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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer

Not Yet Rated

Tuesday - January 06, 2009

From: Shiloh, GA
Region: Southeast
Topic: Privacy Screening
Title: Recommendations for a 700 ft. noise and privacy barrier in Georgia
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

Need recommendation for a fast growing, non-invasive native plant for a 700' barrier (noise & privacy) in wooded area; the area is mostly hardwood with some pine, and a good understory is established with native & medicinal plants and grasses.

ANSWER:

Mr. Smarty Plants has received several questions recently regarding plant barriers, but 700' is the longest so far. I am going to refer you to a previously answered question from Bainbridge, GA which will give you an idea of the sorts of plants you may want to use for your barrier. Better yet, I will also tell how you can make up your own list of plants.

On our Recommended Species page select the state of Georgia from the map or from the pull-down menu and you will get a list of 201 "commercially available native plant species suitable for planned landscapes in Georgia." You can use the "NARROW YOUR SEARCH" option to limit the list to trees by choosing "Tree" from the Habit (general appearance) option. This will narrow the list to 63 tree species that will do well in Georgia. If you choose "Shrubs" in the "NARROW YOUR SEARCH" option, you will get a list of 60 shrubs. Each plant name on the list is accompanied by one or more thumbnail images. Clicking on the plant name will take you to its NATIVE PLANT DATABASE page where you can then look at the "Plant Characteristics" and "Growing Conditions" to see what best suits your site. Look also under "Benefit" if you are looking for colorful fall foliage or use by birds and other wildlife. Clicking on USDA in the Additional Resources box toward the bottom of the page will take you to a USDA Plant Profile page which contains a distribution map to see if the plants that interest you will grow in Harris County. I did this and came up with a plant named Possum Haw Ilex decidua (possumhaw) . I find it hard to say the word possum and not smile. Another choice would be Wax myrtle Morella cerifera (wax myrtle) It is a fast growing evergreen that would fit your situation.

Ilex decidua