Native shrub screen??

[Anonymous]

Can anyone suggest a fast growing, preferably narrow native shrub that I can grow infront of an ugly 5 ' cinder block wall that will also somewhat screen my neighbor's eyesore property seen above the wall?10-15'or more in height should do the trick. I'm in the city of Los Angeles and have had encouraging success with growing Ca. native plants in my back yardand therefore have a real moral dilema about planting bamboo which would be ideal in my situation. The planting area is only 30' wide but 22' long at the edge of my driveway, thus the preference for something relatively narrow.All suggestions would be appreciated!





Jeff</p>

[Anonymous]

Jeff,Typical, you want the perfect plant for the almost impossible situation!Well, there are some options. Unfortuanatley we won't be finding a 30 inch wide plant fifteen feet tall. What about a mix of shrubs suitable for pruning or espalier? Some possibilities could include the glossy Prunus ilicifolia, Pacific Wax Myrtle, berry producing Toyon and Berberis nevinii, and what about trying the California Coffeeberry? Great foliage and bird attractor. I've seen them get 8 feet. Ceanothus are a likely group as long as the pruning is done fairly frequently so there is no branch dieback. Adding the nice blues are worth the small effort, i think.If it is truly a drought area what about Fremotia tied to the wall? Santa Barbara Botanic Garden did it for quite a while and Rancho Santa ana still has the chain link fencing covered on the road to the entrance-No summer water though!A couple trees that could help? Western Redbud is small though attractive candidate, reaching 15-18 feet though deciduous and gets covered in cranberry colored blossoms in the spring, also nice would be the Desert Willow Chilopsis linearis if trained. While it can grow to 25 feet or so, I've had one for 10 years that is still eight feet tall. Its Orchid like deep throated blossoms are almost exotic and it blooms in the heat of summer,now and that just about negates the bare branches of winter. Another possibility is Catalina Cherry-I have one fifteen years olf that stays around 12 -14 feet tall. Selective pruning could make a rather narrow tree fitting your space nicely. What about a Baja beauty, Tecoma stans with its alarmingly bright golden trumpets of flowers? possibleAnother candidate from the edge is Incense Cedar. The most perfect green of any garden is found in this tree which would eventually grow far too large for your area but would likely give you about 10-12 years of almost poetic beauty before you would need to remove it. Or could you lightly shear the sides and keep it that way for even longer? Never tried that!Throw in a little soft floiage deep green tree mallow from the Channel Islds and a vine like Keckiella cordifolia Heartleaf Penstemon a plant that likes to be nestled under tall shrubs it climbs through and then in the summer pops out with lipstick red flowers that drive observers and hummingbirds wild. It is a fall and early winter deciduous plant, but that is ok because the bare branches are hidden in the Prunus or whatever.So you can see with just a few of these plant you could develope a nice little avenue of habitat. It would be of great visual interest to humans as well. Do a little research and see which ones appeal to you and Good luck,Dan</p>

[Anonymous]

Thank you, Dan, for your all of your suggestions. I'll investigate further some of your recommendations. There is a twist however, I forgot to mention that my neighbor grows roses on her side of the block walland tends to regularly flood her border *grrrrrrr!*. That may eliminate some native choices but I see that Western Redbud and some others may tolerate a bit of water leaching over.I'll have to determine how much water infiltrates my planting area.

[Anonymous]

Jeff,

I live uphill from you between Pasadena andAltadena and have a similar problem ugly, cinder-block wall.

For a quick fix I'm trying a trellis withcalystegia macrostegia morning glory climbingit. It looks good and seems to enjoy a littlesummer water so might tolerate your neighbor'swatering.

Longer term in addition to previous respondent'ssuggestions consider cercocarpus alnifoliusmountain mahogany. I have one that is growingkinda slow, but I give it no water. According toLas Pilitas it is garden tolerant so might growfaster with help from your neighbor.

Good luck,Andrew</p>

[Anonymous]

I've got to comment on the redbud. I have lost count of the redbud that have died on me due root rot. Unless you have real good drainage, they don't want supplemental water after their 2nd year.</p>