Los Angeles - Privacy hedge suggestions?

14 years ago

Hi Everybody!

Can anyone recommend a good privacy hedge for a partial shade, loamy (I think) soil?

It's for a run along side our house running East/West that doesn't get much light like from side to side, but plenty from directly over head down onto the top.

Ideally, something with flowers or somewhat "pretty" would be nice...but not a deal breaker.

Suggestions!?

Thanks!

Jahhn

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Comments (6)

bahia
14 years ago
There are a lot of new Pittosporum tenuifolium cultivars out there these days, with variegated/purple/or other variations of foliage, and they are well suited to shearing and stay dense to the base with sufficient light. I also like Pittosporum eugenioides for the yellow green foliage, and it also handles shade well. You might also consider something like Luma apiculata, which does have showy flowers and also gives edible fruit, but without good air circulation, this one tends to get attacked by thrips.
hosenemesis
14 years ago
Hi Jahhn,
We have a link here on California Gardening FAQ that might help you. I have listed it below.

It depends too on how much space you have, how tall you want it, and how much water you want to use.

I can't think of any flowering hedges that get tall and stay narrow, but if you have some room, Springtime Viburnum has dark green foliage and a pretty pinkish white flower. I have one in the conditions you describe next to a Duranta and a Pittosoporum eugenioides, and the Pittosporum has no leaves at the bottom. The Duranta is lovely, with purple flowers and yellow berries, but I believe they are short-lived. Both the Pittosporum and the Duranta are willowy, whereas the Viburnum is bushy.

Of course the ultimate was Oleander; drought-tolerant, flowers galore, large size-- but they have been attacked by a blight. Boo.

You can also read the recent thread on Hedgezilla, otherwise known as Podocarpus gracilis.

Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hedges for California FAQ Page
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You don't also mention how much width you are willing to give this hedge; an equally important consideration for best selection. I am a big fan of the Lavender Star Flower, Grewia occidentalis, which can easily be kept narrow at less than 2 feet in width, is fast growing, and also has colorful blooms. I'd also suggest that a wire fence framework for an evergreen vine such as Star Jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides or one of the Trumpet vines such as Clytostoma callistegioides, or Creeping Fig, Ficus repens might be good choices. If you are willing to install a root barrier, even common old Golden Bamboo, Phyllostachys aurea or Pseudosasa japonica might be good choices for such a screen. I often prefer to use a bamboo as a screen rather than a shrub/hedge, because it is less work to keep the width and height in bounds. Podocarpus gracilior is also a much used hedge material in Los Angeles, for good reason, and things like Pineapple Guava, Feijoa sellowiana might also work well for you.
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Hi. I'm in LA too. Can the branches be wider than 12" ? Do you need coverage low or just high for the upper level windows? If the plant can only be 12" wide its really too narrow of a space for total coverage because you will only have the stalks (called culms). If you only need coverage higher up and you can let the branches grow out then you have a better chance of coverage. I don't know of any bamboo that will stay only 12" wide at the base. If there is a deep barrier (1' for a clumper or 2' for a runner) then the bamboo will stay where you want it. Or you can put in bamboo barrier and not have to worry about it. Otherwise I would suggest a fence and a trellis/lattice above it, possibly with a vine. For narrow, very upright, shorter bamboos Check out Thamnocalamus, Fargesia nigra, Alphonse Karr, Chimonobambusa marmorea (runner) or maybe Tootsik (runner). Just Google them and you will see lots of photos and info.
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I'm becoming more and more convinced, after a lot of experiments with privacy hedges on my own property, that the best hedge, if you really want privacy, is good old Ligustrum japonicum, available at any big box store, which will grow in sun or shade, take terrible conditions, dreadful soil, and extreme drought, yet grow thick and dense, clipped to any size desired. No, it's not imaginative, its ordinary, mundane, boring--but it's also thick, dense, and tough as an old boot. And not always, but sometimes, thick and dense and tough as an old boot is exactly what you want.
catkim
14 years ago
Tecomaria capensis/cape honeysuckle has bright orange flowers and glossy dark green ferny foliage. I'm not sure of the spacing for a hedge, perhaps 6 to 8 feet apart. It's a vigorous grower that should do fine in the conditions described, but will need regular shaping.
gobluedjm 9/18 CA
14 years ago
I agree on the cape honeysuckle. I have seen it in red and yellow also. I have 6 in a 2 foot wide strip of about 45 feet. They were 1 gallons 1 1/2 years ago and have already grown to 6 feet high and wide and I cut them back twice. They are against a west wall and only get sun from about noon to 4pm. Once in a while a branch tries to root thru the mulch. So very vigorous grower and the foliage is sort of bright and shiney.
There are others types of honeysuckle the vine type, you won't want that.
jahhn
Original Author
14 years ago
Wow! Thanks for all the great suggestions and advice everyone!

Jahhn

Los Angeles - Privacy hedge suggestions?

Comments (6)

bahia

hosenemesis

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Los Angeles - Privacy hedge suggestions?

Comments (6)

bahia

hosenemesis

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hoovb zone 9 sunset 23

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gobluedjm 9/18 CA

jahhnOriginal Author

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