The Best Privacy Plants for Central Florida

• Whether you live in the city of the suburbs, most homeowners recognize the need for privacy. Plants create a natural privacy screen that also improves the appearance of the landscape. In Central Florida's United State of Agriculture Hardiness Zone 9, the best privacy plants are drought-tolerant, reach at least 8 feet tall and have dense, evergreen leaves. Besides creating a private area, these plants will also provide a home for birds and small mammals.

Japanese Mockorange

• Japanese mockorange (Pittosporum tobira) is an evergreen shrub with broad leaves. Growing to 15 feet tall and wide, this shrub makes an excelling privacy screen or informal hedge, according to Floridata. Japanese mockorange grows in full to partial sun and a wide range of soils. The leaves are grayish-green and darker on the top, giving the shrub an attractive appearance. Although this plant prefers moist, well-drained soil, it is drought-tolerant. Japanese mockorange originates from Japan and China and grows throughout milder climates, including in Central Florida. Clusters of white flowers cover this shrub in late spring. These flowers are quite fragrant with a scent similar to that of an orange tree.

Oriental Arborvitae

• Growing to 50 feet tall, but more commonly kept much smaller, Oriental arborvitae (Platycladus orientalis) is a dense, evergreen shrub with scaled leaves. This shrub grows in full or partial sun in well-drained and even poor soils in USDA Hardiness Zones 6 through 11. Oriental arborvitae is a low-maintenance plant that makes an excellent privacy screen in your Florida garden. Although this plant is extremely drought-tolerant, water it regularly the first year to assure good root development, according to Floridata. This shrub produces small, round, bluish cones in the late summer. Some varieties of this plant, such as 'Elegantissima,' have dense, yellow foliage that is quite striking in the landscape.

Oleander

• A common sight growing in commercial locations in mild climates, Oleander (Nerium oleander) is a fast growing, evergreen shrub that produces large, showy pink, yellow or white flowers in the summer. The deep green, lance-shaped leaves are dense and this shrub easily reaches a height of 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Grow Oleander in full sun and well-drained soil in USDA Hardiness Zones 8 through 10, according to Floridata. (see ref #4) Oleander plants flower throughout the summer months. This shrub is poisonous if ingested and shouldn't be used in areas with unsupervised young children.