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Northwestern Gardening

Evergreen trees or shrubs for privacy - not too tall

17 years ago

I live in the Pacific Northwest. My house is on top of a slope, the street level is about 30' down. There is a large open usuable area (about 1/4 acre) in between street and slope where I'm creating a play area. I want to create a privacy wall along the street in a 100' x 20' flat area. However, I need to preserve a beautiful mountain view from the patio at the house level at the top of the slope. That means that the trees/shrubs cannot grow much taller than 30' to 40'. I'd like them to be evergreen to maintain the privacy all year long. I can drag a hose down there for the first couple of years until they get established, but after that would like them to be drought tolerant. What are some suggestions???

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Comments (6)

hemnancy
17 years ago
If they could be deciduous I would suggest Aronia for the fruit. But next to my Aronia is my Eleagnus ebbingei, which makes a dense shrub now nearly 10' tall. This is the time of year that it blooms, so the fragrance is wafting. There is a silvery green form and also a variegated yellow/green leaved form that is not as vigorous. If you want something taller than that I would suggest bamboo, if you are not afraid like so many people of the runners. My bamboo, P. nuda, is gorgeous in winter when everything else is leafless or drab. If it sends up new culms outside of where I want them I can just cut them off with a shovel.
Embothrium
17 years ago
Plant Fargesia robusta and you don't have to worry about runners.

Nigel Colborn calls Elaeagnus x ebbingei "The ideal screen shrub".

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant Solutions
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plantknitter
17 years ago
Which is taller, faster? Elaeagnus pungens or E. x ebbingei?
buyorsell888
17 years ago
If it was me, I'd mix deciduous and evergreens for more interest since you are going to look at it as you look towards the mountain view.
gw:judy-gardener
17 years ago
You all have given me some good ideas. I think I'm going to plant some evergreen pine, cedar, and spruce trees and then mix them with some maple trees for fall color. And I'm definitely going to check out the Eleagnus ebbingei. It sounds like a great shrub!

Thanks Everybody!
emmaean
17 years ago
Judy-
Warning. Warning. Warning. Many here in the Southeast despise
Elaeagnus. Authorities differ as to whether E. x ebbingei or E. pungens reflexa are worse regarding this problem: If sheared, they must be sheared WEEKLY for about 8 months of the year, like Medusa's head. Do not EVER let shears touch your Elaeagnus. Virgin Elaeagnus (those never touched by shears) are lovely. But the long, running, shoots it produces in the growing season will need to be deep "pocket -pruned" down into the canopy of the plant, to an established side-shoot. Use hand-pruners like you would prune a rose with, for this duty. Depending how neat you want the plants to look, this will need to be done from one to eight times a year. That is not a happy frequency, but it sure beats weekly. If Elaeagnus have already been power-sheared, you may need to hard-prune them almost to the ground (6-8" is tolerated by these vigorous plants). Do it in very early Spring (probably the last week of February for you.) Then let them grow back and treat them like virgin shrubs.
As to the difference between the two species (actually I think ebbingei is a hybrid, one of whose parents is pungens reflexa), I believe the hybrid ebbingei to be better-mannered and therefore more desireable.

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