A good question that I'm sure many would benefit from knowing! Perhaps we should create a list for this category to refer to in the future as well.
I'm not familiar with the Yaupon you mentioned, but check out these two native varieties:
.
** Ilex vomitoria 'Will Fleming' (an upright, columnar growing yaupon) - discovered in Hempsted Texas - grows like a telephone pole! Great for a narrow corner or bed:
Picture here: http://www.houzz.com/Will-Fleming-holly

^^ llex vomitoria 'pendula' (Weeping yaupon) - a native plant that grows to tree proportions with weeping branches, an eye catcher. Produces abundance of red berries.

Other than those, I'm not versed in evergreens for Texas but did find this list online that might be helpful (though not necessarily for Texas climate). Pencil Holly looked promising.
Also saw a nice looking "Irish Juniper" that might work when I was googling this category.
BTW, has anyone ever used a very native Agarita plant for a screen? Though a bit prickly and round (rather than columnar) the ones on my property get to be about 5 feet tall, are fairly dense, have holly-like leaves and wonderful edible berries that are pleasing to humans and animals alike, and have pretty little flowers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tall narrow evergreens

This post was edited by mrs.wiggley on Fri, Jul 25, 14 at 8:23

Just learned something! Will Fleming and Scarlet are a couple!
lex vomitoria âÂÂWill Fleming' (male) and âÂÂScarletâÂÂs Peakâ (female) upright yaupon hollies:
These cultivars are fastigiated and excellent for small garden space or corner areas, taking up less than 4 sq. ft. ScarletâÂÂs Peak is a relatively new introduction which produces red berries in winter, whereas Will Fleming is a pollinator.

Here is a link that might be useful: Will and Scarlet Yaupon

I hadn't heard of the plant until i read your post, it looks really nice. If there are male and female clones that are similar id say plant some of each.

As for alternatives i have a small Italian cypress 'swanes golden' that is awesome. Also a juniperus Virginiana cultivar called "Canaertii' is my favorite juniper. lots of Chinese junipers have a similar form -- "keteleeri" is one. "Blue point" is another.

We looked at 'Will Fleming' last year as an alternative to an 8ft nandina domestica privacy screen. Unlike 'Scarlet's peak', it has been available for many years, so there is quite a bit of info available. The limbs do grow vertical, but get very long and tend to flop with age. Might be possible to trim it up nicely with experience, but wasn't ecstatic about the mature look and the lack of berries finally knocked it off our list. Some sources say the flopping/spreading when it gets big is why it never really took off (fell out of favor?). Would like to try 'Scarlet's peak', but still not able to find locally and not motivated enough to try it from a new mail order source.

Both Sperry and Garrett advise against arborvitae for Dallas and for that reason alone, I'd also be very cautious. However, we have several beautiful commercial and residential examples in our area.... at 25+ years tall, they're pretty easy to see. Since you really like them, might check on what types may be growing well in older neighborhoods around your house before writing Thuja off completely.

I'll risk suggesting nandina domestica for a narrow evergreen 6 to 8 ft URBAN privacy screen. Available, inexpensive, sun or shade, hardy, fairly quick growing, and nice seasonal variation. Mockingbirds nest in ours, so suppose it has some wildlife value, too. They can be kept full to the ground by trimming a few of the older shoots out each year. Some valid concerns on invasiveness, but these depend a lot on location.

Here is a link that might be useful:

This post was edited by bostedo on Mon, Aug 4, 14 at 23:09

I'm also considering planting a row of 5 Scarlet's Peak. I'm in FW. I'm having a hard time locating 5 of them though. I found 4 of them! We planted 2 Will Flemings last year in a different spot. One receives more sun than the other and thus it is already about 12" taller than the other. So far, I don't have the floppy branch problem, but I do wish I would have known about the berries on Scarlet's Peak.

This thread is older but I've been debating will Fleming vs scarlets peak also. One person told me Will does better than Scarlet here (Ft Worth). Neither is easy to find of any size. Will can be loosely wrapped in fishing line to keep branches from flopping & breaking. Will also pollinate my 2 tree Yaupons. Still can't decide - any more experience? May just depend on availability.

Neither is easy to find of any size.

Shades of Green in Frisco periodically carries SP in 3 and 15 gallon containers; though large size is out of my price range for an accent and inventory of the small one has always been allocated to pro jobs when I've stopped by. Pretty sure I saw 'William Fleming' there, too.

I bought 3 of the Scarlet's Peak at North Haven Gardens a couple if months ago in Dallas. Neil Speery recommended them as a screening hedge appropriate for my area (Las Colinas). So far they have done well. I do not recommend Japanese Pencil Hollies. They do not do well in our alkaline / clay soils.