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
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 - April 14, 2013
From: Massapequa, NY
Region: Northeast
Topic: Poisonous Plants, Privacy Screening, Shrubs
Title: Dog Friendly Privacy Hedge for Long Island
Answered by: Anne Van Nest
QUESTION:
Can you please advise me of some plants for a privacy hedge that are non-toxic to dogs and that would thrive on Long Island, NY? I am looking for a hedge to grow to about 6-8 ft.ANSWER:
The first place to go to find a list of potential plants is our Native Plant Database. Use the Combination Search feature instead of Recommended Species. This will provide a bigger selection with much more choice to narrow down. The volunteers and staff at the Wildflower Center who maintain the database have partners in different regions to help with these recommended species lists based on what is easy to access in local nurseries.
Under Combination Search, select the following categories: New York, Habit - Shrub, Duration – Perennial, Leaf Retention – Evergreen, and Height Specifics – 6-12 ft. You can narrow down this search further by indicating light requirement (sun, part shade or shade), and soil moisture (dry, moist or wet).
Five plants were selected that you might consider:
Ilex glabra (inkberry)
Jumiperus communis var. depressa (common juniper)
Leucothoe fontanesiana (drooping leucothoe). While drooping leucothoe is a great plant, it is a bit too open in its growth habit and may not make a total screening privacy hedge.
Mahonia aquifolium (hollyleaved barberry)
Taxus canadensis (American yew)
Follow each plant link to our webpage for that plant to learn its growing conditions, bloom time, etc. At the bottom of each plant webpage, under Additional Resources, there is a link to the USDA webpage for that plant. Take a look there for more specific details about suitability before you put them on your final planting list. Think about including plants that have interest during a variety of seasons and that have more than one attractive feature (flower, fruit, foliage, bark, etc.) so you can get more benefits out of your privacy hedge.
Lastly, take your list of potential plants and compare them to the ASPCA list of plants toxic and non-toxic to dogs. This list is organized by scientific and common name.
From the Image Gallery
More Privacy Screening Questions
Need suggestions for plants to form a privacy hedge in Charleston, WV.
April 05, 2011 - Mr. Smarty Pants, I live in zone 6 and an looking for an evergreen privacy type hedge that grows no taller than 10'-12'. I am not interested in any boxwood type of hedge. The evergreens would be ...
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Evergreen hedge for screen in Austin
November 02, 2008 - We are looking for a tall, fast growing, drought tolerant, evergreen hedge to run along our ~200' back property line in West Lake, west of Austin, TX.
This is at the bottom of a slope, and runs th...
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Year-round privacy screen of evergreen plants.
November 02, 2010 - We need a year-round privacy screen of evergreen plants.
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Landscaping a Fence with Native Plants for Central Texas
March 08, 2013 - I'm looking to landscape my fence that I've lined with woven bamboo. The area gets the hot afternoon sun in summer and is pretty shady in winter. The plants need to be drought and heat tolerant. I'...
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Shrubs for a screen in DC
May 05, 2011 - Live in Washington DC vicinity (zones: 7-8). Looking for hardy shrubs to screen a 47 foot long picket fence and provide barrier to neighbor. It is western exposure with sun light. Ideally evergreen, d...
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