Best Trees for Screening your Property

Large shrubs and trees at least six feet tall can make effective visual screens on your property. Although a wall may block noise and wind better, a screen of living plants is usually a less costly and lower-maintenance option for limiting a view into your property or blocking objects within or outside your property.

Shrubs and trees may also provide food and cover for wildlife, and even act as a deterrent to intruders (think spiny or prickly vegetation).

If you live in a neighborhood with an HOA, they frequently have height limitations for privacy fences. Fortunately, the trees and shrubs you plant around the perimeter of your property are probably not restricted.

Attributes to Consider

Consider these attributes when choosing trees and large shrubs for screening:

• Growth rate  Fast growing is a plus.
• Density  Dense growth means a better visual block.
• Plant type  Evergreens block views year-round. All the plants on this list are evergreen.
• USDA Plant Hardiness Zone  Choose trees that will live in your zone.
• Exposure  How much sunlight does the area receive where you will plant the screen?
• Height and Width  What size and number are needed to block views or create privacy? Note that larger species may take many years to reach tall heights; some respond well to pruning to control size.
• Soil conditions  Know your soil to match to any trees needing a specific type of soil.
• Maintenance level Obviously lower is better; this includes pest susceptibility and the need for pruning.

Your choice will also be guided by the aesthetic qualities you prefer, like leaf color and texture, whether you want blooms and the amount of concealment desired.

Arrangement and Composition

Hedges and screens are often aligned in a straight line, which may be necessary if space is a limitation. If a more natural look is desired, plantings can be staggered or layered in groups. This also allows for better airflow and sunlight to benefit the plants. Furthermore, if multiple species are selected for the screen, there is much less potential for a pest or environmental problem to damage your entire screen. A mosaic of diverse plantings in differing textures and colors of green is visually very appealing. Some lower shrubs and perennials mixed into the foreground make the look even more natural.

Best Trees for Screening

Some of these plants may be invasive in certain regions. It’s always a good idea to check whether a plant may have invasive potential in your area.

1. Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis). Arborvitae are fine textured conifers with smooth, flat branches. They are often used for screening, as they have few pest or disease issues and keep a nice shape with minimal pruning. The cultivar ‘Green Giant’ (slightly narrower than the species at 5-8’) is one of the most popular trees for this purpose. Avoid windy sites.
2. ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ Holly (Ilex x ‘Nellie R. Stevens’). This holly has better heat tolerance than many of the hollies. It has a dense conical form and glossy dark green leaves with one to three spikes. Most hollies need both male and female plants to produce berries but ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ plants may bear fruit without a male pollinator.
3. Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens). The Spruces are generally useful as a very large screen; it may even be possible to use only one specimen. Colorado Blue Spruce is native to the Rocky Mountains and has full horizontal branching to the ground.  ‘Fat Albert’ is a smaller cultivar that grows 10-15’ tall by 7-10’ wide. ‘Baby Blue Eyes ‘ is another smaller Blue Spruce at 15-30’ by 15’. The smaller spruces grow more slowly than Colorado Blue Spruce. The Norway Spruce has invasive potential in some areas. 
4. Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora). This native broadleaf evergreen has the added value of large fragrant white blossoms in May and June. The cultivar ‘Little Gem’ reaches 15-20’ tall by 7-10’ wide.
5. Chinese Fringe Flower (Loropetalum chinense). This is a smaller broadleaf evergreen with white flowers (there are red-flowered forms which may not get as tall but have more bronze-toned foliage).
6. English Yew (Taxus baccata). Yew respond well to pruning and are one of the few good choices where sunlight is lacking. Shrubby cultivars may be more useful in most home landscaping.
7. Hick’s Yew (Taxus x media ‘Hicksii’). A good choice in colder climates. ‘Hicksii’ is dense and narrowly columnar with ascending branches.
8. Firethorn (Pyracantha angustifolia ‘Gnome’). Pyracanthas are drought-resistant plants with white flowers in spring and orange-red berries from summer into winter. They can provide an impenetrable barrier with their thorns. Pyracantha coccinea grows larger (to 12’) than P. angustifolia.
9. Japanese Privet (Ligustrum japonicum). Ligustrum is an often used, very adaptable and drought-tolerant hedge plant that responds well to pruning. Although many of the Ligustrums are deciduous and hardier, the Japanese Ligustrum is evergreen.
10. Spotted Laurel (Aucuba japonica ‘Variegata’). Aucuba is a broadleaf evergreen shade-loving shrub. The leaves of ‘Variegata’ have intense yellow markings that brighten the shade.
11. Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus). Cherry laurel is a useful shade-tolerant broadleaf evergreen shrub, also native, that has spikes of sweet-smelling flowers in spring. It has its down points, however, in invasive potential in some areas and considerable toxicity if ingested.
12. Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana). Red Cedar is a native, broadly conical to columnar, needled evergreen that is actually a juniper. It is tolerant of deer, drought, erosion, poor soils and air pollution. There are many smaller cultivars that would be appropriate for the home garden.
13. Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica). Japanese Cedar, not a true cedar, is a slender, pyramidal, evergreen conifer with tiered horizontal branching. There are interesting dwarf cultivars. Protect from drying winter winds.
14. Japanese Falsecypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Sungold’). ‘Sungold’ is one of many Japanese Falsecypress cultivars, which are smaller and more appropriate for most homes than the species, while still being large enough to perform as a screen. ‘Sungold’ is a mounding, roundish to broadly conical, evergreen shrub with golden, fine-textured needles on weeping branches. New growth emerges bright gold but eventually matures to lime green. Pruning is rarely needed. Shelter from strong winds. Not for the quick screen, this may look rather scraggly at first but will eventually be worth it; looks great intermixed with darker greens.
15. Arizona Cypress (Cupressus arizonica ‘Blue Ice’). ‘Blue Ice’ is a narrowly columnar evergreen conifer with dense sprays of lacy silvery-blue foliage. It does well in Mediterranean conditions. No pruning needed.
16. Leatherleaf Viburnum (Viburnum rhytidophyllum). This is a distinctive evergreen viburnum with large coarsely textured dark green leaves, white flowers in spring and black berries in fall.
17. Rosebay Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum). This is the highly recognizable broadleaf evergreen native that dots the mountainous forests of eastern North America. It’s loose multi-stemmed form is useful when a partial view is desired. Two-inch summer flowers are rose-purple to white. All parts of the plant are toxic if ingested.

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