Tall Plants for Screening
- Hedges provide privacy and noise reduction.Isolated hedge image by Pamela Uyttendaele from Fotolia.com
In addition to blocking unattractive views and providing additional privacy, plants used as screens also reduce noise, especially in urban areas where noise is refracted off the pavement or other buildings. Rows of plants provide the most noise reduction, according to the University of Tennessee Extension. Many trees and plants used as screens are low maintenance and fast growing. Remember to space all screening plants appropriately to provide adequate air circulation and reduce the spread of disease. - American arborvitae is also known as white cedar. It grows into a dense, pyramid-like shape and attains a height of 40 to 50 feet. There are dwarf varieties, as well as rounded or globe-shaped cultivars. Arborvitae requires little to no pruning. Its foliage ranges in color from yellow to bluish and shades of green. The interior foliage turns brown and drops every year in the fall. Bagworm can be a problem for arborvitae.
- Leyland cypress is a rapidly growing evergreen tree and can grow three to four feet per year under the right conditions. It is best suited for use in large-scale landscapes where it can grow into its natural shape and attain its maximum height of 50 feet or more, but it is generally too big for residential landscapes. Leyland cypress has a dense oval/pyramidal shape when left unpruned, but will tolerate severe trimming to create a formal screen or hedge. Its foliage is dark blue-green in its maturity and a soft green when it is young. It grows well and quickly, even in poor soils and is tolerant of salt spray. Bagworm can be a serious problem for Leyland cypress, completely defoliating the tree in a matter of weeks, and it is not recommended for use in California due to the severity of a canker disease.
- Rose of Sharon is a medium to large shrub that is often grown as a small tree. It grows 15 feet tall and wide and is hardy to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) zone 5. It is also known as shrub althea or hibiscus. Its flowers resemble those of hollyhocks, one of its relatives. They are red, pink, white, purple or a combination of these colors. Flowers come in single or double varieties and grow on new growth to appear in mid-summer and continue until the arrival of hard frosts in the fall. If you prune it back before new growth appears, there will be fewer but larger flowers. Rose of Sharon is attractive to hummingbirds and bees.
- Clematis is a member of the buttercup family. There are 250 species in the genus, many of which are deciduous climbing plants with a few evergreens and a few herbaceous plants. Clematis is hardy to USDA zone 3 and can survive more than 25 years. Because clematis grasps by twining petioles, it is best used as a screen to cover a chain-link fence or another type of support that is thin and wire-like. Unfortunately, clematis is a tangle of bare stems in the winter. It requires full sun but some dappled shade in the afternoon will prevent red and blue flowers from fading. Clematis will easily take over the whole garden if allowed.
