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Yes. Select cold-hardy palm species, notably Trachycarpus fortunei (Windmill Palm), are reliably cold-hardy in USDA Zone 7b, which covers Raleigh and much of the NC Triangle. Proper species selection and siting — particularly avoiding low-lying frost pockets and ensuring good drainage — are key factors in long-term survival.

We regularly install Southern magnolias, Japanese maples, crepe myrtles, hollies, arborvitae, cryptomeria, and cold-hardy palms at heights ranging from 8 to 20+ feet, depending on the species. During a site consultation, we can identify the specific sizes currently available in our inventory.

Emily Bruners will typically top out at about 18 feet after about 20 years.  They will get about 8 feet across which means they can be used for areas where spread is a concern.

This is a major consideration.  Very few plants like wet feet except for plantings like Weeping Willows or Birches.  If you have a wet area, the plants can be planted higher and then topsoil used around them for a mounding effect.  This would allow you to plant in a spot with poor drainage or a wetter area.  Planting level in these types of areas will not work and the plants will typically drown out.

10 year old green giants can reach 20 + feet tall and 12 feet across so plant them where they have the room to spread.

Are you planting in the shade or sun?

Sun, shade or a combination of both are important consideration when determining which types of plants to use for landscape privacy screening.  Typically, coniferous evergreens or needled evergreens need a sunny location in order to thrive.  A partial shade/sun environment can work.  For instance if the site is sunny for half the day and shady in the afternoon, many coniferous evergreens will work in this environment.  In our area, Green Giant , Emerald Green Arborvitae and Cryptomeria are coniferous evergreens frequently used in landscape screening.  Both prefer sunny locations but can tolerate a site that gets half and half with sun/shade exposure.  Broadleaf Evergreens like Southern Magnolia, evergreen hollies, Chindo Viburnum  and Ligustrum will work in either sun, shade or a mixed location of sun and shade.  With consistent irrigation, evergreen hollies like Robin and Emily Bruner Holly can withstand deeper shade locales even when planted amongst hardwoods.

How much space is between property line and house or walkways?

The distance from a property line and your house are important considerations.  If you have 20 feet from the back of the house to the property line, you cannot plants with a large spread like Green Giants.  They will overwhelm the spot and encroach on the neighboring property.   In tighter spots like this, you may need to go with Emerald Green Arborvitaes, evergreen hollies or Chindo viburnum.

Are you seeking instant or long-term results?

Instant results often mean more mature sizes at the time of installation.  This influences cost.  For example, if the area you need to screen is 12 feet high and you need it instantly covered, you are going to need mature plantings.  These will need to be transported with heavy equipment in many instances as the rootballs for example could weigh 3500 pounds on a 12-14 feet Emily Bruner Holly. A plant this size can cost depending on the volume of plants used around 2800.00 per tree installed.    If you have time and are willing to allow the plantings to fill in over several years, you can chose smaller plants which frequently don’t require the need for heavy equipment.  Costs for a 7-8 feet Emily Bruner Holly would be somewhere in the range of 750.00 per plant installed.

This depends on a lot of factors including the following;  do you want instant screening or are you willing to wait for several years?  Plant type also will determine this as well.  For instance, twelve Green Giants could be planted 8 feet apart in a zig-zag pattern and will form a nice barrier in about 3 years if you have room for them to spread.  If you don’t have room for spread, you may be forced to consider broadleaf evergreens like Emily Bruner Holly, Chindo Viburnum or Ligustrum.  These will not spread as wide so you’ll need more.  A good spacing for the broadleaf evergreens is about 6 feet between each plant so you’d need about 16 plants. 

It depends on whether you want larger and more instant coverage or can wait for the results as well as the amount of distance you are trying to screen.    Usually, bigger and more instant results will cost considerably more than smaller plantings.

Either broadleaf evergreens like hollies or Chindo viburnums or coniferous evergreens like Green Giants if you have the room for the spread.

Fencing will work as long as you don’t need a high privacy screen.  Most HOAs and municipalities have limits in terms of height on fencing so you may not get the height you need.  In some instances, you may want to use evergreen plantings and a fence in combination with each other.  In other instances, you may want to use only landscape screening plants.  Typically, fencing is cheaper than larger landscape plantings but will only provide 6 to perhaps 8 feet of coverage. 

The most reliable Leyland cypress replacements for North Carolina landscapes are Emily Bruner Holly, Nellie Stevens Holly, Green Giant Arborvitae, and Cryptomeria japonica. All four species provide year-round evergreen coverage and are not subject to the Seiridium canker and Botryosphaeria dieback that have caused widespread Leyland cypress failure across the Southeast.

Broadleaf evergreens like Chindo viburnum, Ligustrum and Evergreen hollies are more tolerant of being planting in a setting with mature hardwoods and/or pines.  Pines are easier to plant amongst as there is typically less root competition for water and nutrients. Remember that when there is active root competition from mature trees, you will need to provide more supplemental irrigation for the plantings.