Best Privacy Trees and Shrubs for Your Yard

Privacy trees and shrubs act as a "living fence" to filter noise from roads and neighbors, and to block views into your yard. A properly planted privacy hedge can border actual fences and in time, grow into a living fence.

Additionally, privacy hedges define walkways through your landscape and form borders for your garden designs. Boxwood shrubs, for example, are often used to shape the "walls" of formal gardens.

The best privacy trees and shrubs are fast-growing and require little maintenance once established. Quite often, the best privacy hedge for your landscape is not a single type of tree or shrub, but a design that encompasses trees underplanted with shrubs.

To get started selecting privacy trees and shrubs, know your site and light. Look at where you want to plant a privacy hedge and note the light throughout the day:

• Full sun is six or more hours of sunlight a day.
• Partial sun is four to six hours of sunlight.
• Partial shade is two to four hours of sunlight.
• Full shade means no direct sun or less than two hours of sunlight a day.

It's important to know your soil, too. Start with a soil test purchased from the Garden Center or from your local Cooperative Extension office. Follow test kit directions and you'll get recommendations for soil amendments.

When you're ready to choose shrubs for your privacy hedge, be sure to read plant labels and online details on the mature size of the plant. Trees and shrubs planted for privacy fences may be planted closer than recommended in order for them to grow close and form a hedge. Keep in mind that many trees and shrubs need airflow to prevent diseases and insect infestations. Without sufficient airflow, if one plant gets infected by a disease or pest, it's likely that the remaining trees will be infected, too.

Privacy trees and shrubs are not one-size-fits-all for various regions around the country. Some trees like Leyland cypress, for example, perform best in cold, dry climates in western states and are susceptible to pests and diseases when planted in the Southeast. Another example is evergreen camellia shrubs that survive best in hardiness zones 7 to 9. In cooler zones, camellias won't survive winter.

If your goal is to create a tall barrier, choose evergreens such as ‘Emerald Green’ arborvitae, Arizona cypress, broadleaf holly and columnar junipers.

Space-defining mid-size evergreen shrubs include dwarf cryptomeria, wax myrtle and yews.

A few short shrubs to consider for walkways or to define a small garden area include Korean boxwoods, Japanese holly or dwarf arborvitae like ‘Little Giant.’

Tip: If your landscape goal is a good-looking privacy hedge with healthy plants, plan on four to eight years of growth for an effective hedge.

Arborvitae (thuja) is an evergreen tree of the cypress family. Its feathery needle-like foliage and conical shape make it a popular choice throughout the country for use in privacy hedges.

Arborvitae grows quickly, retains its foliage year-round, and forms a barrier ideal for privacy.

There are many varieties of arborvitae. 'Green Giant' is a popular cultivar. A mature Green Giant Arborvitae can reach 40 to 60 feet tall. Experts recommend spacing plants no closer than 5 to 8 feet apart for a tight hedge. Spacing even further apart, up to 8 to 10 feet, allows more air circulation and fuller growth.

Boxwood shrubs are a versatile option for milder climates, like the southeastern United States. Boxwood hedges offer a classic, manicured appearance and thrive in well-drained soil with partial to full sun. They can be fast-growing, but they're not low-maintenance. To keep their crisp good looks, boxwood hedges need frequent pruning.

Boxwood shrubs are deer resistant and most varieties are winter hardy in zones 5 to 8.

Boxwood shrubs are susceptible to boxwood blight, a disease spread by a fungus detected in the U.S. in 2011. Boxwood blight begins with black spots on leaves and stems, followed by defoliation. The fungus quickly spreads in closely planted boxwood hedges.

In the Garden Center, look for the latest blight-resistant varieties by checking plant tags and online product details.

For the look of boxwoods without the threat of blight, check out these similar plants:

• Inkberry holly
• Japanese holly
• Yew
• Re-blooming azaleas like 'Encore' azaleas

Cedar trees thrive in cool, moist wooded areas in full sun sites with light afternoon shade, especially in hotter climates. The feathery evergreen needles and conical shapes make them good choices for privacy hedges.

Cedar trees like Western red cedar and Eastern red cedar are impressively large trees and make effective screens in large landscapes. Cedar trees are resistant to deer pressure.

A few varieties of cedar trees:

• Western red cedar grows 50 feet tall and 25 feet wide.
• Atlantic white cedar (false cypress) grows 40 to 50 feet tall and 10 to 20 feet wide.
• Deodar (Himalayan) cedar grows 12 to 15 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide. Tolerates part shade.
• Eastern red cedar grows 40 to 50 feet tall and 8 to 20 feet wide.

Evergreen hollies grow in a naturally rigid, upright form with leaves that may be oak-shaped or the distinctive holly shape. Leaves are dark green and red berries appear in winter for seasonal interest. Look for varieties that require no pruning, for a low-maintenance shrub. Sticky plant edges make hollies a popular choice for an impenetrable privacy hedge.

Hollies grow in full sun to part shade and thrive in zones 6 to 9. Once established, hollies are resistant to heat and drought. Fertilize hollies in early spring with a slow-release granular fertilizer product.

Popular varieties:

• 'Oakland' holly grows to a mature height of 15 to 20 feet. Columnar types like 'Sky Pencil' grow 6 to 8 feet high and keep their slender shape and dark green foliage year-round.
• 'Inkberry holly' is a North American native plant that can sub for disease-prone boxwoods.
• 'Nellie R. Stevens' hollies have glossy, dark green leaves year-round, white flowers in spring and red berries in fall. They grow 20 to 30 feet high and 10 to 12 feet wide in USDA hardiness zones 6 to 9.

Tip: Hollies can be male or female. In the case of some varieties, in order for female plants to produce berries, you'll need to plant a corresponding male plant nearby. Consult plant tags and online product details when purchasing for more info. Some varieties are self-pollinating and do not require a male in order to produce berries.

Viburnums are a category of deciduous and evergreen shrubs native to the U.S. and to Asia. They're popular choices for privacy hedges because they're fast-growing with attractive foliage and pleasing form. When grown into a hedge, some viburnum varieties form a dense mass of foliage. Viburnums tend to be deer-resistant, as well.

Viburnums prefer moist, well-draining, slightly acidic soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5.

In the Garden Center and online, look for these types of viburnums:

• Classic snowball viburnum. These beauties are often confused with hydrangeas because they bloom about the same time in spring. Recommended for zones 6 to 9.
• Koreanspice viburnum are pollinator favorites that grow 4 to 6 feet high and 7 feet wide.
• Arrowood viburnums grow 4 to 5 feet tall and wide. They're pollinator favorites and deer resistant.

There's a wide variety of plants you can use to create a privacy hedge in your landscape. A few plants that experts do not recommend for privacy screens include invasive spreading plants like bamboo, privet and Callery (Bradford) pear, and aggressive vines like English ivy and Chinese wisteria.

When you're making your selections, research plants that may be susceptible to disease in your area. Once-popular privacy hedge choices like photinia, Russian olive and Lombardy poplar are susceptible to diseases in some climates and are not recommended for mass plantings like privacy hedges.

Consider planting a mix of trees and shrubs for an effective privacy hedge. When you plant a diversity of shrubs and trees, your living screen benefits birds and insects and provides an ever-changing botanical show throughout the seasons.

Shrubs for privacy:

• Anise
• Azalea
• Arborvitae
• Barberry
• Boxwood
• Camellia
• Cleyera
• Crepe Myrtle
• Euonymus
• Gardenia
• Holly like Nellie R. Stevens
• Hydrangea
• Jasmine
• Juniper
• Laurel
• Lilac
• Loropetalum
• Ninebark
• Oleander
• Osmanthus
• Pieris
• Pittosporum
• Podocarpus
• Viburnum
• Wax myrtle
• Weigela
• Yew

Trees for privacy:

• Cedar
• Cypress
• Dogwood
• Magnolia
• Oak
• Olive tree
• Pine like mugo
• Spruce
• Willow

Steps for planting a privacy hedge:

• Measure the perimeter of the area you want to enclose or screen.
• Create a straight line by hammering a stake at each end of the planting area and tying a string to each stake.
• Create a curved line by laying out a garden hose to define the line where you will plant. Spray the outline with landscape marking paint.
• Mark along the string or garden hose to show where you will plant your shrubs. Determine spacing by the mature width of the plant as defined on the label. For example, if the shrub will mature to 3 to 4 feet in width, plant the shrubs 3 feet apart.
• Water shrubs to saturate root balls before planting. You can place them in a galvanized tub filled with water.
• With a shovel, dig a hole as deep as the root ball and twice as wide for each plant.
• Fill the hole with water and allow it to seep in.
• Loosen the soil around the root ball and center shrub in the hole with the best side facing forward.
• Backfill the hole with soil and make sure the shrub is straight. Keep soil level with the top of the rootball.
• Mulch around each shrub or tree. No need to pile mulch around the stem or trunk that will attract insects.
• Water weekly for the first few months to establish good growth.