On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 12:07:47 -0800,
(paghat) wrote:

In article , wrote:

On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 05:39:14 GMT, Chuckles wrote:

Our neighbor is putting up an ugly addition, and we would like to screen it
with something evergreen ASAP. It doesn't have to be more than 12-13ft, but
it would sure be nice to have it get to a functional size fast, not in 10
or 20 years.

We also don't have much distance between the houses, so it can't be a very
deep screen, i.e. the plants have to be narrow.

Any suggestions would be very gratefully received.

It would help readers to know your location and conditions (soil, sun,
moisture, etc). Sorry I don't have any suggestions other than a
privacy fence. I've seen some ugly fences in addition to ugly
additions.

I had a similar problem and used Rose of Sharon which grows fast and
narrow, although it is deciduous and I don't use the backyard much
during the winter anyway. I planted each plant just far apart so that
the mower fits between them. After five years, it grew over 8 feet
tall, blooms in summer, attracts hummingbirds, and seems to attract
ladybugs. The space between the plants has now filled in with young
plants and instead of mowing, they are mulched. It is trimmed every
fall. Another neighbor put up an ugly shed and it is masked from view
with forsythia, but this plant uses lots of space.

A rose of sharon hedge would be just so great.Have you multiple varieties
in the hedge? What varieties? I have the common blue one which suckers &
spreads very fast, & a sterile pink one that is more compact & doesn't
spread. I've seen them in other folks yards, some of them twelve or more
feet tall, floppy, & with enormous flowers; I don't think mine would get
that big even if I didn't prune them. They certainly grow fast.

-paghat thte ratgirl

I'm not sure about the variety. The flowers are about 3" and are
various colors, although all came from the same source. I got them
from my mother who lived in Cleveland, Ohio, but they grow great in
hot-and-humid east Tennessee. Pruning them helps make them bushy and
more formal looking. They produce a lot of seed pods, which is when I
prune them back. The seeds that sprout in the lawn get mowed and
eventually die. They are tough plants. In another location I have a
hibiscus that dies completely to the ground, then comes up in late
spring and produces huge 12" round tropical-like flowers, some folks
call them "dinner-plate hibiscus."