Best Native Plants for a Natural Privacy Screen

Robert Frost wrote, “Good fences make good neighbors,” but sometimes you are not allowed to build a fence.  You don’t have to view an eyesore, though.  Native plants are good for the environment and can be used to block views of something you would rather not see, reduce noise pollution, and create privacy.

Plant A Variety

When most people think of a privacy screen, they think of a tall hedge of all one species of plant.  However, if one of those plants gets a disease or pest, it will quickly spread to the other plants.  You can lose your whole hedge in one foul swoop.  In addition to no longer providing privacy, you lose your investment in the plants.

Instead of planting all one species, planting a variety of trees, shrubs, and perennials makes the hedge more resilient to droughts, flooding, pests, diseases, and unusual cold weather.  With climate change, unusual weather may kill one species of plant, but some of your hedge will survive.

Species Diversity Has Advantages

Planting a mixed privacy hedge has additional advantages.  You can plant more species of native plants.  This not only looks nicer, but it also provides food and shelter for more wildlife.  When choosing plants for your privacy screen, choose trees, shrubs, perennials, and ground covers of different heights.  This layered screen looks neat and works well.

Use larger trees as your backdrop.  Between and in front of each larger tree, plant a shorter tree or shrub.  Between and in front of those, plant a perennial that is shorter.  Finish with a native grass or groundcover to frame the privacy screen.

Advantages of Native Plants

Native plants are usually defined as plants that grew in your area before European contact.  They evolved in the region so do not need supplemental water after they are established except for a drought.  They need less fertilizer since they evolved to use what is naturally available in the soil.  Native plants also evolved to coexist with the diseases and pests in the area, so they require few pesticides.  The wildlife in the area evolved with these plants, so you will have more wildlife in your yard.

Using native plants helps species diversity beyond just your yard.  It helps provide a corridor between parks and other natural areas that wildlife can use when migrating or just finding a place to raise their young.

Avoid Invasive Plants

Invasive plants are plants that are not native to the area but grow well there.  In time, these plants spread beyond one yard into parks and wild areas.  Without natural enemies or diseases to stop their growth, invasive plants outcompete native plants.  Species diversity crashes and everything from insects to large mammals loses food and shelter.

Most invasive plants were brought into North America by people.  Many ornamental plants can be invasive.  For example, European privet, Chinese silvergrass, Chinese wisteria, Japanese barberry, and burning bush are often used in privacy screens but will crowd out native plants. 

Choosing Native Plants

Even though a plant is native to your area, some plants will not do well in your specific growing conditions.  You will need to evaluate a native plant to see if it fits in your landscape.  Many people plant trees and shrubs in places that are not large enough for the height and spread of the mature tree.  They either have to remove the tree as it gets big or trim it.

Another factor to consider is how moist or dry the soil in your area is.  Bog plants will not grow well in dry situations.  While you can usually increase the soil moisture, plants used to dryer conditions will struggle in wet areas.

Is the prospective site in sun or shade?  Some plants need full sun, especially the big trees, such as a chestnut oak.  Many smaller trees and shrubs, such as redbuds, are adapted to dappled light since they naturally grow in forests.  Some perennial plants are also adapted to dappled light, such as black cohosh.  Other perennials prefer full sun, including many prairie plants such as purple coneflowers  Layering with these plants in your privacy screen will help you have a resilient landscape.

Consider whether you want your privacy screen to work during the winter or just the growing season.  Deciduous trees and shrubs drop their leaves in the fall and are bare during the winter.  Including evergreen trees and shrubs will help screen your yard during the winter, too. 

Tips For Success

After you decide what plants you want in your privacy screen, make sure you plant them correctly to keep the plants healthy.  Here are some tips.

• Do not dig in your yard until you call your state’s utilities marking service. Hitting a pipe or cable could be expensive.
• Make sure you have water available to the spot you are planting. Even native plants need watering the first 2-3 years for trees and shrubs and 1-2 years for perennials.
• Dig the hole twice as wide as the roots of the plant. Dig it just a little deeper than the plant’s root ball.
• Planting works best with two people. One person holds the plant at the correct depth and the other person fills in the dirt.
• Do not put fertilizer in the bottom of the hole. It burns the small root hairs that the plant needs to absorb water.
• Spread out the roots in the hole before filling the hole in.
• Use the soil you dug out of the hole to fill it.
• Don’t plant your plants too close together. Crowded plants are more vulnerable to disease and do not grow as big.
• Put 2-3 inches of mulch around your new plants. Leave a three-inch space between the trunk and mulch for trees and shrubs.  Mulch out to the edge of the dripline.  For perennials, leave a one-inch space between the mulch and plant.  Mulch conserves water, helps keep weeds from growing, and moderates soil temperature.

We Can Help

TN Nursery can help you design a privacy screen that is made up of different plants native to your area.  Give us a call at 931.692.7325 and our staff can help you find the plants that work best in your area.