{"id":2546,"date":"2019-11-07T00:01:14","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T08:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/pal-question-342\/"},"modified":"2023-08-08T14:52:52","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T21:52:52","slug":"evergreen-screening-trees-and-bushes","status":"publish","type":"pal","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/evergreen-screening-trees-and-bushes\/","title":{"rendered":"evergreen screening trees and bushes"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are looking for a good screening tree\/shrub that is evergreen and interesting. The plant cannot grow over 6 feet high. We have very sandy soil, western exposure, and live in the Magnolia neighborhood. We would like it to be drought tolerant as well. I found Myrtus communis<\/i> (Myrtle) and Rhus<\/i> (Sumac)–I am not sure which variety of sumac would be best. I found the information on these plants in the Sunset Pacific Northwest Garden Book<\/i>. I would love to get your advice on these, and if you have any other ideas as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Because of the height limitation of your site, I suggest primarily shrubs (rather than trees) that are evergreen and drought-tolerant.<\/p>\n

Most of the Rhus<\/i> I have seen growing in Seattle is of the deciduous type, but there are several evergreen varieties, such as Rhus virens<\/i> and Rhus lancea<\/i>. They are natives of Texas and Baja California. They will not be as hardy as the deciduous varieties.<\/p>\n

Myrtus communis<\/i> does well in seaside gardens although it can exceed your 6 foot height limit, reaching 10 feet or more (according to W. J. Bean, Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles<\/i>, 8th ed., John Murray, 1973 and Top-Rated Evergreen Shrubs<\/i>, Golden Press, 1983). The dwarf variety Myrtus communis<\/i> ‘Compacta,’ would be too low-growing to act as a screen.<\/p>\n

I would suggest Osmanthus delavayi<\/i>, which has small, glossy dark green leaves, and very fragrant white flowers in March. It can eventually grow to 8 feet, but is easily maintained as a hedge or screen (see the website Great Plant Picks<\/a> for pictures and information).<\/p>\n

Other ideas would be Arbutus unedo<\/i> ‘Compacta’<\/a> (Strawberry Tree). Or you could try Ceanothus concha<\/i>, which has small dark green leaves and blue flowers. The California nursery Las Pilitas<\/a> has information about this and other varieties of Ceanothus.<\/p>\n

You may also wish to come to the Miller Library and browse the many illustrated books on shrubs and trees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are looking for a good screening tree\/shrub that is evergreen and interesting. The plant cannot grow over 6 feet high. We have very sandy soil, western exposure, and live in the Magnolia neighborhood. We would like it to be drought tolerant as well. I found Myrtus communis (Myrtle) and Rhus (Sumac)–I am not sure which variety of sumac would be best. I found the information on these plants in the Sunset Pacific Northwest Garden Book. I would love to…<\/p>\n

Continue reading evergreen screening trees and bushes<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","keyword":[495,128,494,404,493,492],"class_list":["post-2546","pal","type-pal","status-publish","hentry","keyword-arbutus","keyword-ceanothus","keyword-myrtus","keyword-osmanthus","keyword-rhus","keyword-screens"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal\/2546"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/pal"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=2546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}