I have 50 feet in full sun I want to screen at maybe 10 to 12 feet tall. My first thought is Crepe Myrtle but it looses it's leaves in the fall. Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

I have a hedge of loquats along my back fence. Because they are under a telephone line, the city comes along and prunes them, and they do just fine.

Eastern red cedar is about the best bet if you are east of I 35. (It will probably do fine in western areas.) Nurseries in the DFW area sell it, but they don't sell it in San Antonio. (I love eastern red cedar)

The fastest growing holly is yaupon holly.

Pyracantha also makes a good screen.

Three Miami crape myrtles (they are a tall variety) are spaced along in front of it to add some color in the summer time. I also planted an Arroya sweet wood tree and Yellow bird of paradise along there too. It has worked well for us.

This will sort of give you an idea of what it looks like. The small deciduous ornamental trees I added were not blooming when this picture was taken a few weeks ago.

In my area Texas mountain laurel grows fast and is evergreen.

Maybe someone can recommend a clumping non-running tall bamboo that might be good, but I have no experience with bamboo.

It's going to take a few years for whatever you plant to get tall enough to screen your neighbors patio, but it might not be as bad as it seems now. I have chain link fences on each side of me and I enjoy being able to wave and sometimes talk over the fence when the neighbors come outside.

I have it growing and love it.

We planted 3 feet apart and I pruned each shrub to grow up rather than out. In 3 years they were 4 feet and fully a fence and in 7 they are 12 and fabulous!

We have them clipped twice a year. We have a corner suburban lot with 2 stories facing us and behind us. We now have total privacy with the exception of one window on the house immediately behind us. I love it because I enjoy my privacy and of course being surrounded by lovely greenery. We have no trees so they get full sun and although we watered the first couple of years we only occassionally water them now.

Several of our neighbers have complimented how nice they look and have started their own 'green' fence.

The backyard featured in the photo is so inviting! Thanks for sharing, I love garden photos like that.

I don't think the hollies will get as tall as you may want them to get, but the wax myrtles definitely will. I also noticed lots of my neighbors using these for screens.

I so want to get this going but I think I need to wait until the Fall. I'm already spending too much on water. So I'm going to get a bed prepared for now and then plant later.