Rhamnus californica.

Dax

Totally agree about letting the Heptacodium shine, what a great tree...and those M. 'Little Gem's are stiff, ungainly trees (I planted about six over the years and am down to one - and the others did not die a natural death!)

Dax's idea of R. californica would work, and there are varieties that have great berries such as 'Eve Case'. It may be too much like the Portuguese laurel for your liking, though - both have broad leaves and unless pruned significantly, will be large shrubs, not small trees with a narrow base. Hard to beat the Portuguese laurel for its screening ability - and you get that nice flush of bloom in late spring and berries now. Can you just do two of them? That would indeed give more attention to the Heptacodium. You could also potentially then place a small deciduous tree like a Japanese maple in front of the laurels, if there is room.

Thanks guys, of the these two suggestions I think I'd go with just adding another Portuguese Laurel. Now - and please bear with me here - I read an older post that seemed a bit confusing about naming i.e. Thuja Occidentalis Filiformis, Plicata, Plady-something, Whip cord and am wondering if something like this word work. Something that would get at least 8 feet tall and 6-8 wide.

Italian buckthorn makes a great screen in Seattle. Also Pacific wax myrtle. 'Little Gem' mildews here and snaps apart under occasional wet snow loads; it has been described as the most tender of M. grandiflora cultivars. Since the coldest winters in Medford get quite a ways down there on the thermometer, any of these broad-leaved evergreens may be a gamble. On the other hand there are many kinds native in the vicinity, as you go down the coast southwest Oregon and the Siskiyou-Klamath region are where the mixed evergreen forest type first appears, with broad-leaved evergreens becoming a much more important part of the vegetation that north of there (hence "mixed"). What you see long-established and persisting in the neighborhood will tend to indicate the parameters on your site.

Portugal laurel is hardy and handsome but has gone wild up here, making it a nuisance species like English laurel. The most common hardy stalwart is English holly, but additional planting of this is obviously no longer a good idea as it has become a highly abundant weed in this region.

After the record 1990 winter one that stood out as being pretty much unaffected around here was holly-leaved osmanthus. Tree-sized example are know here but these take decades to reach such stature.

As does English boxwood, another pretty much totally hardy one.

As this is a screen you do need to be careful that you do not plant a kind that will grow for years and then burn up in a cold winter.

Thanks all. I think I'll just leave the spot empty for now, I do appreciate the input though. Researching the Portuguese Laurel has given me quite a scare - it gets so big! The height is okay, the width is what scares me as I only have about 7-8 (maybe 10 if I push it) feet to play with. Wish I had a camera, I'd post a photo. Later - and thanks again.

Fraser photinia used to be pretty easily found already trained into a tree shape, with an elevated crown but now it has been spoiled here by leaf spot, as happened some time ago elsewhere in the country.

You might look at Burkwood osmanthus, that develops fairly rapidly when watered and does produce a tree shape in time. Leaves are dark and on the comparatively small side, hardiness is pretty good also. Fragrant white flowers in spring, larger and more abundant than the tiny autumnal flowers of holly-leaf osmanthus.

Love both the Osmanthus - O. heterophyllus is what I used for a hedge/screen here. Also, that Italian buckthorn a lovely plant, as well, and there is a variegated version that is really beautiful. Yes, the laurels get big but are amenable to pruning, shearing, etc so you would be able to maintain it in the size you want. bboy's comment about not planting something that risks potential winter kill is a really good point. You don't want to invest the time and energy and then have it die back.

How about an evergreen selection of Viburnum? I don't know enough about west coast behavior of many of these, but I'd bet that Viburnum x pragense is not overplanted yet. There are likely several others that would be happy in Medford.

How far is this plant going to be from the Seven Son Flower?

If this is going directly between the Laurel and SSF, doesn't that leave you with 2' or so?

Viburnum x pragense is one of my favorite vibrunum. Like that suggestion if its offset and at least 8' away from the SSF.

You guys are so helpful, here I'd given up - for now - and the suggestions are still coming in. I gotta get a camera!
Let me try this:
__________Fence _______________
(4' out from fence)
---X
Laurel (4.5' over) X (6' over/pine + 7'out/fence )
--------------Dwarf White Pine
------------------------------------------X
--------------------------------------Heptacodium
_____________________________
Creek Bed
[8' from fence to creek]

Well that did not quite work, the Laurel and Pine are on the same line, 4 feet out from fence. Well Pine may be 5 feet out and the Heptacodium is 7 feet out. There is 4.5 feet from Laurel to Pine and 6 feet from Pine to Heptacodium

It's been clear from the start you do not have enough room for later development of all the specimens you have been talking about but you are trying to block out a view with a dense planting, as soon as possible. Due to the eventual crowding perhaps the only way to improve on the situation would be to plant all of one kind, so that each plant blends with the other into a hedge effect in time. With each one being a different kind you are much more likely to end up with a crowded appearance.

I like that idea and would go with multiple Heptacodium since they look nice meshed together. Flank with nice fall color.

I totally agree bboy, that was one reason I started this post. He did such a nice job on everthing else, I don't understand why he tried to squeeze in such large shrubs. He used three total, two are elsewhere in the yard.

I like the idea of using another Heptacodium, thought of that myself earlier. While it may not fully block, it will provide some screening and they are such nice trees. Or...

Someone else mentioned Viburnum Prauge. I could replace all of the Portguese Laurels with V. Prauge, maybe adding a fourth near the Heptacodium. These would be more in size with my property and thus less pruning. I read these could be grafted or layered, tell me what does that mean? If I decide to order four of these I need to be sure what I'm asking for. Thanks again.

Problem solved. I just put in another Heptacodium, not evergreen but it does look nice! On the way home though it dropped on the tailgate and got a scar about the size of a quarter. Do I need to do something or just let it heal naturally?

The Portuguese Laurels get a reprieve for now but if they become unwieldly - out they go.

Keep those laurels in check with regular mild pruning. They are easily sheared as well, but the effect is likely not what you are looking for. There are lots of hedges around here using that plant (Prunus lusitanica is its botanical name).