Evergreen Screening Plants
This Page Brought to you by
Al Cooke
Agricultural Extension Agent
Chatham County Center
Evergreen Plants Suitable for Use as Screens
This list is provided as a convenience for the reader and is not intended to substitute for good gardening practices.Among the most important of these practices is selecting a plant suitable for the conditions provided by the site.
Users should seek out specific plant needs and reasonable expectations for any plant before selection is finalized.
Suggested sizes are generalizations; size may vary greatly depending on site and culture.
Staggered plantings with two or more species rather than straight rows of one species
maintain greater attractiveness, especially when a single plant dies.
Chatham County Nursery Sources
Other North Carolina Nursery Sources
Botanical Name | Common Name |
Comments |
| Agarista populifolia (Leucothoe populifolia) | Florida leucothoe |
8 to 12 feet high and half as wide loose arching form; pale green native shrub |
| Aucuba japonica | Japanese aucuba |
6 to 10 feet high, nearly as wide large leaves lend tropical texture; must be in shade |
| Camellia japonica | camellia | 10 to 15 feet high by 6 to 10 feet wide varieties with later flowers may have less cold injury |
| Camellia sasanqua | sasanqua camellia | most varieties are smaller (6 to 10 feet high) than C. japonica usually blooms before frost |
| Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera Aurea' | golden threadleaf Japanese falsecypress |
15 to 20 feet high and half as wide golden foliage most striking on south side |
| Cryptomeria japonica | Japanese cedar | 50 to 60 feet high by 20 to 30 feet wide usually shorter but broader than leyland cypress many varieties |
| Cunninghamia lanceolata 'Chason's Gift' | Chason's gift China-fir | propagated from 40 foot original tree more compact and conical than parent |
| Cupressus glabra | Arizona cypress | 40 to 50 feet high by 25 to 30 feet wide may have long term problems with adaptation to humid southeast; blue foliaged varieties such as 'Silver Smoke' have been popular |
| X Cupressocyparis ovensii | Ovens' cypress | reaches 35 feet in 15 to 20 years data insufficient to evaluate for diseases that have plagued X Cupressocyparis leylandii |
| Eleagnus pungens | thorny eleagnus | 10 to 15 feet high and wide not noted for establishment in the wild but a very aggressive grower provide sufficient space and avoid any major pruning regarded as invasive in some locations |
| Ilex X attenuata 'Fosteri' | Foster holly |
to 25 feet high by about 10 feet wide upright rapid grower with good fruit set |
| Ilex X attenuata 'Savannah' | Savannah holly |
25 to 40 feet high and nearly half as wide loose pyrimidal shape, rapid growth, good fruit set |
| Ilex cornuta | Chinese holly | 10 to 20 feet high and wide species seldom seen; known primarily as cultivars small and large |
| Ilex cornuta ‘Burfordii’ | burford holly | 20 to 25 feet high, slightly less wide noted for dependable fruit set |
| Ilex latifolia | lusterleaf holly | 20 to 25 feet high, pyramidal noted for glossy dark foliage and large berry clusters but seldom planted |
| Ilex latifolia 'Mary Nell' | Mary Nell holly | smaller leaves than species and less dense without regular pruning |
| Ilex 'Carolina Sentinel' | Carolina sentinel holly | 10 to 15 feet high and wide good heat and drought tolerance |
| Ilex cassine | dahoon holly |
20 to 30 feet high and half as wide native plant with open shape and good fruit set |
| Ilex x Nellie R. Stevens | Nellie Stevens holly | 15 to 50 feet high, pyramidal widely planted; noted for dependable fruit set |
| Ilex vomitoria | yaupon holly | 15 to 20 feet or more in height, 10 to 15 feet wide well adapted; female cultivars noted for persistent glossy berries |
| Illicium anisatum | Japanese anise-tree | 6 to 10 feet high, broadly pyramidal dense, suitable for formal as well as informal use |
| Illicium floridanum | Florida anise-tree | 6 to 10 feet high; slightly less wide well adapted; prized for the pungent foliage odor |
| Illicium parviflorum | small anise-tree | 10 to 15 feet high olive green foliage stands out |
| Juniperus chinensis 'Robusta Green' | robusta green juniper | to 15 feet high by 1/3 to 1/2 as wide brilliant green; irregular shape |
| Juniperus chinensis 'Spartan' | spartan Chinese juniper | 10 to 20 feet high by 4 to 8 feet wide fast, dense, columnar |
| Juniperus communis | common juniper | 5 to 10 feet high and slightly wider lacks heat tolerance in zone 7b and further south |
| Juniperus virginiana | eastern redcedar | 40 to 50 feet high by 8 to 20 feet wide grows wild locally with much variation in size, shape, and color select clonal varieties where uniformity is needed |
| Juniperus virginiana var. silicicola 'Brodie' | Brodie southern red cedar | 20 to 25 feet high by 4 to 6 feet wide? upright, columnar |
| Ligustrum japonicum | Japanese privet | 6 to 12 feet high (or higher) by 6 to 8 feet wide dense, upright; dark green regarded as invasive in some locations |
| Ligustrum lucidum | glossy privet | 20 to 25 feet high looser, more open; less glossy than L. japonicum regarded as invasive in some locations |
| Lorapetalum chinense | lorapetalum |
10 to 15 feet high and wide may be semi-evergreen in severe winters; prized for its fringed flowers. many cultivars available with green or maroon leaves and white to deep pink flowers |
| Magnolia grandiflora | southern magnolia | 60 to 80 feet high by 30 to 50 feet wide symbol of the old south; needs room |
| Magnolia grandiflora 'Bracken's Brown Beauty' | Bracken's brown beauty magnolia | 30 to 50 feet high and half as wide noted for rusty brown lower leaf surface |
| Magnolia grandiflora 'Hasse' | Hasse southern magnolia | parent tree 40 to 45 feet high and about 1/3 as wide dense conical shape makes this a good magnolia for limited spaces |
| Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem' | little gem magnolia | perhaps 20 feet high by 10 feet wide blooms at a young age and repeats throughout summer |
| Magnolia virginiana | sweetbay magnolia |
10 to 30 feet tall and about 1/3 as wide thinnly evergreen to deciduous in severe winters; good flowering plant for wet areas |
| Myrica cerifera | wax myrtle | 10 to 15 feet high and wide well adapted locally; noted for fragrant "bayberry" scented leaves |
| Osmanthus fortunei | Fortune’s osmanthus | 15 to 20 feet high and wide small flowers in fall noted more by fragrance than sight; dark green foliage |
| Osmanthus fragrans | fragrant tea-olive | 20 to 30 feet high most fragrant but least cold hardy osmanthus |
| Osmanthus heterophyllus | holly osmanthus | 8 to 12 feet high, slightly wider fragrant fall flowers; deep green foliage |
| Pittosporum tobira | pittosporum | 10 to 15 feet high by 15 to 30 feet wide good heat and drought tolerance; may suffer cold injury |
| Prunus caroliniana | Carolina cherrylaurel | 20 to 30 feet high and nearly as wide well adapted and widely used throughout the south |
| Prunus laurocerasus | English laurel | 10 to 20 feet high and twice as wide species more difficult to find than cultivars that range only 4 to 6 feet high |
| Pyracantha coccinea | scarlet firethorn | 6 to 20 feet high and wide fruits red-orange; has better cold tolerance the P. koidzumii |
| Pyracantha koidzumii | Formosa firethorn | 8 to 12 feet high and wide bright red fruit; may suffer cold injury |
| Ternstroemia gymnanthera | cleyera | 8 to 10 feet high and half as wide rich glossy foliage; very shade tolerant |
| Thuja 'Green Giant' | green giant arborvitae | 30 to 40 feet high, pyramidal shade of green varies with seasons |
| Thuja plicata 'Hogan' | Hogan western red cedar | probably larger than 'green giant' dense and pyramidal |
| Viburnum awabuki | Chindo viburnum | 15 to 20 feet high, somewhat conical lustrous leaves, large clusters of red fruits |
| Viburnum rhytidophyllum | leatherleaf viburnum | 10 to 15 feet multi-stemmed shrub |
| Viburnum tinus | laurustinus | 6 to 12 feet high and slighly narrower some varieties may be smaller; winter flowers |
Created Friday, June 25, 2004
Most recent revisions
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
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