Screening For Privacy: Creating A Living Fence For Your Yard
Building a screen out of tall growing shrubs to “hide” something we don’t want to look at is popular and more affordable than fencing. It adds beauty to your yard and offers birds cover from predators. You can choose to use one species of plants and create a solid hedge or you can use a combination of plants to create more interest in your screen.
Fall and Winter months are the best times to plant your screen. It gives the plants time to form a stronger root system before the heat of summer arrives. This is the time of year to plan what type of plants will work best for your screen and get to digging.
What You Need To Know
• Determine the sun/shade of the screen area and choose plants that fit those needs.
• Choose plants that will grow to the height and width you desire.
• Divide the length of the screen by the width of chosen plants and that is how many plants you need.
- Example:
You have chosen Elaeagnus for your screen that is 120-feet long. Elaeagnus width is 8-12 feet. Divide 120 (length) by 8 (plant width) = 10 plants for your screen.
Below you will find several popular plants that make dense screens for our East Texas area. For individualized help bring or email us pictures of the area and we can help with your project.
1. Elaeagnus
Terrible name, great plant! The silver-green leaf color gives you great contrast in your landscape. Highly drought tolerant once established and can handle almost any soil conditions. They grow quickly to 12-feet tall and wide, and taller and thrive in full sun or part sun. Let them grow naturally or you can prune them into any shape. They are DEER RESISTANT too!!
2. Southern Wax Myrtle
Olive-green aromatic foliage makes this plant stand out along with the bluish berries produced by the female plants. The standard size will reach 15 feet tall and 10-15 feet wide (depending on how it’s pruned) while the dwarf species reaches 6-8 feet tall. It is drought tolerant once established and grows well in both moist and dry soil conditions. Plant in full sun or part shade. They are DEER RESISTANT too!!
3. ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ Holly
Very attractive holly with dark green, leathery foliage. Dense branching makes it an excellent hedge screen. It produces large, bright orange-red berries in late Fall. Fast growing tree/shrub reaching heights of 15-25 feet and 8-15 feet wide (depending on how it’s pruned). Grows well in sun or partial sun in both dry and moist soil conditions.
4. ‘Leyland’ Cypress
Coniferous evergreen tree – up to 3-feet of growth per year. Has a natural Christmas tree shape but can be grown close together and trimmed as hedges. Prefers full sun for best performance. This tree can reach 50+ feet if left untrimmed and up to 8-15 feet wide (depending on how it’s pruned).
5. ‘Needlepoint’ Holly
A fast-growing holly that is perfect for screening, quickly reaching a height of 10-15 feet and 5-10 feet in width. Bright red berries during the winter adds bright color to your hedge. Will grow in partial shade/sun to full sun.
6. Cleyera
A dense, glossy leafed green shrub reaching a height of 10-15 feet tall and 8-10 feet wide if left natural or pruned to lower height. New growth in spring and summer is a bronze color changing to green as the leaf matures. Growth rate is 6 – 12 inches per year , and it is DEER RESISTANT too!
