Fast-Growing Privacy Screens for a Narrow Poolside Planter

Site Constraints and Goals

A pool area in need of screening from a west-facing neighbor. Planter depth varies 4–8 feet with hardpan soil. Existing rose of Sharons will be moved. Wants moderate-to-fast growth, no Italian cypress. Podocarpus suggested.

Recommended Shrubs

• Privet (fast, dense, deciduous or evergreen)
• Forsythia (very fast, spring flowers, deciduous)
• Pyracantha (evergreen, berries, thorny barrier)
• Weigela (fast, showy flowers, deciduous)
• Viburnum (versatile, some evergreen, fragrant flowers)

Recommended Trees

• Hybrid Poplar (extremely fast, tall, deciduous)
• White Pine (fast evergreen, soft texture)
• Canadian Hemlock (shade-tolerant evergreen)
• Norway Spruce (dense, fast, evergreen)

Selection Advice

Visit a local nursery to see mature sizes and forms. Mix shrubs and trees for layered screening. Ensure planting holes break through hardpan for root penetration.