Fast growing tall privacy screen and tree for sunset zone 17?

6 years ago

Hello,

We recently bought a house in sunset zone 17, (after a condo with tiny patio borders we finally have a front and back yard!) and there are some area of our yard that we'd like to screen better from neighbor's view. On one side there is the 2 story house (ours is single story) large blank wall looming over our yard. On the back there is a glimpse of the neighbor's RV parked, and their driveway passes our side patio.

I've considered building some wire trellises and planting some fast growing evergreen vines like trumpet or star jasmine - I love bougainvillea but hate the thorns, so I don't want one close to the patio though the side of the backyard would be ok.

And for the front yard - which is currently Bermuda grass "lawn", which we will be removing and replacing with water wise landscaping and have reserved our CA turf removal rebate, so we need to use plants from their approved low water use list for this project. We will want at least one small tree for the front - of course the usual... root system that won't break into or water or sewer lines, crack our driveway or sidewalk. Evergreen would be good and something low and shrubby to screen the street out front (but still considered a "tree" for he rebate). i like fruitless olives but they are so pricey and slow growing, so a small one wouldn't be nice for years... we are on a tight budget.

Featured Answer

hoovb zone 9 sunset 23

6 years ago

How wide/long are the spaces you are talking about? Photos would be helpful.

What do you mean by "small"? For tree growers, a "small" tree is 25'-35' feet.

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Comments (8)

stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Pittosporums of various types. All thrive in z17. Its why you see so many in GGP. They aren't weedy fast though and that's a good thing.

Then there is always old faithful Xylosma. Drought tolerant. Photinia's, Escallonia's. All popular with citys who dont have time for fussy.

You could even use young live Oak tree's to make a tall hedge. Looks good too. Monterey Cypress and Redwoods can be a tall hedge. All love a z17.

Those last- need pruning. Not plant and walk away!
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Before using Photinia fraseri, check to see that it does not suffer from fungal disease problems there. I'm still laboring--some--under the belief that clipped photinia suffers much more from this condition, while the tree form Photinia (where the top is allowed to grow uncut) is able to flourish. Miscanthus giganteus seems like it could be interesting, but also seems like it has the potential to overwhelm, if not watched. Many deciduous shrubs could be grown as trees. If pollarded annually, they would form dense branch clusters, so would screen during the winter. I would consider those as a possibility, too.
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OK, I just found a potential tree for you! How about a Black Alder tree? I was researching Nitrogen Fixing trees and found this, then I thought about you :) http://advancedtree.com/tree_blackalder.htm "The Black Alder grows vigorously and has a central leader tendency. Its leaves remain dark, glossy green late into the fall. The Alder converts nitrogen from the air into its own fertilizer, producing a growth rate of up to 6 feet per year. With a total growth of 60ft by 20 to 24ft, it can be used as a screen or shade tree. (For Screening and windbreak plant trees 6 to 10 ft. apart.) The Black Alder needs plenty of moisture to get established and will grow in heavily compacted soil if a moderate amount of water is available. Alder will grow in extremely wet conditions." It grows in zones 4-7. I'm thinking of planting this in my side yard to replace a giant old Spruce that was uprooted during a Nor'Easter last month. I need some fast privacy and the soil is pure clay. 25 feet wide is perfect, and 60 ft. high isn't bad either. You will have a hard time finding something that fits your height requirement that doesn't require maintenance, so this seems to fit the bill best.
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Your probably bang on with the cedars however they will take a long time to fill in an area. They don't require a lot of work compared to a vine generally speaking. I certainly don't recommend vines to fill your need because the privacy they give would generally be subject to the season. Below are some comments on the ones I have experience with. Most of the summer one of my chain link fences gets covered in Clematis Tangutica. I think it was called Clematis Bill MacKenzie. Its an amazing mess of yellow flowers. The nice thing with Bill MacKenzie was how fast it fills in during the spring over my other vines. I do have other clematis but nothing as bushy and filling as Bill MacKenzie. You could also look at Virginia Creeper but be careful as it can get out of control very fast. The neighbor behind our house has his crawling over his back fence snaking through the back lane and strangling parts of my garden. If you don't mind planting annuals every year you could try morning glories depending on the size / height of the area you want to cover. I've had good experience with morning glories all over my limited space. I'd seriously consider a long term investment though like cedars or some other type of bush. Evergreens for your area will give you all season privacy. Or if winter privacy isn't a big deal consider an edible bush like saskatoons. Well my 2 cents.
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Thanks everyone for the feedback!! I bit the bullet and just finished planting 3 Leyland Cypress. I know it will be a chore to keep them in check if I do hedge them and I have the enough garden space to allow the growth. Actually, I think this is the first time I have planted something this large. They will add some dimension to the garden which is a plus. I do have one more question: When I took them out of the pots and removed the ties and burlap, they were in heavy clay type soil and not a lot of roots. They were in 3.5 gallon containers. The growth is about 3 feet high and wide. I loosened and removed some to most of the soil. Is this normal to have so little roots?
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PRO
Red Berm
6 years ago
For drought tolerant friendly plants feel free to check out my profile we have done a number of drought tolerant turf replacements. Also for a hedge anything that grows 10' get's 3' wide, ligustrum texanum, podocarpus, bush cherry, etc.. and all need water. It is what it is a plant needs water to get tall.
Tmnca
Original Author
6 years ago
I tried to upload photos before but gardenweb wasn't letting me - trying again!

i know all plants need water and new plantings especially - I'm just looking for the lowest water use ones. Redwoods would invade everything with roots and I don't think neighbors would appreciate them planted 5' from their house!

Also we have a toddler so no toxic berries or poisonous plants.

Sounds like pittosporum is a good choice. I'll upload pics later if I can. Thank goodness we are not in the fire zone but the smoke is still unhealthy out there
Tmnca
Original Author
6 years ago
Here's a photo of the neighboring house from our yard. We haven't done anything with our yard yet, this is what we are starting with.
stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
6 years ago
Hmm,why a solid block of green? A trio of King palms in front of that home would look good. Its like a blank canvas..paint something nice rather then a solid color.

If not palms..how about something like a lacy Japanese maple? Or a weeping tree?

Silk floss tree would look great for years fronting that. Dry Garden always has them.

Then of course there is the whole range of drought tree's and shrubs. Pick one that makes a nice profile.

The rest of that fence could be the hedge areas.
emmarene9
6 years ago
Tmnca, in the photo above what are the plants to the right and left of the big blank wall? They seem to need some attention.

I think a Ray Hartman Ceanothus would be good in that space if the conditions are right.

Have you ever been to Annie's Annuals in Richmond? They have a lot of interesting plants there.
Tmnca
Original Author
5 years ago
Just getting back to this now. The plant on he left is a wonderful thriving but unruly-looking lemon tree. I’m not sure the variety but it has been producing delicious juicy lemons since December (all our friends and neighbors have been well supplied!). I’m not sure whether I should prune it for appearance since it’s thriving so well.

The green “stuff” on the right is a big mess of things - in winter we discovered a nice flowing quince behind, covered with brambles, an old grape vine, and underneath some aloes and some yucky invasive species. There’s some kind of fruit tree in there maybe peach or plum but it’s gone wild, and an apple tree sapling planted in front. All in about 10x10’. We removed some of the brambles and invasive but for now left the rest so we don’t have to look at the neighbor’s deck there.

We ended up planting a toyon, a coffeeberry and a Ray Hartman along that fence line. The lemon tree will stay but I hope to gradually prune back the sad stone-fruit tree and remove it as the toyon replaces it, and I should probably transplant the apple tree and the grapevine to a more suitable location this fall after they go dormant. We had too much more pressing to do on the house last fall/winter. Will I likely kill them if I try to transplant?

Fast growing tall privacy screen and tree for sunset zone 17?

hoovb zone 9 sunset 23

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stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area

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Fast growing tall privacy screen and tree for sunset zone 17?

hoovb zone 9 sunset 23

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stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area

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