Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Sunday - June 28, 2009
From: Los Angeles, CA
Region: California
Topic: Privacy Screening
Title: Privacy screen in front of cinderblock wall in Los Angeles
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I'm looking for a privacy hedge to plant along my backyard's cinderblock wall in Los Angeles, CA. I need it to grow 10 - 15 feet and it can't be toxic to dogs. Any advice would be great!ANSWER:
Since we are usually asked for evergreen shrubs for privacy screens, that is what we chose, which is a whole lot easier to find in Southern California than in Maine. We went to our Recommended Species section, clicked on Southern California on the map, and then did Narrow Your Search by searching on shrubs in the drop-down menu, and clicking on Narrow Your Search. You can repeat this search with other criteria, such as amount of sun, etc. None of these plants appeared on the following poisonous plants lists:
Poisonous Plants of North Carolina
Cornell University Plants Poisonous to Livestock
University of Pennsylvania Poisonous Plants
Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System
ASPCA Toxic and Non-toxic Plant List - Dogs
You can follow each plant link to the page on the individual plant and find out projected size and width, what kind of soil it likes, and how much sun it requires.
Shrubs for Southern California
Ceanothus impressus (Santa Barbara ceanothus) - 6 to 8 ft. tall, blooms blue March and April, part shade
Ceanothus leucodermis (chaparral whitethorn) - 4 to 8 ft. tall, blooms white, blue April to June, sun
Comarostaphylis diversifolia (summer holly) - slow-growing to 20 ft, blooms white May and June, part shade
Fremontodendron californicum (California flannelbush) - 6 to 12 ft., blooms ywllow June to September, low water use, part shade
Morella californica (California wax myrtle) - 10 to 25 ft., blooms white, yellow April to July, medium water use, sun or part shade - pictures
More Privacy Screening Questions
Are 'Ice Blue' Arizona Cypress and Desert Willow safe near a septic system?
September 18, 2015 - I want to plant a screen to hide driveway/cars on our property line that is close to the septic tank(not septic field) and the septic line running from the house. Would it be safe to plant a Ice Blue ...
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Evergreen privacy hedge resistant to verticillium wilt
September 27, 2011 - I am looking for an evergreen, fast-growing privacy hedge (over 6') that is resistant to verticillium wilt and has low water requirements. I live in Monrovia, CA and have to replace hopseed bushes w...
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Tree for screening along road
August 20, 2008 - What would you recommend for a linear tree lined street that needs to act as a buffer to hide less desirable backyards of ugly houses. The road is on lake travis near austin, texas. was hoping for a...
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Privacy screen by pool in Friendswood, TX
October 07, 2009 - We just moved into a new home with a pool in the backyard. We are trying to figure out what to plant along the back fence to allow for a bit of privacy; we have no direct backyard neighbors but there...
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Vine for screening fence in Michigan
May 05, 2010 - Need a perennial vine to grow on a chain link fence, full sun, moist ground. Wanted to block view. If it flowers and/or attracts butterflies, all the better.
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