Screening plants can be the solution to so many problems. Maybe you live near a highway or have a loud neighbor. Perhaps your neighbor is too nosy or there’s some air pollution from a nearby factory. Furthermore, you might just want to isolate your backyard from everything else going on in the world. Either way, screening plants can be the answer. Therefore, you may wonder what are the best screening plants and what makes them so great? In this article, we will highlight the 6 best screening plants and explain each one in depth.
What Are Screening Plants?
Screening plants are a life saver in many situations. Screening plants are specifically good at blocking noise and vision from the outside world. After all, it’s your backyard. Screening plants help you remove unwanted distractions. Which plants typically make for the best screening plants? Typically an effective screening plant is defined by being dense in stature and quick to grow. Next, we’ll explore which plants pass the test at being the best screening plants.
What Are The Best Screening Plants?
Depending on your aesthetic and other preferences, there are many screening plants to choose from. Examples of great screening plants include bamboo, arborvitae, leyland cypress, Japanese maple and rosemary. Each of these plants grow fast, can survive a multitude of climates and are beautiful in appearance.
Bamboo
Bamboo might be our favorite screening plant of all time. It’s a fast-growing, hardy, and attractive screening plant. For ultimate privacy, bamboo can grow up to 20 feet in height. The thick nature of this plant makes for an effective sound wall and most animals/pests don’t find it very tasty.
Arborvitae
Evergreens such as arborvitae are excellent for many of the same reasons as bamboo. Although they’re softer in nature and different in appearance, they are equally effective as a screening plant. Arborvitae are dense, fast-growing, and can tolerate a wide range of climates. Similar to bamboo, animals especially deer are completely deterred by their chemistry.
Leyland Cypress
Leyland cypress may not sound familiar, but chances are you’ve seen it before. Very similar to arborvitae, this is a fast-growing evergreen that can be a great screen for privacy. It holds up strong in winter climates, making it a popular choice for homeowners in the northern half of the United States.
Japanese Maple
If you want to spice up the colors and style of your backyard in a screening plant, consider the Japanese maple. This is a very attractive plant that can make for a great screen. However, the reason why we’ve ranked it below the likes of bamboo, arborvitae and leyland cypress is because it grows very slowly. However, once established, it’s hardy and can tolerate a wide range of climates.
Rosemary
Rosemary is best known in the landscape community for being attractive and low-maintenance. It too is an evergreen shrub that can provide a great screen for privacy. Rosemary is unlike the other evergreens we’ve mentioned for two distinct reasons. First, and unfortunately, it’s a shorter plant than arborvitae and leyland cypress. However, rosemary is also delightfully fragrant, much more than the other screening plants mentioned above.
What Are The Best Screening Plants In The United States?
In most of the United States, winters are rather extreme. Therefore, an effective screening plant in ideal conditions can wither away in 3-4 months of brutal freezing temperatures. The best screening plants for the United States are evergreen shrubs like the arborvitae, leyland cypress and rosemary we mentioned. Bamboo is an excellent screening plant, especially for noise, but evergreens can survive harsher conditions.
As long as you aren’t bordering Canada, bamboo or evergreens are your best bet. Otherwise, if you are far north, evergreen screening plants are the way to go. In fact, evergreen plants will even wear a good amount of snow during the winter, making them even better at canceling out nearby noise.
Benefits of Screening Plants
Screening plants do a whole lot more than just blocking out noise and nearby sights. Screening plants have also been known to improve air quality, reduce energy costs and even prevent soil erosion. Most screening plants will absorb carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide from the air, creating a cleaner and healthier environment. Depending on the height and proximity of your screening plants, they can provide also shade and insulation. Therefore, this reduces air-conditioning costs in the summer and heating costs in the winter. Lastly, another benefit of screening plants is that they stabilize soil by trapping sediment and reducing the impact of runoff.
What Are The Best Screening Plants Summary
Fortunately, there are plenty of effective screening plants to choose from. Size, color and other aesthetic preferences can be accommodated while still providing the noise and scenery privacy you seek. There are far more benefits with most screening plants than just their privacy purpose. We’ve outlined 5 of the best screening plants in this article. When in doubt, most evergreen plants are excellent screening plants.
