Screening Shrubbery for Low Light

Attractive In Autumn

• Dwarf-winged burning bush “Compactus” (Euonymus alatus “Compactus”) and heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica) are good screening shrubs that add attractive color to your landscape in autumn. “Compactus” tolerates considerable shade and heavy pruning in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 8. Its foliage turns pinkish in autumn. Heavenly bamboo tolerates full shade but performs better exposed to the morning sun and grows in USDA zones 6 through 9. Not a member of the bamboo family, its foliage turns reddish-purple in autumn but is evergreen in USDA zones 8 through 10. Both shrubs are considered invasive in some places.

Tolerates Deer

• Deer won’t eat certain screening shrubbery that grows in full to partial shade. Canadian hemlock “Monler” (Tsuga canadensis “Monler”), also known as emerald fountain, prefers the cooler climates of USDA zones 4 through 7. This needled evergreen can grow near black walnut trees but doesn’t tolerate drought. Prune Japanese kerria “Pleniflora” (Kerria japonica “Pleniflora”) after its yellow, spring flowers senesce. This amenable shrub grows in wet or dry soil in USDA zones 4 through 9 as an informal screen and is a popular choice for shady spots but is considered invasive in some places.

Controls Soil Erosion

• Spotted laurel (Aucuba japonica) and small anise tree (Illicium parviflorum) are screening shrubs for full to partial shade that control soil erosion. Spotted laurel tolerates poor soil and air pollution but requires shelter from strong wind. This shrub, which grows in USDA zones 7 through 9, also makes a good container plant or houseplant for rooms kept between 60 and 69 degrees Fahrenheit. Small anise tree is native to swamps and moist woodlands of central Florida and grows in USDA zones 7 through 10. Although not considered invasive, it spreads to form colonies.

Tall Growth Habit

• Some screening shrubbery that grows in full shade to full sun has a tall growth habit. Hornbeam (Carpinus cordata) grows as a 50-foot-tall tree in the forest, but in cultivation can grow as a large shrub reaching 20 to 30 feet tall. Ideal for woodland gardens, this low-maintenance plant grows in USDA zones 5 through 8. Yew “Hicksii” (Taxus x media “Hicksii”) grows 12 to 20 feet tall – after 20 years – in USDA zones 4 through 7. Tolerant of considerable pruning and drought, all parts of the “Hicksii” are poisonous.