I'm looking to make a privacy screen at least 10-15 ft or taller. I
need a plant that has leaves all year (evergreen) and will grow as tall
and thick as possible in the shortest amount of time. Also, and this
is important, it needs to be able to do so in shady conditions.

I've experimented with giant thuja, several bamboos, and lorrell. Any
better suggestions?

"joe" wrote in message
ps.com...
I'm looking to make a privacy screen at least 10-15 ft or taller. I
need a plant that has leaves all year (evergreen) and will grow as tall
and thick as possible in the shortest amount of time. Also, and this
is important, it needs to be able to do so in shady conditions.

I've experimented with giant thuja, several bamboos, and lorrell. Any
better suggestions?


What if you planted a vine? Trumpet honeysuckle, and hall's honeysuckle come
to mind. Fairly fast growing, easily grows above the fence line.

There are some kinds of cherry laurel that would suit your purposes. Thick
screening foliage, tolerance for shady conditions. But I don't know about
speed of growth - that probably would depend upon your climate and moisture
conditions. Otherwise, the vine idea isn't bad, if you already have a
structure there to support them - regular ivy will cover a chain link fence
for instance, and is evergreen.
"Snooze" wrote in message
et...

"joe" wrote in message
ps.com...
I'm looking to make a privacy screen at least 10-15 ft or taller. I
need a plant that has leaves all year (evergreen) and will grow as tall
and thick as possible in the shortest amount of time. Also, and this
is important, it needs to be able to do so in shady conditions.

I've experimented with giant thuja, several bamboos, and lorrell. Any
better suggestions?


What if you planted a vine? Trumpet honeysuckle, and hall's honeysuckle
come to mind. Fairly fast growing, easily grows above the fence line.

joe wrote:
I'm looking to make a privacy screen at least 10-15 ft or taller. I
need a plant that has leaves all year (evergreen) and will grow as tall
and thick as possible in the shortest amount of time. Also, and this
is important, it needs to be able to do so in shady conditions.

I've experimented with giant thuja, several bamboos, and lorrell. Any
better suggestions?



I was gonna say bamboo, but you already mentioned that.

How about kudzu? You'll have to provide some support for it -- at least
initially.

Bob

On Sat, 18 Feb 2006 11:24:06 -0600, zxcvbob
wrote:

joe wrote:
I'm looking to make a privacy screen at least 10-15 ft or taller. I
need a plant that has leaves all year (evergreen) and will grow as tall
and thick as possible in the shortest amount of time. Also, and this
is important, it needs to be able to do so in shady conditions.

I've experimented with giant thuja, several bamboos, and lorrell. Any
better suggestions?



I was gonna say bamboo, but you already mentioned that.

How about kudzu? You'll have to provide some support for it -- at least
initially.

Bob
How about not. Kudzu is a wildly invasive plant that has taken over
many native ecosystems. It is banned in many areas. Please do not
plant more of it.

For the OP, you might try yaupon holly or wax myrtle. Since you don't
give a location, these may not do well for you. Either way, yaupon
probably won't be a really fast grower, but would be respectable in
that regard (depending on variety--avoid dwarf varieties, of course).

k

"zxcvbob" wrote in message
...
I was gonna say bamboo, but you already mentioned that.

How about kudzu? You'll have to provide some support for it -- at least
initially.

I assume the kudzu suggestion was a joke. Planting kudzu is a very bad idea.
A highly invasive plant that grows extremely fast, and quickly takes over
entire areas. A quick search on google for kudzu should show you why kudzu
is a bad plant outside of their native areas.

-S

Snooze wrote:
"zxcvbob" wrote in message
...

I was gonna say bamboo, but you already mentioned that.

How about kudzu? You'll have to provide some support for it -- at least
initially.


I assume the kudzu suggestion was a joke. Planting kudzu is a very bad idea.
A highly invasive plant that grows extremely fast, and quickly takes over
entire areas. A quick search on google for kudzu should show you why kudzu
is a bad plant outside of their native areas.

-S




It was a joke -- one of those "not really funny, but kind of funny
because it's so inappropriate" kind of jokes. ;-) (the "at least
initially" part was supposed to give it away)

Bob

On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 13:12:34 -0600, zxcvbob
wrote:

Snooze wrote:
"zxcvbob" wrote in message
...

I was gonna say bamboo, but you already mentioned that.

How about kudzu? You'll have to provide some support for it -- at least
initially.


I assume the kudzu suggestion was a joke. Planting kudzu is a very bad idea.
A highly invasive plant that grows extremely fast, and quickly takes over
entire areas. A quick search on google for kudzu should show you why kudzu
is a bad plant outside of their native areas.

-S




It was a joke -- one of those "not really funny, but kind of funny
because it's so inappropriate" kind of jokes. ;-) (the "at least
initially" part was supposed to give it away)

Bob
The problem with a "joke" like that is that this group tends to
attract neophytes who assume they are getting expert advice. Us
insiders might get it, while the OP is out looking for the cheapest
source of perhaps the worst plant possible.

As someone who values good writing, I bristle at the use of emoticons
to convey meaning, but in this case I think it would have been a good
idea.

k

by "native areas" i assume you mean JAPAN from whence it originally was
brought to "renew and rejuvenate" the soil of the post-war south (post CIVIL
war, that is)??

actually, whilst visiting the atlanta botanical gardens some years back, i
asked the cashier in the gift shop whether they sold seed for kudzu and she
looked at me as if i'd just landed from another planet---as well she
should--IF...IF i lived in a kudzu zone; but, i explained to her i lived in
utah, usda zone UT5b and it would definitely die when winter came but
perhaps during the spring and summer months it might rejuvenate MY dead soil
(yeah, i know....you're all laughing your boots off....but you gotta
understand, all this happened BEFORE i went to skool to learn about plants
and stuff). i, myself, almost died laughing when the horror on the woman's
face extended to her next statement; to wit:

"Y'all DON'T WANT KUDZU!!!!!!!!!! Why, y'all kin heer kudzu GROW!!!!"

well, i was right---it died when the temp hit below 30F and my attempt to
winter them over by pot-planting them and bringing them in was an abysmal
failure (sigh) as was 99% of almost everything else i "TRIED" to grow in
those days.
--
With Malus toward none, and Cherry-Trees toward all.



How about kudzu? You'll have to provide some support for it -- at least
initially.

I assume the kudzu suggestion was a joke. Planting kudzu is a very bad idea.
A highly invasive plant that grows extremely fast, and quickly takes over
entire areas. A quick search on google for kudzu should show you why kudzu
is a bad plant outside of their native areas.