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California Gardening

Need a Tall Narrow Evergreen Shrub or Small Tree-Suggestions?

18 years ago

I live in Southern Cali, Sunset 23. I have a Corner in the the front of my house that gets about an hour of direct morning sun a day (gets lots of indirect light, but no direct light). I am looking for a shrub (or small tree)that is Narrow (5 ft at most) but will grow tall 10+ feet and is evergreen. Does it exist??? What about Camelias? Thanks in Advance!!

Featured Answer

wanda

18 years ago

Azara microphylla might do well for you. I love it's graceful look.

http://www.greatplantpicks.org/content/Plant_Information/PDF_files_fact_sheets/Revised%202003%20Fact%20Sheets/Azara_microphylla.pdf

Here is a link that might be useful: azara microphylla

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Comments (6)

Heidi_SoCal
18 years ago
I'm certainly no expert, but Cypress comes immediately to mind.
Bob_B
18 years ago
Two small trees that would be ideally suited to your location are the arborvitae 'Emerald Green' and Podocarpus. Both are evergreen, shade tolerant, non-flowering, slow growing, tough, neat and formal looking plants.

Bob
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Sky Pencil Holly is really hard to find in the UK. I've tried. Degroots Spire also. I've not found any sources for it. Juniperus Sky Rocket will get much more than two feet in time and can end up 25 feet high. Is it your fence? If so I'd really consider getting that fixed first. Even a narrow plant will have roots going under the fence. And how will you maintain a ramshackle fence with something growing in front of it? You could try pleaching something i.e. having the trunks in front of the fence and the tops above it. Alternatively how about trellis and some sort of climber? Or I've seen a really successful fedge using ivy trained on wire netting. (And before we get a chorus of ivy hatred remember the OP is in the UK where ivy is native and not a problem.) I have a Cupressus sempervirens 'Totem' in a similar position but that is 90 cm from a well-built wall. Here is a link that might be useful: Totem
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Ornamental grass could work for the full sun area except for the short time after you trim it back. There"s a pic of my ornamental grass posted on a recent thread..one of mine I think. I posted it for Tree. Pots are problematic for me...I am never obsessive enough with the watering.
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socks
18 years ago
I like Bob's ideas. Camellia would be nice but would probably get too wide for you and take a long time to get tall enough. I was thinking of Nandina or Heavenly Bamboo, but the Sunset book says it only goes to 8'.
Angela Pratt
18 years ago
Purple or green hopseeds (Dodonaea viscosa) make a great narrow, tall screen in my area (Sunset zone 14). Sasanqua camellias are great too.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:520393}}
JasperDale
18 years ago
"Tiny Towers" Italian Cypress are superb for tall and narrow. They don't get gigantic like the big ones do.
Spearmint Juniper is also great. Beautiful green color and takes to shearing very easily.

"Purple Pony" purple leaf plum is also excellent as a small tree. Only gets about 12' tall. Doesn't get huge like the big ones do...

There are also some smaller Cassias that do well as small trees and have nice flowers as well and are only briefly deciduous.

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