What kind of tree is this?

[BryanP]

I need to plant an evergreen tree to block something. My wife generally doesn't like how most of them look. On a recent walk we encountered this one she likes. I'm hoping one of you can identify it for me.

[mtnbkr]

Green.

Chris

[lee n. field]

Green.

Chris

<thread drift>"It's green"</thread drift>

[Azrael256]

Bald Cypress.

Do read up on them before you plant.  They can be messy.  It's also deciduous, so if you want an evergreen, it's the wrong tree.  They usually look nicer in other people's yards.

[BryanP]

Bald Cypress.

Do read up on them before you plant.  They can be messy.  It's also deciduous, so if you want an evergreen, it's the wrong tree.  They usually look nicer in other people's yards.

Well crap. The whole point was something that didn't lose  leaves in the winter. Thanks.

[Scout26]

Yep, the green bulbous thing you photographed is NOT part of the tree it is a chrysalis for a moth. 

[Azrael256]

Well crap. The whole point was something that didn't lose  leaves in the winter. Thanks.

I dont know where you are, so this may be pointless, but an Ash Juniper will do nicely as a low cost, low maintenance, low value screening tree.  It does tend to cause a "my head is on fire and I'm going to die right now" allergic reaction in some.  Ask me how I know.

[BryanP]

I'm just outside of Nashville, TN. There are tombs if evergreen trees I can grow here, but finding one that meets my wife's aesthetic approval is the catch.

[Brad Johnson]

There are tombs if evergreen trees I can grow here

That's a new one. Must be a Tennessee thing.

Brad

[charby]

Yep, the green bulbous thing you photographed is NOT part of the tree it is a chrysalis for a moth. 

Its a Bald Cypress cone.

[charby]

I'm just outside of Nashville, TN. There are tombs if evergreen trees I can grow here, but finding one that meets my wife's aesthetic approval is the catch.

Long Leaf pines are pleasing to look at when they are middle aged. They are at a grass stage when they are immature and like most conifers in their older age they will loose their lower branches and develop a long trunk.

Frasier Fir might be another choice for you, they have a nice form and are native to Eastern Tennesee.

If you want a faster pine, look at Loblolly or Slash Pine.

[Tallpine]

Bald Cypress.

I was going to say some kind of cedar 

[charby]

If you wanted to go not native a Radiata Pine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_radiata

It is a fast growing conifer and has a similar form to a Cypress.

[tokugawa]

I was going to say some kind of cedar 

 Sort of- all the North American "cedars" Red, Port Orford, Alaskan Yellow, etc, are in fact cypresses.
 We have no native true cedars like the Atlas, Lebanon, etc.

[Ryan in Maine]

What does she think about yew?

[Ben]

What does she think about yew?

Tallpine, stop hacking other member's accounts.

[vaskidmark]

Tennessee?  Go traditional with a magnolia.  While they do drop leaves, they do not go bare.  The flowers are pollinated by beetles rather than by bees, which may be a feature.  Leaves, when they fall, are sharp-edged as well as sharp-pointed, and leathery.  Cleanup is easier by spearing the leaf than by trying to rake them.  Trees vary from tall with spreading branches that start close to the ground to xmas-tree looking, to short and bushy, so they do a good job screening.

http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/brackens-brown-beauty-magnolia.htm  Check out all the varieties.

stay safe.

[BryanP]

That's a new one. Must be a Tennessee thing.

Brad

Aaaahhh hates autocorrect.

[Tallpine]

What does she think about yew?

A son of a beech ? 

[Brad Johnson]

A son of a beech ? 

That kind of language may ruffle some people's fir.

Brad

[BryanP]

A son of a beech ? 

Kiss my ash. 

[Hutch]

Tennessee?  Go traditional with a magnolia.  While they do drop leaves, they do not go bare.  The flowers are pollinated by beetles rather than by bees, which may be a feature.  Leaves, when they fall, are sharp-edged as well as sharp-pointed, and leathery.  Cleanup is easier by spearing the leaf than by trying to rake them.  Trees vary from tall with spreading branches that start close to the ground to xmas-tree looking, to short and bushy, so they do a good job screening.

http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/brackens-brown-beauty-magnolia.htm  Check out all the varieties.

stay safe.

A major punch on my "Southern by the Grace of God" card, but I hate dealing with magnolia trees.  They shed leaves near year-round, which are difficult to manage with rake or blower, and they are tough and leathery enough to last longer than most Hollywood marriages.

[Brad Johnson]

Kiss my ash. 

Pining for a better class of aquaintance?

Brad

[Tallpine]

I would suggest Scotch Pine but they are not poplar.

[GigaBuist]

Around here (Grand Rapids, MI) a stock item for making a privacy fence or blocking something off is an Emerald Green Arborvitae.  They're not fancy but they work.  Does your wife have an objection to something like that?

How high and wide do you need this to be?  That might help us a bit.

Stuff that hasn't been mentioned yet: 

Holly.  Castle Wall / Castle Spire will get up to 12 feet tall.  Not sure if that flies in your zone though.

Grasses might work.  My favorite suggestion is Erianthus Plume Grass.  Grass itself gets 5-6' tall but it shoots up plumes that get near 9-10' off the ground.  It goes dead in the winter but the grass and plumes still stand.  Even here in Michigan.  Just chop it down come spring and it'll regrow.  A single plant, when mature, will make about a 4' wide circle.

Miscanthus Gigantus is a grass that'll shoot up to 13'.  Unfortunately I have no idea where you'd get it as it's under patent and it was bred to be a fuel source and not a landscaping tool.