What to plant as a shield from the neighbors?

Question

We live in the Austin, Texas area, so our climate is hot and somewhat dry and our soil hard and not very good. Our yard is domiated both above (shade much of the day) and below (many roots) by live oak trees.

I want to plant some tall hedges or shrubs along a fence to shield us from our neighbors (we can see right over the fence into each other's houses). To give whatever I plant a fighting chance, I am going to create a raised bed and augment the sprinker system to help them get established before they have to compete with the oaks for water and soil.

- Any suggestions on the plan in general are welcome.

- Any suggestions on the plant to choose. We have 'red tips'

elsewhere and they do a good job, but my wife is sick of them. I want something else with many of the same properties as a red tip (evergreen, tall, thick, hearty, fast growing). Any thoughts? One suggestion has been a wax leaf Ligustrum. I also am considering crape myrtles.

Answer 1

Maybe cleyera. I hear they are a good screen type plant for privacy and fairly fast growers. My aunt has some about as tall as her house. They are pretty. I have 4 of them and when the new foliage grows its a pretty orangy -red color.

Answer 2

leyland cyprus.

Its an evergreen that grows pretty quick. I planted  a few here in VA about 5 years ago. They were knee high when I planted them and now the biggest one is 12+ feet tall.

Answer 3

In Massachusetts (Region 6) I've planted an evergreen called Thuja Green Giant.  I ordered it online from a company in March of 2006, planted the 6' trees 6' apart and they're already touching, even though it will be another year for a privacy screen.  The top of the trees are already about 12' high (conical).  In ideal conditions they say they'll get to 40'.  We'll see.

I would think they'd go well in Austin, better than Massachusetts, but here is a google search for some suppliers.  They grow about 3 to 5 feet/year, are deer resistant, disease resistant and I've been happy with them.

Good luck.

Answer 4

When I lived in Georgia, I found hollies to provide a nice screen from my redneck neighbor's collection of old vehicles in his front yard and it also kept his kids out.  The climate was hot and dry like yours.  The green foliage and red berries were nice.  

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Answer 5

you should plant a weeping willow tree

we planted one about 5  years ago

it was just a stick when we planted it

now it shades our hole back yard

and we have a huge back yard.

for along the fence.. maybe some grape vines??

please answer mine too

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