# Privacy to the South without too much shade



## Rooster (Aug 19, 2019)

The back of our house faces South, and that is the biggest problem area for privacy. I want to do plantings at the back of the yard, but I don't want to end up with too much shade on the bermuda. If there's no shade at all from the East or West will this even be a problem?

Any suggestions for which plants/trees, or how to space them to get the best combo of privacy and sunlight?


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## McDiddles (Feb 24, 2020)

what kind of height and shape are you looking for? Something upright without much of a canopy would fit what you're looking for. I'd think conifers like Arborviate or Cryptomeria but they can get really tall with little way to prune. Avoid leylands. They always have problems. Maybe, Foster or Nellie Stephens holly.


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## Rooster (Aug 19, 2019)

@McDiddles, I had originally been thinking either crape myrtle or thuja, or a combo of the two. Admittedly crape myrtles are probably not ideal because of the canopy, but I love them and was hoping to use them somewhere.

Do you think I could make thuja Green Giant and/or crape myrtles work in some fashion, and if so do you have any spacing or layout tips? The property is only about 50 feet wide in the back and slopes slightly away from the house.


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## McDiddles (Feb 24, 2020)

Bermuda_Rooster said:


> @McDiddles, I had originally been thinking either crape myrtle or thuja, or a combo of the two. Admittedly crape myrtles are probably not ideal because of the canopy, but I love them and was hoping to use them somewhere.
> 
> Do you think I could make thuja Green Giant and/or crape myrtles work in some fashion, and if so do you have any spacing or layout tips? The property is only about 50 feet wide in the back and slopes slightly away from the house.


Thuja Green Giant, and Arborviate Green Giant are one in the same. They'll make for good privacy once they mature. Crepe myrtles can get large, and the canopy could be an issue in time, if you don't keep them cut back. Also, their going to loose their leaves in the fall, which doesn't make for good privacy during the off season.


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## Rooster (Aug 19, 2019)

@McDiddles, I'm hoping that with a tree unlikely to exceed 30 feet many years from now, dead south from the house, that the shade impact during long summer days would be minimal. Any thoughts on that?

I have read that Emerald Green, rather than Green Giant, excels down here in the heat and humidity . . . but I'm concerned with either because I'm not sure my soil will drain well enough. More reading to do!


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## McDiddles (Feb 24, 2020)

Shade issues are usually happening directly under the tree canopy, and potentially, the canopy's shadow. We this a lot with houses that are built close together. If you have bermudagrass growing directly under a tree its likely going to decline. Just a matter of time. If you keep it trimmed to allow for light penetration, and keep the grass away from the direct canopy by using a proportionately sized bed then you'll probably be fine. Check you're crepe variety for height. I've def seen crepe's taller than 30'. But you're right, that's now happening soon.

Think the only difference in the emerald and the giant are the size. Could be wrong.


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