Our native plants feed the pollinators. The plants from China don't. Here in Central Texas, we have areas that are void of life because all of native plants have been displaced by plants whose heritage goes back to China... which doesn't feed any of our bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and so forth. Absolutely untrue!! Non-native plants do indeed support birds, bees, butterflies and other pollinators. It is a fallacy to think otherwise. And many do so just as effectively and attract as wide a 'clientele' as do native plants! I’m thinking of buying the Wax Crepe Myrtle shrubs not the trees. There are wax myrtles and there are crape myrtles but there is no such plant as a wax crape myrtle. Wax myrtle is botanically Morella cerifera, an evergreen shrub. Crape myrtle is Lagerstroemia indica, a deciduous shrub or small tree. One is native and one is not. Lots of BS posted on these forums. One needs to be careful about the info they are taking away as a lot of it is garbage!

Not an easy task :-) The plants can be both dioecious or monoecious - generally nursery plants are selected for monoecious characteristics so that berrying is guaranteed. If you obtained cuttings from one of these, then your question is moot. Otherwise, the only way to determine the sex of individual plants is by examining the flowers, or in the absence of any flowers, if the cuttings are already bearing fruit or remnants of old fruit..

Thanks for all these ideas! A couple of answers: Deer are not a problem. There are tons in the vicinity thanks to a lot of nearby nature, but our house is on a busy-ish street so in 20yrs we've probably had a deer on our lawn only a handful of times. We would like a hedge with some height. Our lot is small, houses here are mostly 8-10 feet apart, and our neighbors' driveway runs on the property line. Their house is unfortunately a DIY salvage job being used for AirBnB, which means the very small driveway is filled with cars. I'd like something that screens that view from my front door and windows and which will hopefully prevent their "guests" from using our front lawn as a turnaround! I'd rather spend money on greenery than on a fence! The photo below is from a house nearby and it's the general idea of what I'm aiming for.

OK Jeff, I think you need to give us some dimensions to work with. Many trees should not be planted near the house because of their size and it makes it difficult to maintain the siding, utilities, etc. So there are several kinds of Mag virginiana. Mag. virginiana var. australis is evergreen. So if you like those, you should get a var. australis. They can get quite large though. Named varieties of that might include 'Henry Hicks', ‘Apalache’ , or 'Moonglow', if you can find them. Ask for an evergreen one at your better garden center. But try to find someone who really knows Magnolias. You don't want a deciduous one. I have a variegated one called 'Mattie Mae Smith'. Sweet bay magnolies are not known to be particularly dense though. So maybe not the best for screening unless you have a lot of space to let it get big. For a protected and sheltered spot, some of the Magnolia figo (Banana shrub) varieties might work. I have 'Stellar Ruby' which is taking on a compact upright form. There are other less spiny hollies. Check out Ilex x 'Virginia'. It's available at Merrifield Garden Center. It's beautiful! There's a similar one called 'Scepter', which can be seen at Green Spring Gardens behind the visitor center. But it's hard to locate in commerce. I was able to find one in Baltimore and it's a really nice small tree! Other less spiny hollies (but hard to find) include 'Spartan', x wandoensis, Blue Maid, Castle Spire. Some of the Japanese hollies can grow big and can be sheared. No spines! They appreciate a bit of shade and good drainage. Hollies will stand up to snow loads much better than Wax Myrtle, by the way. Osmanthus x burkwoodii has small leaves and white flowers in early spring. Can be sheared into a very compact upright conical shape. If you can find it. Ilex integra is a spineless species of holly that is quite nice. Mine, called 'Ogon', has new bright yellow-green foliage in spring and early summer. You can probably only get that one through mail-order. Prunus laurocerasus 'schipkaensis' is always a good bet, if you can keep it watered during droughts. There's also an evergreen Dogwood, Cornus capitata 'Empress of China'. Really nice! If you can find it. Sometimes Merrifield carries it. It's more of a spreading small tree. Prunus caroliniana 'Bright n Tight' is a more compact Caroline cherry laurel. If you have a somewhat shady location, Camellia japonica is always nice, but slow growing. If deer are not an issue, there are Euonymus japonicus varieties - some all-green, some variegated, like 'Silver King'. But be warned, they are just about the favorite winter food of deer. Aucuba japonica tends to get wide, but can be sheared more upright. Very dense and prefers some shade. Deer will eat this too. Ternstroemia gymnanthera(so-called Cleyera) is a nice spineless upright grower with really glossy leaves. Not much for blooming, but would be attractive as large shrub/small tree. Deer don't bother mine. Beyond broad-leafed evergreens there are many conifers that are upright and narrow.