Privacy Screening with Well-Behaved Plants

Standard 6-foot fences often fail to block views of neighboring rooflines or multi-story buildings, and building codes rarely allow taller structures. While fast-growing hedges like Pittosporum eugenioides can become maintenance nightmares, there's a better solution: select screening plants that grow quickly enough to provide privacy within a few years but stay manageable without constant pruning.

Expert Recommendations

Landscape architect Lisa Moulton of Redwood City, California, favors dense, small-leafed evergreens. "Brush cherry is one of the best," she says. "The lower leaves hang on even as the plant ages, and growth stays fairly narrow." Designer Abbey Kletz of Berkeley prefers plants with varied textures, such as black bamboo and photinia, to create intimate, private spaces with interesting foliage.

Top 9 Plants for Screening

Black Bamboo

New culms are green, turning black in the second year. Leaves are greenish-yellow. To restrain spread, install an 18- to 24-inch-wide aluminum barrier and limit water after the first year. 10–15 feet tall. Full sun to part shade. Zones 4–9, 14–24.

Brush Cherry (Syzygium paniculatum)

Young foliage is reddish-bronze; mature leaves are 1½–3 inches long, glossy green. Can reach 30+ feet but easily trimmed to 10 feet. Full sun to light shade. Zones 16–17, 19–24 (may freeze at 25° but usually resprouts).

Flowering Maple (Abutilon hybridum)

Not naturally dense; pinch back new growth to encourage branching. Cut back by at least 3 feet each winter to maintain lower foliage. Pink, red, white, and yellow varieties grow tallest. Full sun on coast, partial shade inland. Zones 8–9, 12–24.

Luma apiculata

Dense, dark green leaves ½–1 inch long with cinnamon-colored bark. 8–20 feet tall. Full sun. Little to regular water. Zones 14–24.

Photinia fraseri

Tall, wide shrub in ground; more compact in pots. New leaves bronzy red, maturing to glossy green. 8 feet in pots, 10–15 feet in ground. Plant standards to save space. Full sun. Zones 4–24.

Rhaphiolepis 'Majestic Beauty'

Glossy, leathery leaves to 4 inches; pink spring flowers. Slow-growing to 15 feet. Plant standards for screening. Stake at planting. Full sun or light shade. Zones 8–10, 12–24 (often survives in 4–7).

Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo)

Oblong, dark green leaves with red stems. White urn-shaped flowers and yellow-red fruits appear together in fall/winter. 8–35 feet tall. Plant standards. Full sun to light shade. Zones 4–24.

Sweet Olive (Osmanthus fragrans)

Dense, compact, 10+ feet with glossy oval leaves. Inconspicuous but very fragrant spring/summer flowers. Full sun to part shade. Little water once established. Zones 8–9, 12–24.

Tristaniopsis laurina 'Elegant'

Narrow, 4-inch glossy leaves open red, turn green. Mahogany bark. Yellow flowers in late spring/early summer. 10+ feet. Plant standards. Full sun. Little water. Zones 15–17, 19–24.

Planting & Care

Space smaller plants 4 feet apart, larger ones 5–6 feet. Combine species along long fences to break up linearity. Water regularly the first year to establish; then follow each plant's needs. To slow growth, water less; to speed it, water and fertilize more (but avoid soggy soil).