I would suggest the Thuja Cedar Giant. It grows three to five feet a year and it very toleratant of adverse conditions. It is an evergreen with fragrant foliage. I planted three this April (2006) and so far 8/06 they have grown 18 more inches.

Not bamboo. Your neighbor is better than bamboo. The worst neighbor in the world is still better than bamboo. The cedar giant does sound good. It's not cheap though - at least not where I live.

I'm not quite sure why there's so much fear of bamboo. For the purpose I'm looking for, a fast growing aggressive plant seems ideal. I have a hard time believing it is stronger than a PTO-driven rotary mower used to contain it. Am I missing something? Horror stories are the only reason I haven't planted it yet - but in a pasture, in a rural area, should I really be that afraid of it?

Should you be afraid of bamboo? Of course not. It's just a plant. A very aggressive, determined, impossible-to-get-rid-of plant, especially if one of the commonly available "creeping" or spreading types. "Clump" or bunching bamboo is not nearly as invasive, especially if confined to pots or surrounded by concrete.

Bamboo thrives in Virginia in normal conditions and drought hardly slows it down; it will cover bogs and enthusiastically hide ditches (by growing in them and then expanding for acres to either side). It spreads by underground stolons, and those rootlets are so determined that they will travel under 50 feet of asphalt or concrete to get to the next invadeable area. They can be contained within concrete, but only so long as the concrete does not crack (and the roots will push forcefully on any weak area to make it crack).

Victims of bamboo (aka the person buying the previous owner's error) will tell you it can be cut, chopped, burned, mowed, stomped on (the tender shoots), boiled, dug up and blasted out. And all of those methods are used in the ongoing attempt control the spread of these lovely plants. They will also tell you that only way to control bamboo is to not plant it.

An older home down the road from me has nearly 1/4 acre of bamboo that's so thick you can't walk through it, it's inpenetrable. It was planted there many years ago and they've tried to remove some of it because it's encroaching on their driveway. Another problem with it is that when it's wet it leans almost to the ground. They don't think it's so lovely;)

I wonder why the leyland cypress wouldn't work for you? I planted 6 small plants as a temporary screen 5 years ago. I knew they would eventually get too large and have to be removed. They were 18" when I planted them @ a cost of $2.50 ea from K-Mart. The trees grew to almost 10' before they were removed this spring.

What would be wrong with white pines? They grow pretty fast, are evergreen, are native, are lovely, make a beautiful sound in the wind and are cheap. You can probably get several dozen of them from the VA Ag department for under $100. There's a fencerow of them along a five-mile section of Route 50 between Upperville and Paris that's absolutely stunning - tree after tree after tree - lush, green, and completely blocking the view of whatever's behind them.

I agree that bamboo will quickly become an environmental hazard in VA. Better to stay away from it.

Don't forget that many deciduous perennials will grow to screening height within a year or two - if you planted wiegela or forsythia this fall, you would have a some screen next summer (and a good screen the following year) while the perennials are just getting established. Also consider that the taller buddleia would likely provide a very good screen next summer - and have the plus of being a butterfly attractent.

Actually, if it were mine, I'd prefer a mixed border with evergreens in the background and an assortment of blooming shrubs in the foreground, including ones like spirea, deutzia, abelia and fothergilla. That way, if one variety doesn't thrive, the other varieties will still provide screening and visual pleasure.

Just a small correction--Meldy says that ""Clump" or bunching bamboo is not nearly as invasive, especially if confined to pots or surrounded by concrete."

If you have a true clumping bamboo, it will not be invasive AT ALL and there is no reason to restrict its growth. Unfortunately there are relatively few clumping bamboos that are suitable for our area--most of them are tropical (e.g., Bambusa) but the hardier ones (Fargesia) don't like hot summers and will probably require some shade.

I love the Arizona Cypress, Carolina Sapphire. It grows big, fast, and is a beautiful color with delicate foliage, used for screening and windbreaks. I couldn't find any around here until Christmas time at the home improvement stores...

Leyland Cypress was our screening choice. In full sun it grows really fast if you start with the 5 gallon size. Ours grew from three feet to 20 feet in four years. Max height is 30 feet with 10 foot spread. Plant in zig-zag pattern 5-6 feet apart. Plant them in March/April, three plants for every twelve linear feet of coverage. Even plants purchased from Home Depot or Lowes grow fine. You can also use the 1 gallon size, but it will take a few extra years to catch up. The downside is it is a soft tree and will bend with heavy snow loads and ice. Try to gently brush the snow off during heavy snows.

Landscape forsythia is nice too, but it will only get to 12 feet and most garden centers only sell the smaller cultivars. Not a big deal if you are on the ground but from the second story of a house or on horseback, you will still see and be seen.

In shady areas large mountain laurel and rhododendron make a very pretty screen, but are toxic to the horses.

White pines are also nice and you can get a hundred or so from the VA Dept of Forestry (online seedlings catalog) for around $81.00. It will take about 5-6 years to form a decent screen, but they will also start to drop their lower branches around 10 years or so. This is desirable for a timber plant, but not for a screen/hedge; unless you plan to move before then or underplant with mt. laurel, azaleas, camelias, rhodies and other acid loving woodland plants - most all of which are toxic to horses.

~ Tru

Also forgot to add Eastern or Atlantic Cedar. This makes a nice screen too. It naturally takes over old fields (one of the first woody plants to start the changeover to woodland) so you can probably find "wild seedlings" in fields around you. It is also fragrant. Can sometimes be purchased in bulk from the Dept. of Forestry. Cedars will also provide nice rot resistant fence/gate posts if you are on this property for the long term. Downside is cedar apple rust if you have any orchards or apple trees nearby and birds will spread the berries i.e. seedlings all over your pastures. It will also loose lower branches over time.

~ Tru