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Great Lakes Gardening

Need some advice on privacy shrubs/high shade

11 years ago

Hi. I have a 20 foot chain link fence I would like to plant in an array of shrubs/small trees along it for privacy. The problem is part of the fence is in a high shade area. In the middle I have a dying Juniper tree with some Euonymus Shrubs growing around it. I was thinking of a variety of evergreens with some shrubs that can tolerate high shade in a 6a climate. Any advice would be appreciated.

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Comments (3)

goren
11 years ago
You have a 20 foot high chain link fence.
I guess I should have put a question mark after that sentence.

Twenty foot high fence...????.....WHY!

So I go back and read it and think maybe its not 20 ft high...its 20 feet of fence....20 feet long.

I hate chain link fences....they do nothing for a property except maybe keeping a dog contained...or you like planting vines to grow up.

Now to add to the fence, you want to plant something that is in a area of high shade.
There is many palnts that can take shade...even heavy shade...as long as the sun is overhead some of the time.

White cedar is a hedging material that will grow fast when planted at the height of 3 to 4 ft. Depending on how much hedge you want, cedar (U.S. readers call it 'arborvitae), will grow upwards...10 ft..20 ft....and has to be clipped annually.
It has no pests that will interfere with it....it is not a hungry for water hedge so you can plant it pretty well anywhere.
it is an excellent privacy hedge....birds love it in spring because it grows so compact.
sherriseden
11 years ago
Spicebush - Lindera benzoin - is a woodland understory plant as is Redbud - Cercis Canadensis. Both are fairly fast growing and excellent for wildlife, too.
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I would plant an Aucuba japonica (Spotted laurel) as these tolorate most soils and don't mind sun or shade. They can get pretty big and would hide anything. They are evergreen and with there spotted leaves (yellow on green) look very attractive. In addition you have the extra plesure of the berries that appear on it. Or perhaps Arundinaria (Bamboo) they make an excellent screening plant. If you get the non-clumping form be sure to contain it or it will take over the entire garden. Best to plant it in a large container and sink it into the ground so the roots are held back to that area. Hope this is of value to you. good luck!
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To get something tall enough and dense enough to block that view and thin enough to fit in there may be tough. Especially if you need to block it from various angles. Hard to tell how much space you actually have to work with. This forum is a bit slow, you may want to ask on the Shrub Forum to get more responses. tj
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i dont understand where the property line is??? your house is on the right??? .. your porch is elevated??? .. and that is part of the problem??? i am surprised there isnt a city code.. that they cant leave the cans in front of the house ... but that might be starting WW3.. is that boxwood???? would you be removing them ... could you put in a shade screen from that giant square post.. to the house ... outta site.. outta mind?? frankly ... nothing that will grow to the height you want.. will stay as thin as you want... and forcing something to do that thru pruning/training .. would probably take more work.. than the vine you dont want to grow ... soooo ... you have to think outside 'plant' box ... ken
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The last person is right, there are many rhododendrons that will work nicely. You might also want to consider 'Bullseye' Kalmia (a type of Mountain Laurel that has really interesting flowers... there are a few other types of Kalmia that will also work). You may want to consider a variety of Oak Leaf Hydrangea (such as 'Snow Queen'). There are also some choices in Hemlocks that don't get more than 5' tall or so. ('Gentsch White' Tsuga canadensis, or 'Gracilis' Tsuga canadensis are a couple of possibilities. Deep Shade is a tough one... not many choices. And if you have any deer, go with the Hemlock choices. Deer may eat the Hydrangeas, Rhododendrons or Mountain Laurels.
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sherriseden
11 years ago
Goren, Arborvitae is a huge genus - not all need to be clipped annually. My Emerald Green is about 6' tall, a beautiful pyramid in full sun and has never been clipped.

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