Tall and Narrow Screening Plants

How to choose a tall narrow screening plant

The low maintenance path is a plant that stays slim on its own. Straight and Narrow Lilly Pilly holds about 1m wide at 5m tall with almost no side pruning, and Pencil Pine does the same in conifer form, an Australian selection that keeps under 1m wide unclipped. 'Sky Pencil' Japanese Holly is the tightest of all at about 60cm wide, though it stops near 2.5m. Callistemon 'Slim' brings bottlebrush flowers and bird life to a 3m by 1.3m column, and 'Thin Fence' viburnum packs the speed of sweet viburnum into a 1.2m width.

The alternative is speed with commitment. Leighton Green (Cupressocyparis leylandii) reaches 12m untrimmed and 4m wide, and it makes a superb narrow hedge only if you trim twice a year without missing. It suits rural boundaries and big windbreaks better than side passages.

Matching a slim screen to climate and position

The classic columnar conifers, Pencil Pine, Italian Cypress and Spartan Juniper, are frost hardy, drought tolerant and wind tolerant, which is why they line driveways across the cold inland and through the drier climates of Adelaide and Perth. They dislike humid tropical summers. In the subtropics and tropics, reverse the logic: Straight and Narrow, 'Lush and Thin' murraya and Timor Black bamboo all thrive in heat and humidity, the bamboo reaching around 12m with glossy black canes on a clumping base.

One honest caveat on deciduous choices: Capital Pear gives a fast 10m column with autumn colour, but it stands bare through winter, so use it where summer screening matters more than year round privacy.

Spacing for narrow screens

• 50cm to 60cm apart: 'Sky Pencil' holly at 50cm; 'Thin Fence' viburnum and 'Lush and Thin' murraya at 60cm.
• 60cm to 80cm apart: Straight and Narrow Lilly Pilly for a dense narrow wall.
• 1m apart: Pencil Pine, Spartan Juniper, Italian Cypress and Callistemon 'Slim'.
• 1.5m to 2m apart: Timor Black bamboo at 1.5m; Capital Pear at 2m.

Keep the row at least 40cm off a wall or fence so air moves behind the foliage. In a side passage, measure the finished width honestly: a plant that matures at 1.2m wide in a 90cm passage will be brushed past every single day, and no amount of clipping makes that pleasant.

Care and clipping

Water deeply twice a week through the first summer, taper once established, and feed in spring. Columnar conifers need one light trim a year at most, and never cut back past the green growth, because most conifers will not reshoot from bare wood. Broadleaf columns such as the lilly pilly and murraya take harder clipping happily. Watch the base of any narrow screen: keep mulch clear of the stems and let light reach the bottom of the plant, since a slim screen that goes bare at ankle height has lost half its point. Our guide on building a dense hedge applies just as well to narrow ones.

Common questions

What is the narrowest screening plant available?

'Sky Pencil' Japanese Holly holds about 60cm wide, the slimmest here, with Straight and Narrow Lilly Pilly and Pencil Pine at about 1m. All three keep those widths by habit rather than constant cutting.

What suits a hot, exposed driveway?

Italian Cypress and Spartan Juniper both tolerate frost, drought, wind and poor soil, and Pencil Pine matches them while staying slimmer. Space any of them 1m apart for a formal line.

Which slim screens suit tropical and subtropical gardens?

Timor Black bamboo, 'Lush and Thin' murraya and Straight and Narrow Lilly Pilly all handle heat and humidity well. The Mediterranean style conifers prefer drier air and perform better south and inland.

Do tall narrow plants still need height maintenance?

Only if the mature height overshoots the job, so check it first: Capital Pear and Italian Cypress run to about 10m, while Callistemon 'Slim' stops at 3m. For more height options at conventional widths, the 4m to 8m screening range is the sibling collection to browse.

How does delivery work?

Delivered Australia wide with delivery from $29.95 and no minimum order. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.