Question
I have a raised deck, which looks onto our neighbors back yard, and live in a zone 3 climate.  I want to put a tree in between my deck and my fence to get a bit of privacy.

My main concern is the tree will have to be planted about 8 feet away from the house, and I do not want a risk of having the roots damage the foundation.  I was originally thinking of a Swedish Aspen as it is a quick growing tree that isn't very wide, but I read somewhere that the roots will damaged a foundation.

Do you have any suggestions?  Ideally I would like a faster growing tree so I do not have to wait years to get privacy...

Answer
Here is the link for this tree: http://www.jfschmidt.com/articles/swedishcol/

Thank you for teaching ME something.  I have specified all sorts of trees from Schmidt for years, and didn't know about this unique tree, until today.

You are correct that Aspens and Poplars generally have invasive root systems.  Where I live, they are banned from commerical landcapes.

I called Schmidt's horticulture department, and they assured me that they specifically selected out the invasive rooting problem - It is their #1 question asked about this tree.  It is also DECIDUOUS, which means that 1/2 of the year, it is bare stems.  Mind you, this would be in the winter months, when you are probably not using your deck, anyway.

If you want more columnar tree suggestions for a zone 3, try looking ar the Columnar Oak, Bowhall Maple (both Deciduous), or the Leyland Cypress (evergreen - but not good in high wind areas).  Planting larger trees to begin with will give you that "instant" feel.  And, 8 feet is a good distance for these colomnar trees...No closer than 5 is OK.

Don't forget to look UP, too.  40 feet is mighty tall - Are there power lines or other trees in the way?

~M