Choosing shrubs or trees for privacy

16 years ago

Hi. This is my first post to GardenWeb. My husband and I bought our first house last summer and started our landscaping by removing a bunch of buckthorn from our proerty and building a picket fence for the dog. We're now ready to start putting in some shrubs or small trees for privacy where we pulled out the buckthorn. My husband is allergic to lilacs. I don't need a solid wall of privacy, more of a moderate screening. I've found a few appealing options but don't know all that much about them. Any opinions or insight on the following would be appreciated.

Dogwoods - 'Milky Way'

Mockorange

American Holly or Winterberry

Washington Hawthorn

**I've also been noticing these big, beautiful bushes in people's yards with lots of white flowers and someone told me they look like 'Bridal Wreath'

Any of them poisonous to dogs? Will the birds eat the berries or will they be all over my yard? How would you recommend combining maybe two types or would you just pick one?

Thanks.

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Comments (6)

Bob_Zn5
16 years ago
Welcome to Garden Web. With our assistance, you too can spend more resources on plant material than you ever thought possible. :)

Bridal Wreath spirea are blooming now.

Mockorange is a tough old fashioned kind of shrub. They grow quickly with only moderate encouragement. Hawthorn are native to WI, Washington Hawthorn is a popular selection. The ones I've seen are attractive. Crabapples serve a similar purpose in the home landscape. Dogwoods & hollies are on the edge of their hardiness zone here so they can be tricky but I'm not familiar with the varieties you mentioned. Good luck. Try to find selections that grow well in your conditions (ie sun or shade, wet or dry, sandy or clay, etc.)
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
16 years ago
You don't mention your soil (sand, clay, loam) or the light conditions. Cornus kousa 'Milkyway' is a good choice for a flowering dogwood not only for the abundance of floweres, but the kousas are hardier and less disease prone than Cornus florida. If you can give it just a bit of afternoon shade, that would be best. I have a variety called 'Satomi' which is pink flowered, but the flowers aren't as abundant as on 'Milkyway'. They say the fruits are eaten by birds and mine sure disappear, but I have not actually seen anything eat them. The rapsberry shape and color of the fruit is also quite attractive and the tree has a nice wine-red fall color. It makes my top 10 list.

tj
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There are actually quite a few to choose from for Northern Climates. Evergreens include many arborvitae but Techny 'Arborvitae'is the most shade tolerant. They really won't grow that much so buy the height you need and be sure to feed and water these ones. For Taxus you can include Hicks Yew, Capitata Yew, Cuspidata Yew, Taunton Yew. Although they are slow growing, they are tough as nails. Buy them as big as possible. Or try Canadian Hemlock but make sure you can keep the soil moist especially during the 1st month after planting. For Deciduous shrubs you could choose, Witchhazel, Redbud, Pagoda Dogwood, Winterberry, Viburnum Dentatum, Viburnum lantana, Viburnum lentago, Viburnum trilobum, Euonymous alatus 'Chicago Fire' or Tures, Kerria japonica, Northern Bayberry, Snowberry, Clethra, Gray Dogwood, Aronia Chokeberry and Amur maples. All of these will tolerate shade very well but will grow in a more open habit, have less flowers and less fall color. Plant in layers to create the desired screening. Karl
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That's a great choice. Some others are winterberry, mahonia and nandina. These three are everygreen and are berry-producing as well. You may want to google them.
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How much sun does the fence get, and from which side? Yoiu do not want to create a planting that will totally shade out your neighbor's acuba, because that will compound your problem. A neighbor moved behind our house and immediately installed a chain link fence. It is on a bank which used to have attractive shrubs, but he has made it clear he doesn't want anything "touching" his precious fence. Maybe your neighbor believes you are the same way, and is trying to accommodate you by trimming his acuba. Additionally, he may want privacy as much as you do. I would sugest consulting with him, but that does not appear to be an option. The larger ferns, augmented with enormous hostas and such things as ornamenal rhubarb, might be a good way to go. If your neighbor eliminates the acuba, you might want to check into the viburnums. There is a small version of doublefile viburnum which grows fairly rapidly and is an excellent screen, especially in summer. If you want something that is equally effective in winter, you will need to use evergreens such as the rhododendrons suggested above--make certain to obtain a larger variety, as there is tremendous variation. In the meantime, you could plant honeysuckle vines all along the fence to cover it, or vary that with the hops suggested above. Honeysuckle smell nice, if you obtain the right varieties, and I read somewhere that young hop sprouts are considered edible! Of course, there's always bamboo.... (There are clump forming kinds, but I am really joking....)
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Ficus Nitida will not grow reliably in our zone (I'm also in zone 9 in Fresno). They would die on a cold winter. For a hedge, I would recommend some drought tolerant shrubs, considering the water restrictions that are going into play throughout the state. Toyon makes an attractive hedge, as do coyote bush and some ceanothus (Ray Hartman, Mountain Haze, Julia Phelps and Concha varieties). Coyote Bush (baccharis pumilaris - the standard variety, not the low-growing varieties) is has very aromatic foliage. Carpinteria californica is a bit slower growing, but would also make an outstanding, although informal, hedge. Others that come to mind are Myrica californica (Pacific Wax Myrtle) and Umbellaria californica (California Bay Laurel). This last one can be allowed to grow into a small tree as well. Some small trees would look nice planted in a line as well. Brachychiton populneus is an attractive evergreen that requires no summer water once established. Arbutus unedo, or Arbutus unedo 'Marina' are very beautiful small trees as well and would cause no trouble for you and your neighbor. (I would argue that your neighbor isn't particularly concerned with root damage since they planted what looks like 3 coastal redwoods along the fence line.) You will need to take those trees into consideration when selecting what to plant because, depending on what orientation (north, south, east or west) they are from your yard, they may shade your [future] plants. Good luck!
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led_zep_rules
16 years ago
We have two bridal wreath bushes, they are lovely. I would recommend you have a variety of bushes, and intermix them for a more interesting look. Some kind of white dogwood is a horrible weed in our yard, taking over, so be sure if you get some that it isn't horribly invasive. We have some red twig dogwood, that is nice looking and grows larger, but doesn't spread across the yard via roots like the other stuff.

Another choice you might want to consider is golden privet. That is a very yellow-green color, the more sun, the more yellow. Looks nice next to any normal green bush. Also we have something my mom called cardinal shrub, I think actually it is a weigela. Has red flowers in spring, the leaves turn red in the fall. Basically go for things that will look nice just being next to each other, different shapes, colors, and so on. Red twig dogwood next to bridal wreath next to golden privet, etc.

Marcia
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
16 years ago
Marcia- Sounds like your rampant dogwood is Cornus racemosa, the Grey Dogwood. It is a native that has quite the suckering habit. The Cornus kousas are well behaved small (15'x15') trees.

tj
happyday
16 years ago
Arborvitae are tall, dense, narrow, and are evergreen. They are also fairly hardy and require little upkeep.
pondwelr
16 years ago
When I moved to my new home 9 yrs ago, I followed the advice of the guy hired to install my landscaping. I too wanted privacy from the neighboring yards. He stressed going for diversity above all. Variety will discourage an onslaught of diseases and bugs to a particular species.
Then we went for hardiness, wildlife habitat and food, and differing heights. The result is wonderful. I have white oak, maples, birches, 4 serviceberry, 4 'Chicago Luster' virburnum bushes, cedars, juniper and one huge white pine.
Two upright junipers got a rust disease, and will have to go. The nice thing is, nothing else is affected, and it wont mar the all over affect of my lot line beds. Can you imagine if you had one solid hedge of say, cedars, and some had to be removed? Pretty ugly.
I like to go for leaf color variety above all. Blossoms are so fleeting, but a mix of red, purple and green and yello leaved trees and shrubs is stunning.
This year, kill the grass and put a heavy layer of wood chips down. (Free from most recycling municipal works)
Next Spring do the planting. Summer heat stresses everything. Good luck with your project. Pondy

Choosing shrubs or trees for privacy

Comments (6)

Bob_Zn5

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱

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led_zep_rules

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱

happyday

pondwelr

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