How to Landscape for Windbreaks

Living Windbreaks

• 1

  Measure the dimensions of your yard with a measuring tape. Calculate the space available to plant a windbreak or single-row windscreen on the side of your yard that faces the prevailing wind direction. Windbreaks run the length of yard edges that face the wind, and traditional three-row windbreaks are usually about 40 feet deep. The row of trees closest to the house should be at least 50 feet away. Two-row windbreaks are typically about 28 feet deep. A single row windscreen of trees or shrubs will be about 10 to 15 feet deep.

• 2

  Draw a plan of your yard to scale on graph paper. Choose trees or tall shrubs to make up your windbreak, including a variety of species to limit the hazards of disease or pest outbreak and to provide an interesting yard with flowers, fruits and foliage. Choose plants that are hardy in your U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone and that suit the growing conditions, such as soil type and light levels. Evergreens provide the best year-round protection.

• 3

  Draw circles to represent the final dimensions of windbreak trees and shrubs on your plan. Space trees 14 feet apart in staggered rows also 14 feet away. Large shrubs can be spaced closer according to their mature size. Some overlap is fine, because the trees must grow together to provide an effective screen.

• 4

  Clear vegetation from your windbreak planting area, either by digging it out or spraying with a systemic weedkiller such as glyphosate. If using glyphosate, allow two to three weeks for the vegetation to die off before planting your windbreak.

• 5

  Mark the first row of the windbreak with a line and pegs. Allow space for the trees to reach their final dimensions when deciding how far from your property boundary to grow them.

• 6

  Water your trees or shrubs thoroughly before planting. Dig a hole three times as wide as the first plant's rootball and the same depth, sloping the sides toward the bottom of the hole. Remove the plant from its container or bag and loosen any roots that are tightly wound round the rootball. Place the plant in its hole so that the container soil surface is level with the ground, and fill in the gaps with dug soil. Firm the soil and create a ring of soil 2 to 3 inches high about 1 foot from the plant base to concentrate water on plant roots. Water the plant thoroughly before moving on to plant another. Plant subsequent windbreak rows in the same way.

• 7

  Water trees and shrubs regularly so that the soil stays moist throughout the first year.