Termites and other wood-feeding insects, beavers, giraffes, elephants, rabbits, rodents and porcupines all eat trees, in whole or in part. Yes, deer will and do eat pine trees.

Below you’ll find just a few of the many reasons to appreciate Douglas firs and other evergreens for supporting wildlife. Chickadees, nuthatches and woodpeckers eat insects from the tree. The red tree vole, beavers, porcupines and deer eat its needles.

Both grey and red squirrels are known to damage trees. Spruce trees and other evergreen trees provide a food source to these species of squirrels, so it’s important to humanely remove squirrels from your property to protect your trees.

Bagworms, spider mites, bark beetles, aphids, scale, sawflies, borers, and adelgids are among the insects that commonly target different needled evergreens. As with disease, bugs tend to gravitate toward plants that have been stressed or compromised by other issues.

The following will help you manage needlecast:

1. Prune away dead branches, twigs, and infected areas of the tree.
2. Remove fallen foliage and destroy it (burn it).
3. Apply a fungicide to the tree after removing signs of the infection.
4. Deep water the tree once per week to help it recover from the stress.

Evergreen trees are a bit different. If you’re seeing the opposite happen – needles or other evergreen foliage turning brown at the ends of the branches first – then that tree might be dying. Generally speaking, if any tree or shrub has brown leaves or needles in the summer, something is likely wrong.

Can a Brown Evergreen Ever Come Back? The answer is yes, depending on the cause. When an evergreen turns brown, it can be both surprising and disheartening. The good news is that a brown evergreen can come back green as soon as the following year, although it may need a little work to help it through the process.

Also more disease-resistant than blue spruce, these have little purplish cones. Long used as a screening evergreen, Norway spruce is still one of the most widely available and reliable workhorses. Its branches take on a graceful sagging habit as the trees age.

What is the hardest tree to kill?

• Yucca (Yucca elephantipes)
• Peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii)
• Flaming Dragon Tree (Dracaena marginata)
• Devil’s Ivy (Scindapsus aureus)
• Cast iron plant (Aspidistra elatior)
• Weeping fig (Ficus benjamina)
• Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
• Rubber plant (Ficus elastica)

Leyland Cypress It grows well in a wide variety of soil and climate conditions and makes an excellent windbreak as it provides a dense barrier with good color all 12 months of the year. It also beautifies the landscape around homes, across campuses, and in parks. Grows up to 3′ per year. Hardiness zones 6–10.

Screening Trees

• Bamboo Trees and Hedge (Phyllostachys)
• Holly Trees (Ilex)
• Hornbeam Trees (Carpinus Betulus)
• Laurel Trees (Prunus)
• Leylandii Trees (Cypress )
• Magnolia Trees.
• Photinia Trees (Red Robin)
• Pine Trees (Pinus)

The go-to evergreen for lining a fence, American arborvitae, also known as eastern arborvitae, can live for several hundred years. Most popular varieties mature at 10 to 15 feet, much smaller than in the wild, making them perfect for year-round privacy in evergreen landscaping.

Cheap Backyard Privacy Fence Ideas

1. Use Super-Sized Planters. Buy several large planters and fill them with tall, decorative grasses or flowers.
2. Plant Trees Along Your Property.
3. Build a Living Wall.
4. Hang Outdoor Curtains Around Your Patio.
5. Buy a Retractable Backyard Screen.
6. Build a Privacy Screen.
7. Put Up a Simple Lattice Fence.