check out the link .... look for screens ... or windbreaks .. and that is basically what you are looking for ... plants in quantity are extremely cheap.. if you buy small... and this place offers such ... also.. your local county extension office ... or soil conservation dist office.. might also offer said plants.. in the proper planting season ... small and cheap ... [a windbreak is soil conservation by definition] ... what ever you decide.. diversify.. planting 100 of any single plant.. is asking for trouble.. somewhere down the line ... planting 33 of 3 types.. makes your original quandary of what to pick.. irrelevant.. lol .. some of each is the proper answer.. lol .. ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

oakleafs grow at a decent clip, but i don't know how much the clay might slow them down. i planted mine in clay and it has tripled in size over about 5-7 yrs. was about 2' when i planted it- is about 6' all around now. i don't know what size the pot was, but it very well could have been 3 gallon. i haven't babied it at all- if you watered & or fertilized, the growth might be faster. nice flowers that persist. and remember, oafleafs are deciduous, so your screen will be bare come winter. i have a weeping yaupon in pretty heavy shade, and it's done well. i didn't plant it there, and in fact didn't know what it was for a long time. i think it must have been planted 20 yrs ago. there's a second one that's very stunted beside it. it's nice and dense and is about 10' tall. doesn't bloom or set as many berries in the sahde, but the form is still nice. althea(rose of sharon) can do ok in light shade and has the advantage of fast growth and nice blooms in a range of colors half the summer. disadvantage- it sets seeds. if you mulched well it might not be a problem. it's also deciduous. if you find someone who has them, they'd be happy to share, probably. i know i will if you want some. we had one that was about 15-20' in the backyard before fran came through. the remaining ones are about 12'. you might consider planting 2 or 3 types of plants in your space, just to vary it a bit, and so that if any one thing doesn't do well, the others can carry its weight. it tends to look a lot more natural, too. you can have your cake & eat it too if you have some evergreen & some deciduous back there. i would think for most things planting now would be just fine. good luck! tammy

nami, I love coco plum, especially since it is a native, here in Orl it is sensitive to frost. One year it got them all the way to the ground, last year just hit certain branches and tips. Maybe surrounding a pool with the water would keep them safe in a 9b. I know I see them used in the Melbourne area, which is more coastal than Orlando. Come to think of it hibiscus is frost sensitive too, just recovers alot quicker. I have thyrallis and bottle brush as screens for the pool area. There is also crepe myrtle, which allows even more privacy in the summer when it is needed.

There are also some indigenous (to Melbourne) plants that would be ideal and faster growing. Dodonaea viscosa - Pittosporum like and closely related to them. Has masses of bright earthy red seed capsules in spring. Myoporum viscosum - grows 2-3m wide as well as 2-3m tall. You would have to maintain this one as a hedge to fit it into the space available. But it is a very attractive plant if regularly pruned. Spyridium parvifolium - box like shrub Bursaria spinosa - also called native box or sweet bursaria and has masses of tiny white fragrant flowers in spring/summer.