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Florida Gardening

Help Me Hide My Neighbors!

16 years ago

I have a piece of property in Odessa, FL (Zone 9A) and I do not want to see my neighbors (nothing personal). I would like to plant some Florida native screening plants along the property line. The area is about 250 feet long and varies form full shade to partly shady on one end, to full sun to partly shady on the other end. The soil is well drained and sandy with a Ph of 6.0-6.5. I am considering planting Sweetshrub, Strawberry Bush, and perhaps Anise amongst the existing oak trees. The denser the better. Any thoughts or suggestions?

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Comments (7)

sunflower101
16 years ago
We planted a row of needlepoint hollies along our backyard about 5 or 6 years ago, and now they are 10 feet high and filled in totally from the ground up, so they are one huge green fence but full of red berries. You wouldn't even know we had neighbors behind us. Vibernams grow really fast too and are also very dense. We have them as a screen behind our sunporch on the southern exposure side. We also have Walter's Vibernums on the other side which provides a nice screen as well. My anise isn't very dense so haven't thought about using that as a privacy screen.
Iris GW
16 years ago
The Florida Native Plant Society might have some good resources for you in choosing native plants.

Here is a link that might be useful: Native Plants link on FNPS site
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Without doubt, I would go with Vetiver Grass "Vetiveria zizanioides". "Vetiver is a clumping type grass, non-invasive. The roots are very deep, so it's best to decide carefully where to plant it because it is very hard to dig up. It can be grown in a container as well, for a lovely effect. In 1989 Fort Polk in Louisiana was having a problem with erosion. Three scenic streams came together on the base, but tanks and other military equipment was ripping up the land and causing soil and silt to fill up the natural waterways. Mike Materne, the local U.S. Soil Conservation Service agent, brought in some vetiver plants and planted them in the bare slopes above the dams that held runoff water. In spite of the very acidic, rocky soil that contained virtually no fertility, the slips of grass began to grow. In eight weeks, some were almost 2 meters tall and in 10 weeks they had grown together into hedges. Sediment began to build up behind the hedges and the water that went down the streams into the catch ponds became clear. It soon became clear that vetiver was acting as much more than an erosion trap: it was a "nurse plant" that was protecting other species and thereby giving these devastated watersheds a chance to heal themselves. Native grasses, wildflowers, shrubs, trees and vines came crowding in behind the hedges and grew to re-vegetate the site."
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You'll be shooting yourself in the foot to add something taller there. You've already installed the Arborviatae. Now, you have to give it time to grow. It's fast, so shouldn't be that bad of a wait. Make sure it get's fertilized a couple of times during the growing season and gets supplemental water (at least weekly if no rain) so as to maximize the growth return. If you plant something tall where the birdbath is, how can it not shade out the front side of the Arborvitae, which, of course, would slow its growth and compromise its looks? Be patient and follow through with the plan you've already put in place.
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I’m happy that my suggestion of an aerial trellis has been so well received! I’ll add a bit of detail for @rachel12reed & anyone else who may try to replicate a version of it. We have another one of these along a side fence in our back yard - it is only two sections & no center feature in it. It has low plants in front of it with curved iron structures filling in under it instead of shrubs. The decorative iron can be easily seen when this tree is not in leaf. The bigger 3 section one has a leaded glass window in center which is lit at night. These weren’t DIY - the folks who installed our pavers & water feature built them. They are very beefy & heavy duty - 10’ timbers sunk in cement & wood wrapped. The bigger one has shrubs filling in the two side sections now which hide the fence. Here’s the smaller one - you can see that it serves the purpose of screening from our neighbors who have a yard that is higher than ours. you can see the fence sloping on right side of tree. This fence is also 6’ tall. The neighbors were thrilled when we had this built. Their house is higher than their yard & several levels of patio. This was a win win for us & them.
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norm33625
16 years ago
These are not native plants but do well to screen and keep noise down along fences. I have a row of bougainvillea bushes along my wall for privacy. They keep their leaves all year round, unless you get a long frost or freeze. Word of warning. If you plan on keeping them trimmed or pruned, I don't recommend them. The thorns are bothersome and they are a painful nuisance when trying to pick them up to throw away. But will deter anyone from climbing your fence! I just let mine grow. They are about 20ft. high now and too thick to see thru.
laura1
16 years ago
Simpson Stopper might fit your bill...simular to Walter's Viburnum. It has a small white flower and an orange/red berry. WV has simular flowers and berries.
dghays
16 years ago
Wax Myrtle is a great native screen, but not sure about its shade tolerance. They grow fast, supply birds with berries, can take drought or flooding, widely available.

Gary
rosarama
16 years ago
Nothing beats boxwood = and it stays green all year
tomncath
16 years ago
How important is it that you really use native Florida plants? Honestly, if you'd like your privacy within 3-5 years may I suggest clumping bamboo? Grows amazingly fast within a confined area and will truly accomplish your goal within five years....comes in handy for staking pole beans and tomatoes too. If your interested there's a guy in Tampa that sells many varieties of CLUMPING, not RUNNING bamboo at reasonable prices.

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