Hi hwy395, and welcome to Gardenweb. Congrats on your new home. Take a look at the link below to see if any of the plants listed appeal to you.

I have never seen either of these trees grown here in Socal- are you in Ridgecrest or Bishop, somewhere along 395? That might be a different story for these varieties of arborvitae.

All 8' tall hedges/privacy screens are labor intensive, I think. We need some shrubs that will actually stay 8' high in CA like they say they will! All of the ones I can think of grow taller. Maybe someone else will have some ideas.
Renee

Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ privacy screens

Thanks for the response. No, I don't live along the 395, I just really like that area. I live in So Cal.

I plan on going to a nursery this weekend to have a look around to see what they have.

Good idea. I do not recommend purchasing based on the opinions of nursery staff. Please return with your favorites (latin names help) and do a search to find out what the pros and cons are, or post here to get people's experiences with these shrubs. The tags lie. Well, they don't actually lie, but the eventual size of a shrub in Iowa or New Mexico doesn't apply in CA. Things get much bigger here.

Emerald Arborvitae grows to 30 feet and does not live long in SoCal. I have never seen them for sale. Golden Arborvitae is a great choice, but they are slow growing. I had two that were never ever watered and they stayed about seven feet tall. With water they would grow taller. I think they are beautiful, and they require no trimming at all.

I am currently growing Springtime Viburnum in a few spots to see how it does as a screen. I don't know how tall it can get in Socal, though. We'll see.

Renee

How wide are we talking? The FAQ for this forum has a "narrow privacy screen" list of plants--did you look through that?

Here is a link that might be useful: blog post on narrow screening plants

Hello,

I just installed some Podocarpus and they look great. they are all around my neighborhood and make great screens. they are clean and can be trimmed to your preferred height and shape. in SoCal many are used as city trees because they are low maintenance and grow in many soils. The ones I bought were about $30 for a 7' plant. They can be as narrow as about 2ft and I have seen mature plants between 8-15ft tall.

I also have bamboo (Giant Timber)which is more thirsty and needs more preparation but is great for 3 story neighbors. :) If you get bamboo get a clumping variety and install a root barrier to train and to keep it's growing disciplined.

dj

When you have a list of possibilities, we will all weigh in once we know who the candidates are. You should know, however, that whatever privacy screen you choose will probably do wonders to hide clotheslines and roof ladders, but will do exactly nothing to lessen freeway noise.
An effective sound berm must be solid--solid as in wall, not solid as in fence. Landscaping of any kind has no sound attenuating effect. Sadly, if the nearby freeway is elevated and higher than your roof line, even a solid wall isn't going to be that effective.

Kay

Pittosporum Screenmaster is lovely....I have one. The leaves are lacy and delicate looking and the plant is easy to prune. It grows very easily and is also drought resistant.

I inherited an oleander hedge creating a privacy hedge for my front yard in Phoenix, AZ. Laughs at the sun. SUPERB privacy and acoustic barrier. I keep mine about six feet high, but can easily be grown to amazing thirty feet tall "walls" around here. I do get irrigation so I cannot speak to how often you must water it as I never do except for 18 irrigations a year, but the thick waxy coated leaves speak to a plant that conserves water.

Pretty red, pink or white flowers or combine them alternating throughout your hedge. Few pests. Birds like to duck in and out of them.

Downsides: Hard to get rid of if you change your mind. Need to be dug out 6 feet down. Whole plant poisonous. Generally don't eat it but since it tastes bad anyway not usually a problem. When cutting during maintenance the latex sap can irritate some people's skin. Occasionally, like once a year, I find a wasp's nest in them.

Oleanders are subject to a deathly blight here in SoCal- heartbreaking. I lost my 50 year old hedge to it. My sister-in-law just lost hers too. I would not plant oleander here until the problem is resolved.
Renee

I haven't been around here for a while (been busy installing my own native garden) but I'd love to suggest a CA native, Mountain Mahogany as a possibility.

Pacific wax myrtle (myrica californica) is a versatile choice that needs little water once established, can be grown natural or shaped into a hedge, grows fast, can be brutally pruned, and provides habitat and food for native birds.