Privacy Screening

There are many native plants capable of creating an effective privacy screen. Below are lists of native small trees and shrubs for this purpose. Of course, such woody plants may take years to fully mature. For the short term, we have also included some tall grasses and tall perennials that can provide an effective screen withing just one or two years.

Of all the plants, there are two options that stand out as particularly effective screens:

Hazelnut (Corylus americana) is a dense shrub with edible nuts. The large fuzzy leaves are particularly effective as a sound barrier.

Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) is one of the only native plants in this ecoregion that can function as a four season screening plant. It is a valuable and adaptable habitat plant, providing nesting and winter roosting for small birds. The blue fleshy cones on female trees are eaten by a variety of birds over the winter, and the genus is a host plant for several dozen butterfly and moth species, including the only green butterfly in Missouri, the Olive Hairstreak. Yet in a sunny space it is highly prolific. Left unattended, it will likely crowd out other natives and make it difficult for many new plants to get established.

Shrubs for Screening

Basically, all our recommendations flower and will provide nectar/pollen to our native butterflies and other pollinators, and many will support nesting locations for our small songbirds. Most provide fruit at various times of the year that birds will eat, and most importantly, the foliage will provide food for native plant-eating insects that are critical protein sources for all our native songbirds.

While the overall design/layout is entirely up to you, we do encourage planting in single-species clumps of 3, 5 or more plants. This increases their visibility to wildlife, maximizes pollinator foraging efficiency, and creates a dramatic look in your landscape. This approach can make it much easier to monitor the plants as they mature and to avoid trampling them when passing through the area.

Consider these highly adaptable natives that do well with any amount of direct sunlight:

Aromatic Sumac (Rhus aromatica)

Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum)

Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)

Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium)

Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)

Deciduous Holly or Possum Haw (Ilex decidua)

Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)

Lanceleaf Buckthorn (Rhamnus lanceolata)

Maidenbush (Phyllanthopsis phyllanthoides)

Mock Orange (Philadelphus pubescens)

Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago)

Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)

Ozark Witch Hazel (Hamamelis vernalis)

Prairie Willow (Salix humilis)

Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum americanum)

Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum)

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)

Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata)

Small Trees

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

Carolina Buckthorn (Frangula caroliniana)

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

Eastern Wahoo (Euonymus atropurpureus)

Green Hawthorn (Crataegus viridis)

Hop Tree (Ptelea trifoliata)

Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)

Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)

Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia)

Tall Grasses

Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), a huge native plant that when massed creates an effective privacy screen; it has a great dried look in winter.

Prairie Cord Grass (Spartina pectinata)

Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum) – formal native grass that stands up through winter and can tolerate a wide range of soil conditions from dry to moist.

Wood Grass (Sorghastrum nutans) – coarser foliage; prefers medium to dry soil.

Tall Perennials

Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa)

Culver’s Root (Veronicastrum virginicum) – spikes of tiny white flowers for bees and small butterflies.

Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum) - It is very aggressive and will spread. Would make an excellent privacy screen in this area so long as you are aware of the future management required to keep it in place. Spreads via rhizomes.

Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata) - Also known as Cutleaf Coneflower or Sochan. Spreads aggressively by rhizomes and tends to crowd out smaller plants. The leaves and shoots are edible and have a pleasant flavor that grows stronger through the growing season. Forager Chef Alan Bergo considers it a favorite leafy green.

Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum) – large dark pink flower heads attract pollinators to this 5 to 7 foot tall clump-forming perennial. Larval host plant to the Three-Lined Flower Moth and the Ruby Tiger Moth. Will grow in partial shade.

Rose Mallow (Hibiscus lasiocarpos)

Silphium Sunflower (Helianthus silphioides)

Sunchoke (Helianthus tuberosus) – Edible tuberous roots are best when harvested in winter. Known to be aggressive and form colonies; best for naturalized areas where it can spread or contained areas where it can be regularly harvested.

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