Thanks so much ken. I will take a photo later today and post. I'm sure that will help.

There is about 3-4 feet between our house and the fence separating our property and the neighbor. We owned a house in NYC that constantly had sewage problems ( London plain tree roots digging into pipes, ) so we're skittish about planting anything with roots that may be aggressive. Granted those were huge trees but still we're so anxious about plumbing now! :)

In New York City you probably had cast iron drain (waste) pipes that were likely joined with a lead & Oakum seal. They tend to leak, especially after a few years. The moisture makes for a good root growing medium, especially for a London Plane with aggressive roots.
Plastic pipes used today don't have that problem so shouldn't be a problem with whatever plant you choose.
I'm not so sure Hakuro Nishiki is the right plant, as pretty as it is. Unsheared, it can get too wide for your situation, plus it's deciduous.
Mike....waiting for a picture.

link

what mike is talking about.. is referenced in the pic at the link above ... this is turn of the last century sewer technology ...

new construction with SEALEd pvc .. makes the concern irellevant ... trees can not break into a system .. they can only take advantage of an already problematic sewer ...

same with an already cracked foundation wall ...

the age of your house.. will probably tell what you have underground... if the neighbors can not ..;

i think.. if you look at the pix at this link ... you should come to appreciate.. that 3 or 4 feet is not really an option ..

link 2

in fact.. at this point.. i cant think of much of anything that will grow to height.. that will fit in 3 or 4 feet ... but would still like to see the pic ...

ken

Thank you Ken and Mike. Sadly I got home late from errands and totally forgot about snapping a photo. (might have been too dark anyway.) I will def. try to remember tonight or tomorrow. I know this is a poor substitute but I found this image on google maps of our house (from the front so can't see the side so well but I highlighted with a red line the area I am talking about.

It really is just 3-4 feet to work with between our house and the fence that separates us from the blue house. If I'm understanding you correctly Ken you don't think we can plant anything there for screening because there is not enough space. So bummed! (Hate to open the shades and see the people in the blue house standing out and smoking : (

oh and I want to mention that this is a pretty long corridor (if you can call it that) it's the entire side of the house I would guess --though I suck at estimates-- about 30 feet. And currently it is somewhat overrun with weeds. The previous owners put down lots of rock to prevent the weeds from coming up but it hasn't been doing the trick really.

-- Neomi

These are sold as shrubs and as trees, where the variegated willow is grafted on the top of a straight piece of another kind of willow. So the rooting characteristics of the latter combination will depend upon which particular kind of willow was used as the stock by the wholesale grower.

Like other trees, tree shape dappled willows will register as accent points in the landscape and should not be crowded into narrow spaces or other locations where a tree will not look comfortable or visually appropriate. Like other willows this cultivar may develop dead twigs or branch sections due to pathogenic blights, so that established specimens may best be cut back to just outside old wood early every spring. This means that the tops of specimens so maintained do not grow as freely and large as those that are not cut back frequently may.

It should love being planted on moist soil. Otherwise a site conditions preference that matters with this particular kind of willow is that the palest, most abnormal sections of the foliage are prone to sun burn and will turn brown if a planting site is too exposed. Otherwise, like other willows the parent species is a full sun plant - when choosing a location for the variegated form one that splits the difference successfully needs to be found.

ack. sorry one more thing to let you know. Our house was built in the 50s so I'm not sure what kind of pipes are underground. The pipes in the house are also in need of eventual replacement . (Old Galvanized pipes just can't afford to redo all the plumbing now). However we have no foundation issues at all.

Also thank you for the link above about tree roots. It is so interesting, I wish we knew about copper sulfate before.

Thank you Embothrium. I like the shrub version vs. the tree like version of this plant but I see what you are saying. It does not seem to be a good choice for this spot at all, esp. if we need to trim it down every year. I need to figure out if there is anything we can plant there that would be a good choice and provide some screening.

Try to find a columnar growing shrub that is not very wide to put in that area.

Sky Pencil Holly might work ok for you.

thanks tlbean. I'll look into that one.

your immediate solution ... is a window film ... allowing in light.. yet blocking the direct view ... i used the classic tiffany wisteria format ... rather cheap.. and very simple to apply ...

link

then you can fool around with trying to get a plant .... which i still doubt.. the pic is worse than i pictured ...

ken

Perched appearance of house calls for pyramidal shrubs of adequate height at corners to tie it down visually. Would not use a matching pair (two of same kind) as house facade is not geometrically symmetric.

Do you want to be able to pass through that area? Are there height restrictions on fences in your area? Even a narrow shrub with a 3' space might be too much. How much sun does the area get? I might think about getting a nice tall trellis and finding a clematis or other vine appropriate to the growing conditions that will grow just taller than the top of your trellis if there is enough sun.