I am looking for suggestions on what to plant (small trees, bushes, shrubs, etc.) along this fence in my backyard. I want something will grow at least halfway up (preferably the height of the fence - 6 feet), be pretty, offers fall/winter color, non-deciduous and requires little or no attention. I know that's a lot, but I'd like everyone's best suggestions. I live in South Carolina, Zone 5. Thank you!

You are going to have oodles of trouble, fall and winter color?
Things generally do not bloom in the fall and winter due to the very low light intensities, cold temperatures and short day length.

I am going to suggest small evergreens trimmed and decorated with Christmas ornaments and colored lights. Turn them on November 1st through February 28th.

Holly may give you berry color for winter on evergeen plants. CHoose carefully for small size.

Mahonia- there's one called soft Caress which is very pretty and if like other Mahonia it blooms midwinter.
Anping Mahonia (Mahonia eurybracteata subsp. ganpinensis 'Soft Caress')
Other barberry, preferably native to North america- barberry may give you choice of foliage color or some cold weather color change
The Barberries Database

Choose carefully as many shrubs eventually will get much bigger if not trimmed ever.

I was going to suggest Elaeagnus but I don't think it's hardy in zone 5. I would go for something like Holly or Euonymus - there are some lovely variegated forms to provide colour interest. Mahonia is a good suggestion too.
One thing I would also emphasise is not to plant too close to the fence. You need a minimum of 2 - 3 feet away from the fence to allow for growth and to avoid dryness.

York, South Carolina should be closer to being in a 7b USDA Hardiness Zone.

You can look it up by zip code here,
https://garden.org/nga/zipzone...

What kind of sun exposure does the area have?

Camellias could be a possibility if the area isn't in full, blazing sun all day.
Camellias (Camellia)

I think @Danita is correct in that you are closer to zone 7.

Without knowing what kind of sun exposure the fence line gets I am going to suggest Bottlebrush tree. This fast growing shrub has beautiful bloom, evergreen slender leaves and is drought tolerant once established. If you know someone who has one of these you can just cut branches, strip off the bottom leaves and some of the bark and stick them in the soil and water them in. Right now is the perfect time for doing this. The bloom attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.

Gardenia and Glossy Abelia are two more choices.

Another thing to consider is Leyland Cypress. These are fast growing trees and provide privacy, but they are evergreen as well.

All of the above suggestions from the other members of this site are excellent and do remember to plant away from the fence to allow room for maturity. There are species of Azalea's that bloom all year now. They are attractive and will get 10 ft tall eventually, but they are not going to reach 6 ft for a good amount of years.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention grasses. They grow fast, they are lovely, and there are many kinds to choose from. I am partial to Red Fountain Grass, Miscanthus, and Pink Muhley varieties. A grass garden is just perfect for molding a landscape and it is drought tolerant and you will only need to cut back the Red Fountain Grass in the winter close to the ground in order for the new green shoots to come forth. Hope this helps.

Yes to azalea, it's widely used in the south and not too fast growing. I think you'll see some color change in the leaves in cold weather.

Sorry, but some of slowcala's suggestions won't fit the small size request.

Thank you all for your answers. I do appreciate them, and I did make a mistake. As suggested, I DO live in Zone 7a - 7b, NOT 5. The length of the fence area that I want coverage is about 70 feet.

If anyone wants to offer different ideas based on these updates, I certainly would appreciate it.

Thanks!

I had the same problem: what to plant along a fence that met the same requirements (full sun, low/no maintenance, easy care, evergreen , fall/winter color, height to cover the fence) I ALMOST got everything I wanted except evergreen!

I planted a row of Purple Glam beautyberries in 2020; since I have them on a drip line, the first year of watering (while they became established) was effortless!
spring and summer, the foliage is a dark purple,with tiny white flowers in mid-summer(with newly formed and developing bight pink berries on the same branch). In fall, the berries contrast nicely with the foliage, with the foliage dropping the last half of October (I'm in NC, zone 7a/b). The birds devour almost all the berries by after Christmas; we got snow last night (jan 8) and the branches stand out against that fence.

Once they mature, they will totally obscure that fence, but NOT grow taller than it (I chose a short variety).
Now some photos of their first year:

Week of transplanting


55 days post-transplant

flower buds


150+ days post-transplant