Silver Sheen VS Podacarpus VS Purple Hop Bush
Gardening Question From Maria:
Hi, I live in Irvine, CA, and I am looking for replacement for privacy hedge/trees for our two 20 foot Camphor trees. Unfortunately, the Camphors had grown too big and lifting our concrete and messing up our pipes. The trees will be right by our main patio area so I prefer them to be clean, tall and skinny. The planter box is 15′ long (on property line) and about 2-4′ deep. To match the Melaleuca and Silver Sheen on the property, I am looking for a more whispy look instead of a formal hedge. My top candidates are: 1) Pittosporum “Silver Sheen” or “Silver Magic” or tallest variety suggestion – can these trees be trimmed so that they can look like a row of white birch but will I have enough leaves on top for privacy? My 7 year old Silver Sheens looks pretty thin right now but not sure if being on a steep hill and the drought didn’t help.
2) Podocarpus (Fern Pine) – I’ve seen this tree replace lots of our local shopping center parking lot trees but they are primarily shaped as a tree with all the lower branches cut out. I am wondering if they can be trained as a multi-trunk tree or leave the bottom branches on like a douglas fir xmas tree.
3) Purple Hop Bush – not sure of height, messy?, dense enough?
Thanks for your help đ
Photo by wallygrom 
Answer From Pat:
Silver Sheen pittosporum is suffering in some areas from root rot or vector-born disease causing sudden death to some specimens. I think one of the best hedges or privacy screens available is Podocarpus gracilior, but please be aware there is a trick to this: Seed-grown podocarpus grow to be a full size tree. Be very very sure to purchase cutting grown plants for a hedge, NOT seed grown.
Photo by briweldon
What about the Purple Hop Bush?
What about Podocarpus Maki? Do those matter if they are grown from seed? It says they are a slow grower. How slow is slow?
Thanks
The point regarding Podocarpus âMakiâ is that it makes a good, compact foundation plant or hedge and does not grow so fast that it presents a pruning problem, ie: it doesnât need shearing very often. Itâs much more attractive than purple hop bush, in my opinion.
I planted a pomegranate tree several years ago , the second year it produced two small fruits , and they a nice red color and sweet ,ever since I get lots of fruit but on the inside they are white and kind of dry looking . Any ideas ??? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated
Several other writers have asked me the same or similar questions. Unfortunately the problems you are facing with your pomegranate tree are the result of global warming which is causing climate change and erratic swings in temperature. There is really nothing you can do about it.
Hi. I see you talked about the Pittosporum and the Podocarpus, but what about the Purple Hopseed Bush? I’m considering it for a screen, but I would love to hear your thoughts about it as a screen. I’m hoping for 10-12 feet, and somewhat dense. I don’t mind if you can see through it a bit, but I’m worried about bare, open regions that provide no screen at all. Can Purple Hopseed be maintained as a reasonable screen? Thank you in advance!
I donât recommend Purple hop bush (Dodonia viscose) as a hedge. Plants can suddenly die, foliage can be sparse and âsee throughâ, does not take well to clipping, purple color does not last all year.
PS – I’d like to keep the screen to about 5 feet in width…
I note you are asking about seed-grown versus cuttings grown Podocarpus gracilior. The distinction regarding hedge plants versus trees only applies to Podocarpus gracilior. In other words if you want to grow a hedge of Podocarpus gracilior, you must ask at the nursery for plants that were grown from cuttings. When that plant is grown from a seed it becomes a full grown tree, not a hedge! This advice does not apply to other plants. Podocarpus âMakiâ is a particular compact cultivar of Podocarpus that was developed or selected by Monrovia Nurseries and that works well as a hedge or a foundation plant.