Privacy plants?

[Brittany1116]

We now have a need for additional privacy above the level of our 6 foot fence in one area of the yard. I'm thinking a row of bushes that have slim profile. Anyone have suggestions for plants/bushes that would grow 8-9' and not be terribly wide, prickly, or intolerant of Florida weather and soil (sand)?

[Katy]

Look into: Bougainvillea (Tree form, not vines), Crepe myrtle, and Azaleas (some varieties  grow 20’ tall). 

[MEmama]

Lilacs are grown here for that use, but idk if they grow in Florida? 

[Dianthus]

We had Italian cypress in San Diego. Assume they'd grow in FL. They are evergreen and will get tall but you can crop the tops.

[sgo95]

How about Emerald Green Arborvitae? It will grow to 10-15ft and doesn't take up too much horizontal space.

[Bootsie]

Bamboo?

[Grace Hopper]

1 hour ago, Bootsie said:

Bamboo?

Bamboo in a warm climate can take over a yard pretty quick. 

[gardenmom5]

Arborvitea

Pencil holly

Italian cypress

[Bambam]

Maybe Oleanders (assuming you have no small children or pets who might munch on the plants, that is.
I appreciate the fact they always have green leaves so they work all year and not just during the summer. 
Plus they require no work and grow and grow and grow. You will have to trim them probably once a year though. 

ETA: We are in TX, and they seem to grow in every soil type here. We had a week long freeze in 2021, and the bushes all died back to the snow line (very usual to have that much snow and cold for that long here). We just pruned them back. They were up to 3' by the end of the summer. 

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Bambam

[Brittany1116]

Thank you for replies! I will look into these. Bamboo would be too invasive here (we have friends a few miles away fighting it for years), and our bougainvillea and crepe myrtles don't give quite the coverage or shape we are looking for. But the rest are things we need to investigate.  🙂

[Bootsie]

We have also had some tall Nandina that provides a good deal of and survives the heat

[gardenmom5]

3 hours ago, Brittany1116 said:

Thank you for replies! I will look into these. Bamboo would be too invasive here (we have friends a few miles away fighting it for years), and our bougainvillea and crepe myrtles don't give quite the coverage or shape we are looking for. But the rest are things we need to investigate.  🙂

A friend bought ?copper mesh baskets? for her bamboo.  She got very big bamboo stalks that stayed where it was planted.  Since it was out front, someone offered her money for the stalks.

 

Bamboo hates copper.

[MorningGlory]

I recently planted some Linebacker Distylium to help with privacy along a property boundary. I think they will be awesome when they reach full-size, but it's going to take several years. 

https://firsteditionsplants.com/product/linebacker-distylium/

[Melissa in Australia]

Camelia

Pittosporum

Gravilleas

[Melissa in Australia]

Pop a lattice on top of the fence and plant vines like passionflower

Edited April 6, 2022 by Melissa in Australia

[Tree Frog]

4 hours ago, Brittany1116 said:

Thank you for replies! I will look into these. Bamboo would be too invasive here (we have friends a few miles away fighting it for years), and our bougainvillea and crepe myrtles don't give quite the coverage or shape we are looking for. But the rest are things we need to investigate.  🙂

There are 2 different kinds of bamboo. If you get the clumping bamboo, you should be ok.

[Tree Frog]

3 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

Pop a lattice on top of the fence and plant vines like passionflower

Be aware, though, that passionflower vine is pretty aggressive. I made the mistake of planting one plant 7 years ago and a different type of passionflower last year. I've been digging up about 30 starts each spring of the first type. The second type, a native, has already popped up 4 starts. I'm so tired of pulling those up. It's a beautiful flower and is a host plant for gulf fritillary butterfly, but it's not well behaved. Also, be aware here is south central Texas, it loses it's leaves each winter, so it might not work for what you're looking for.