Full Sun Hedge Plants for Phoenix, Arizona

Native Plants

• For lowest maintenance and water usage, use Arizona native plants. Hopbush (Dodonaea viscosa) is an evergreen shrub with small greenish flowers that give rise to showy, papery, pink-tinged fruits. It grows 6- to 15-feet tall and wide in USDA zones 9 through 11. Purple-leaf hopbush (Dodonaea viscosa var. purpurea) is similar except for the purple leaf color. Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) is also evergreen, with tough, leathery, oval leaves. Each bush is either male or female, with insignificant flowers. Female jojoba produces dark brown seeds that contain a liquid wax. Plants reach 5- to 8-feet tall and wide and grow in USDA zones 9 through 11.

Edible Plants

• Oval, green-skinned fruits with a pineapple tang are a bonus from a pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana) hedge. The evergreen shrub has showy summer flowers with pale pink petals and bright red stamens. Petals are edible, with a sweet fruity flavor. Hardy in USDA zones 8 through 10, pineapple guava grows 10- to 15-feet tall and as wide and attracts hummingbirds. Create a hedge from different kinds of citrus (Citrus spp.). Aromatic dark green leaves bear fragrant white spring flowers and colorful fall and winter fruit. Plant all one species or mix several kinds with similar growth habits. Consider planting early, mid-season and late-ripening varieties of sweet oranges (Citrus sinensis) for extended fruit harvest. Citrus plants are hardy in USDA zones 9 through 11.

Showy Flowers

• Summer-blooming 4- to 6-inch wide flowers grace the bright green foliage of tropical hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis). Many named cultivars are available with flower colors that include red, pink, orange, peach, yellow and white, along with combinations of colors in one blossom. Hibiscus bushes, hardy in USDA zones 9 through 11, can reach 10 feet tall. Texas ranger (Leucophyllum frutescens) offers showy summer-to-fall bloom. Bushes are covered with lavender to magenta bell-shaped flowers after summer and fall rains or heavy irrigation. Gray leaves are evergreen, although some varieties have partial winter leaf drop. Plants grow 8- to 12-feet tall and wide in USDA zones 8 through 11.

Evergreens

• Native to Mediterranean countries, myrtle (Myrtus communis) is grown for its aromatic, dark green, tidy foliage. Extras are white fragrant spring flowers and small, oval, blue-gray fruits in fall. Bushes grow in USDA zones 9 through 11 and reach 10 to 15 feet tall. They accept pruning to keep them to the desired size. Podocarpus (Podocarpus macrophyllus var. angustifolius) has dark green, evergreen leaves and has compact, upright growth suitable for smaller spaces. It makes a dense screen. Hedged podocarpus gives a more formal appearance and should be hand-pruned rather than sheared. It grows in USDA zones 8b through 11.