fastigate evergreens

I'm planning a tall evergreen hedge (15-20' tall by 70' long) for a narrow space - 17' between fence and house, zone 6, Massachusetts, some areas in full sun, and have been pondering a mix of:

Eastern Red Cedar 'Emerald Sentinel'

Eastern Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) 'Wintergreen' and/or 'Emerald Green'

Eastern White Pine "fastigiata'

common Juniper and Holly, varieties unknown at this point.

I'll be planting in a row along a 6' cedar fence trying to block noise and lights. I have tried to pick plants some of which are full right to the ground, interesting to look at, that provide food, and shelter for birds, are fast growers, with fairly low maintenance.

I've read with interest the previous discussions in the archive concerning privacy hedges and trees, and for additional reference I am using the Brooklyn Botanical book "Growing Conifers", a local (expensive) nursery catalog and Michael Dirr's Woody Plants Manual (?? forgot the actual title), but the more I read, the more confused I get. I have no first hand experience with evergreens, so I don't know if I'm on the right track with my choices. Things like how close to space them, how tall and wide they 'really' get, whether they get awful looking over time or in the winter, whether they collapse under snow, lean away from the wind, etc. are questions I don't have clear answers to yet. And the fact that I don't have these conifers around now to arrange, rearrange, etc. for visual aids, makes it tough to visualize.

I could use some help with additional varieties, comments on the plants mentioned, spacing tips, good mail-order nurseries that have plants for New England, whatever...

Thanks,

Gail




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