours are 15-20 high. You may need some extra watering in the summer to keep them in top shape. Not as fast growing as some of the other choices, but they are quality plants.

Look around your area and find a tree that looks nice to you and would do the job.Something that grows well in your area is a must.In my area for instance there are a ton of cedars that do well and you can find a company that has the equipment to dig and trandplant trees for less than you will spend on trees from a nursery.Silver maple for instance is a fast growing tree but they don't do all that well in the area I am in.Bradford pear [deciduous] is a real fast grower but the life span is short compared to other slow growers which is typicly the case.

I second the NR Stevens as well as some of the othere hollies.

The red tip photinias do well in this area and make a dense barrier. I planted afghanistan or afghan pines in front of a house we used to own. They grew fast, drought resistant, and made a good windbreak.

thanks so much for all the feedback guys, you don't know how much you've helped me, now all I have to do is get the wife to make her mind up on which one.

I'm not an expert by any means, but we use nandina for screening. It grows relatively fast, does good without water, and totally blocks everything. It's also really, realle perdy. We also planted catawba crape myrtles, but they don't block low.

get bunching bamboo. if you get the kind that sends out runners you might as well kiss your place goodbye. bamboo makes an excellent screen though.

I've got a few red tip photinias. I only water them a couple of times or so during the summer, but they get plenty of shade. I don't know that I would want to put them in full sun without an irrigation system. There's a reason you never see them growing in the wild, like glossy privet. That's an indestructible plant, and it's evergreen, but birds spread the seeds, and you will have saplings shooting up everywhere. I've got a Nellie Stevens, planted maybe 15 years ago. It might be 13 ft. tall. I started out with two, but lost one due to failure to keep enough water on it. All hollies like a little shade, and will require water. Vitex is lovely in spring, but I never saw one over 15 ft. tall, and they can look a little ragged at times. Nandina is tough, but it does like some shade, and tops out at about 8 ft. It's just a shrub, really. I've never tried a silver maple. It's said that they don't do well in heavy clay soil. I also don't know much about non-invasive bamboo, except that it's horribly expensive. I suspect it would require frequent watering in full sun. You really need to stop by a nursery in your area, and chat with them. Your county extension service agent can also point you in the right direction. A lot of these plants just aren't going to do well outside of specific areas.