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Elisabeth C. Miller Library

Keyword: Berberis

Plants for privacy screens

Could you recommend some plants for a privacy screen that are also narrow? These would be planted in front of a fence in our backyard.

 

Here is some general information on plants for creating a screen.

Trees for Problem Landscape Sites — Screening from Virginia Cooperative Extension

Bet on Hedges by local garden writer Valerie Easton.

Landscaping for Privacy: Innovative Ways to Turn Your Outdoor Space into a Peaceful Retreat by PNW author Marty Wingate.

Here is a list of narrow plants for a screen from local garden designer Chris
Pfeiffer: “Fastigiate shrubs for naturally narrow hedges.” Compiled by Chris
Pfeiffer. 2005.

Zones 5-6:

American arborvitae ‘Rheingold’ (Thuja occidentalis ‘Rheingold’) 5’h x
3’w

Barberry ‘Helmond Pillar’ (Berberis thunbergii f. atropurpurea
‘Helmond Pillar’) 6’h x 2’w

Boxwood ‘Graham Blandy’ (Buxus sempervirens ‘Graham Blandy’) 8’h x 1-1/2′
w

English yew ‘Standishii’ (Taxus baccata ‘Standishii’) 4’h x 1-1/2′ w

Irish yew (Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’) 20′ h x 4′ w

Japanese holly Jersey pinnacle (Ilex crenata ‘Jersey Pinnacle’) 6′ h x
4′ w

Japanese holly Mariesii (Ilex crenata ‘Mariesii’) 3′ h x 1-1/2′ w

Zones 7-9, in addition to the above:

Dwarf yeddo rhaphiolepis (Rhaphiolepis umbellata Gulf GreenTM) 3-4′ h x
2′ w

Heavenly bamboo ‘Gulf Stream’ (Nandina domestica ‘Gulf Stream’) 4′ h x 2′ w

Japanese euonymus ‘Green Spire’ (Euonymus japonicus ‘Green Spire’) 15′ h x
6′ w

 

You might also consider installing a trellis to increase the height of
the fence, and then growing an evergreen vine such as Clematis armandii,
evergreen hydrangea (Hydrangea seemanii), or star jasmine
(Trachelospermum jasminoides).

This link is also helpful (scroll down to
“Evergreen Vines” and look for appropriate height and light requirements).

You could grow bamboo, but I would recommend growing it in a container,
or a series of containers, as you do not want the roots to spread. I have
seen an effective bamboo screen between two houses growing in a long
rectangular lined wooden trough (lined with bamboo barrier). Some species
of bamboo are more tolerant of partial shade than others. Look for a
clumping, rather than a running, bamboo (like Fargesia) to be on the safe
side.

Growing Bamboo
in Georgia

Running and Clumping Bamboos

Bamboos for hedges or
tall privacy screens

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plants for narrow planting areas

I am redoing the narrow planting areas (2-3′ wide) on either
side of our 20′ long entry. Garages from next door townhouses butt up
against the outer edge on each side, causing morning sun and afternoon shade on one
side, and vice versa on the other side. I have picked out some
euphorbias, heucheras, and carexes which should do well. I’m wondering
if I should have some taller, more dramatic plants to offset these and if
you have any suggestions of ones which might work. Also, any bulb ideas
would be appreciated.

 

Have you considered putting up trellises on one or both sides? Then you
could grow vines which require little width, but still have the
advantage of height. You could also grow taller plants (maybe some
grasses like Miscanthus or even a well-restricted–using root
barrier–Bamboo) in containers, and keep them shaped to suit the narrow
space. Some shrubs and trees are naturally narrow or fastigiate in growth
habit.

Here is a list of narrow plants compiled by local garden designer Chris
Pfeiffer, c2005. Some will be too wide for your planting area, but you
might want to research those that fit the site.

American arborvitae ‘Rheingold’ (Thuja occidentalis ‘Rheingold’) 5’h x
3′ w

Barberry ‘Helmond Pillar’ (Berberis thunbergii f. atropurpurea ‘Helmond
Pillar’) 6’h x 2’w

Boxwood ‘Graham Blandy’ (Buxus sempervirens ‘Graham Blandy’) 8’h x 1-1/2’w

English yew ‘Standishii’ (Taxus baccata ‘Standishii’) 4’h x 1-1/2’w

Irish yew (Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’) 20’h x 4’w

Japanese holly Jersey pinnacle (Ilex crenata ‘Jersey Pinnacle’) 6’h x
4’w

Japanese holly Mariesii (Ilex crenata ‘Mariesii) 3’h x 1-1/2’w

Dwarf yeddo rhaphiolepis (Rhaphiolepis umbellata ‘Gulf Green’) 3-4’h x
2’w

Heavenly bamboo ‘Gulf Stream’ (Nandina domestica ‘Gulf Stream’) 4’h x 2’w

Japanese euonymus ‘Green Spire’ (Euonymus japonicus ‘Green Spire’) 15’h x
6’w

There are also a good number of tall perennials you might try, such as
(for your afternoon sunny side) Helenium, Verbascum, Baptisia,
Eupatorium, and bulbous plants like Allium and Eremurus, and for your
shadier morning sun side, Macleaya, Digitalis, Filipendula ulmaria,
Anemone x hybrida, Actaea (formerly called Cimicifuga), Lilium martagon, Thalictrum, and Veronicastrum.

There are many excellent gardening books you could consult for ideas.
Since you have a small, narrow space, I highly recommend local garden
writer Marty Wingate’s book, Big Ideas for Northwest Small Gardens
(Sasquatch Books, 2003). You are welcome to visit the Miller Library,
where you can do further research and also borrow books.

recycling or putting plants up for adoption

Do you know of a website or referral service for “recycling” plants? I have about 10 feet of barberry (Berberis) bushes that I want to get rid of and thought if they could be dug up with enough of the roots, someone could use them. They are quite ornamental, birds love them, and the thorns are quite lethal (for me, not the birds).

You can contact Plant Amnesty’s Adopt-a-Plant program.
You can also try GardenWeb’s Pacific Northwest Garden Exchange, or freecycle. You might also see if there is a “Buy Nothing” group in your area which you can join.

shrubs and low trees that will grow in the shade

Can you suggest some shade shrubs/low trees that could be used in the bottom quarter of a huge, years-old pile of yardwaste and branches that is now a 20 foot cliff? I have started with some Vinca minor in the lower part but could use some ideas of some things to plant that might get 15 feet tall, evergreen, and grow in woods/shade or sun through trees.

The closest list I could find to meet your needs is one of evergreen shrubs that will grow in shade:

Japanese aucuba – Aucuba japonica vars.

common boxwood – Buxus sempervirens

camellia – Camellia sp.

gilt edge silverberry – Elaeagnus x ebbingei ‘Gilt Edge’

Euonymus – Euonymus fortunei radicans

Japanese aralia – Fatsia japonica

drooping Leucothoe – Leucothoe fontanesiana

Oregon grape – Mahonia aquifolium

Burmese mahonia – Mahonia lomariifolia

longleaf mahonia – Mahonia nervosa

holly leaf osmanthus – Osmanthus heterophyllus vars.

English laurel – Prunus laurocerasus ‘Mount Vernon’

Japanese skimmia – Skimmia japonica

evergreen huckleberry – Vaccinium ovatum

nannyberry – Viburnum lentago

Source: The Pacific Northwest Gardener’s Book of Lists, by R. & J. McNeilan, 1997, p. 46-47

 

Berberis species and their blooming time

A couple of questions: first, what’s the correct name these days, Mahonia or Berberis? Secondly, I’m trying to plant a succession of flowering Mahonia (or Berberis?) to attract hummingbirds to my Seattle garden. I have Mahonia X media ‘Charity.’ In what order do various species bloom?

 

The current accepted name for Mahonia is Berberis. I checked several local sources to compare flowering times for different species:

In approximate blooming order, here are several Berberis species:

  • Berberis x media ‘Charity’ and other cultivars (December-January)
  • Berberis repens (February-March)
  • Berberis aquifolium (as early as January but peaks March/April, into May)
  • Berberis bealei (“early spring,” according to Gossler)
  • Berberis nervosa (May)

planting to stabilize a steep slope

Can I plant groundcovers, shrubs, and trees to stabilize a steep slope?

 

There are several resources which will help you in
selecting plants to prevent erosion and mudslides on
your slope.

Please note that these articles are merely suggestions and should not be construed as advice. We are librarians, not engineers!

None of our standard books on trees mentions the soil binding quality of tree roots. However, the Miller Library does have very good technical books and articles on slope stabilization. (For example, Slope Stabilization and Erosion Control: A Bioengineering Approach, edited by R.P.C. Morgan and R.J. Rickson, 1995.)

I do want to note one thing that many articles mention: no amount of established vegetation will hold a steep slope if other forces are present that would contribute to a landslide.

The Department of Ecology website has a list of appropriate plants.

Additionally, there are a number of books with
information on the subject. Vegetative Contribution
to Slope Stability at Magnolia Park (by Kathy Parker, 1996)
recommends Oregon grape (Mahonia), which she suggests
for gentle slopes.

Other smaller plants she lists are:
Polystichum munitum (native sword fern)
Vaccinium ovatum (evergreen huckleberry)
Symphoricarpos albus (snowberry)

Larger shrubs in her list:
Alnus rubra (red alder)
Philadelphus lewisii (mock orange)
Sambucus racemosa (red elderberry)

Small trees:
Acer circinatum (vine maple)
Amelanchier alnifolia (serviceberry)
Corylus cornuta (hazelnut)

For steeper slopes, Parker says that they may not be
good candidates for vegetative rehabilitation unless
you put in some kind of structure. She says that Jute mats can be used in conjunction with native seed, mulch, and shrubs, if carefully anchored. She also mentions a Weyerhaeuser product called Soil
Guard.

Steep Slope Stabilization Using Woody Vegetation (by
Leslie Hennelly, 1994) has a plant list, as well as a chart which indicates plants used to control erosion, the degree
of the slopes, and the rate of success in resisting
erosion.

Two titles which focus more on the garden design
aspect of planting on a slope are
Hillside Gardening : Evaluating the Site, Designing
Views, Planting Slopes (by William Lake Douglas, 1987) and
Hillside Landscaping (by Susan Lang and the editors
of Sunset Books, 2002).