14 Best Shrubs For Privacy
I get it, you don’t really want to talk with your neighbor, at least not every time you’re out moving the lawn or grilling a burger.
You want some privacy, but a fence just wouldn’t work. You’d have to buy the material, pay the labor, or install it yourself and who wants that hassle.
If you can be patient enough, these deciduous and evergreen shrubs might just be your ticket to walking outside in your bathrobe with no one in the world to see or judge you.
As with any plant, some grow fast and some not so much. If you’re needing this fence, and needing it quickly, you’re going to have to put in a good deal of time trimming, however, if you can be patient the slower-growing shrubs will require much less maintenance in the long run.
So the choice is inevitably up to you. As I’m not known for my patience, let’s start with the fast growing selections.
Fast Growing Privacy Options:
Nikko Blue Hydrangeas
Nikko Blue Hydrangeas are of the deciduous family and can group up to twelve feet tall and wide. It’s large, blue blossoms grow to nearly the size of a human head and can be pruned if they become too much for you handle.
Dwarf Pink Almond
Dwarf Pink Almond, also deciduous can grow as tall as five feet with a width of four. It is suggested that it be pruned each year following its first bloom. If the Nikko blossoms were overwhelming, consider the Dwarf Pink Almond, its blooms are much smaller while still adding a burst of color to your lawn.
Forsythia
Forsythia will be the tallest of the deciduous and fast growing variety. It reaches heights of thirty feet if you don’t bother pruning it and can grow up to twenty feet in width. It blooms with small yellow flowers every spring and requires very little in way of maintenance.
Red Twig Dogwood
The Red Twig Dogwood, one of my personal favorites, mostly due to its color. It can grow up to eight feet tall and several feet wide. In the winter, it offers deep red twigs while blooming off-white flowers in the summer.
Medium Growing Privacy Options:
Goldspire Ginkgo
Goldspire Ginkgo is another personal favorite of mine. Their mature height can reach up to fifty feet, though that is a bit tall for me. They grow about one foot every year with attractive green foliage that transforms into a beautiful golden yellow in the autumn months. As far as I’m concerned it decorates itself and your home for fall.
French Lilac
French Lilac will spread slowly as its shoots take their time to grow and establish a permenant residence. The fragrant blooms blossom in a variety of colors, usually in some shade of purple such as dark mauve or a pale violet.
Sweet Olive
Sweet Olive offers tiny white blooms with a delicious apricot fragrance. It is of the evergreen family and grows as tall as ten feet while spreading up to eight feet in width. It’s broad leaves and dense branches will ensure no peeping toms or nosy neighbors even get the chance to see and talk to you.
Dense Yew
Dense Yew is another evergreen shrub, the Yew grows as tall as six feet and features similar dense branches as that of the Sweet Olive. You have the option to prune the Yew, though if you’d rather not, it isn’t a requirement.
Savannah Holly
Savannah Holly has some very interesting features, the most interesting in my opinion is the fact that the female plants produce small red berries, however they are considered poisonous. That being said, I wouldn’t recommend them if you have small children who tend to want to eat 24/7. They grow eight to ten feet tall and can reach six to eight feet in width. This shrub can also be pruned if you wish.
Wax Myrtle
Wax Myrtle is the last of our medium growing varieties. An eight by eight shrub at its maturity, it can be pruned into whatever shape your creative heart desires. If you’re of the Type A personality category, the Wax Myrtle is my recommendation to you as it looks magnificent and incredibly polished when cut into large rectangles while still offering the privacy you were originally seeking.
Slow Growing Privacy Options:
Finally, we come to our slowest growing varieties. Let’s start with the Emerald Arborvitae.
Emerald Arborvitae
Emerald Arborvitae is a beautiful evergreen which grows to a maximum height of fifteen feet and four feet wide. It rarely needs pruning and will grow in columns, creating your own fortress of solitude behind tall, wide shrubs.
Saucer Magnolia
Saucer Magnolia is deciduous, but wen grouped works perfectly as a hedge. One of the tallest you can choose from, the Saucer Magnolia can group up to thirty feet when left to its own devices. It also blooms with delicate pink flowers that will bring a touch of class to your lawn.
Mock Orange
Mock Orange is an interesting plant. As the name suggests, it is not actually orange, but gives off a fragrant scent similar to that of an orange. Even your neighbors can’t be mad that you blocked them out when they get to enjoy the smell of oranges and small white blooms every day. This shrub is long-lasting and will bloom during the late spring and into early summer.
Japanese Yew
Japanese Yew also grow in the shape of columns and can reach a height of thirty feet. If you live in an area with salt spray, the Japanese Yew won’t mind. It is tolerant of heat and shade and even drought. While they can grow incredibly high, they are also a great low hedge when pruned.
Before you go check out our latest shrub article which goes over the best 30 shrubs you can grow from cuttings!
Top 30 Shrubs You Can Grow From Cuttings
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