Question
I would like to plant some trees on the west side of my newly constructed home to help block winter winds and summer heat.  I read that to block winds, the evergreens need to be 5-10X their mature height away from the home.  I only have approximately 30-40 ft of space to plant on the west side.  My concern is, if I go ahead and plant tall evergreens, it would also block the sun in the winter that would be needed to help keep the house warm.  If I plant deciduous trees, they will not help much with winter winds.  I am not sure what to do.  I live in Delaware and the home is 2 stories and is north facing.  I currently have no trees. I also have the same situation on the south side of the house.  I need privacy trees, but do not want to block the summer winds.  Any suggestion would be welcomed.

Answer
Christine, sounds like you want to have your cake and eat it too.
You cant block winds in the winter and not in the summer. The only way to do that would be with a temporary screen. There is no plant that has leaves in winter but not in summer. So baring building a fence that has moveable louvers I think your stuck with no wind screen or a full time wind screen. You could plant a row of tall evergreen shrubs or small evergreen trees (the kind that grow full to ground) 15-20 feet from you house and be sure you don't let them get tall enough to shade house in winter. Then augment with a few large deciduous trees on south and west sides which will allow winter sun and block it in summer.

Good Luck
Sean Murphy
www.seengineering.com
www.amenityarchitects.com