I am going to plant something along a fence line and need some advice. My goal is to plant something to screen off the neighbors property.
I live in Carlton, in the foothills of the Coast range and this fence line is located in a oak and doug fir forest. I need something which is not deciduous, will grow to over 10 feet in shade and that deer will not bother.

The guy at Al's recommended Strawberry Tree. It looks good to me, like a Madrone

Just getting second opinions. Ideas????

Look up Aucuba, Gold dust plant in the database . They can reach 8 to 10 feet.

Holly might make a really nice evergreen screen, too. But they grow kind of slowly.

You might also want to consider Eleagnus. There are a number of species, some variegated, and are very hardy. They adapt to a variety of growing conditions and are very drought tolerant. Some are deciduous and some are evergreen.

http://www.learn2grow.com/gard...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E...

Really appreciate your input.
Something I did not mention is that I would like the planting to look ask if they could be a forest plant. Plantings along a fence are contrived at best and would not occur in nature, but the Strawberry Tree does look like our native Madrone, and it gets fairly big.

Acuba is a very beautiful shrub and I have seen it used all over the wet side on Oregon on the shady side of homes and I always like the plant. Not sure if it would look natural growing under a forest canopy. I really do not know from where it hales???? I am going to think about that one.

Never have been much of a holly fan, but it is also a good thought!! Thank you.

Eleagnus is also a commonly used shrub around here. It would also look natural growing under the forest canopy. Not sure if it grows large enough in shade. Also some of then have thorns,,,forgot to say, I am not a fan of thorns. After years of battling black berry bushes, except for carpet roses, I do not do thorns. I did get a huge respect for carpet roses at the place I had a few years ago.
Some do not have thorns, I guess I will have to do more research!!!

Anymore thoughts,,,,thank you very much!!!!

Take a little hike around the 'wild' areas near you and see what grows naturally in the canopy, and has leaves at this time of year. Look for spots with similar amounts of light/shade as your fence line area.

You might even get lucky and encounter seedlings you could transplant, as long as it's not a protected species.

Another thought was the wild rhododendrons with the purple flowers. My parents had a large planting of them in Vancouver BC, and they grow wild in Manning Park, too. They will definitely get to be well over 10ft. tall. Great screen plant and beautiful when in bloom. You can start them from layering the lower branches, pinning them to the ground and letting them root.

Now that is an idea,,, Yes, I think rhodies such as you suggest would work. Well it is worth a look about for ideas. I forgot to say, I live on 20 acres and I have at least 100 feet of fence line maybe more to plant.

One of my big fears is that my neighbor will log someday and all that can be so ugly. I just dread it, and want to make sure I have a back up plan to screen the view in that direction if he ever does log.

You ideas are appreciated, thank you!!!!

Here is a bit more info on the Elaeagnus species.

http://www.learn2grow.com/sear...

Goodness! A hundred feet of fence line is a lot to plant. To make it look natural and not too much like a hedge, you might also consider planting a variety of different shrubs or small trees.

If your neighbor logs his property, will some of the shade go away? Best to take that into consideration, too!

Thank you Moonhowl. There are some nice types of Elaeagnus, wonder if they can stand the wet soils we have in western Oregon??? It says sandy loam,,,we have clay and and it holds water all winter???

Well, yes, some shade will go away, but his trees are on the north side of my property, but you are correct, some will go away in various locations. Some near the fence as many Doug Firs are near or on the fence line.

I am thinking of using many ideas you all have shared and putting together a grouping along this fence. I have to start somewhere. Had the fence put in and soon will be the time to plant. That is the reason for gather all these great ideas from so many generous gardeners!

The taller form of Mahonia should be native to your area and will grow in deep shade. Evergreen huckleberry and leucothoe (sp?) are also native. I get a lot of bird-planted laurel in my deep shade which grows pretty quickly - can be a nuisance I hear but so far I'm just letting mine establish as a polite neighbor screen where they show up. I like the idea of a variety - maybe even with some sword fern at the foot of whatever you plant for added depth (if not height) and perhaps some snowberry - it is deciduous but the berries hang on through winter and it creates a bit of a tangled twig screen. Another thought is to create some brush piles against your fence now and then - good for the wild critters and could be temporary blocks while waiting for your plantings to grow.

It is always good to plan ahead - if you don't own the view, you really can't complain about what happens to it.

I ran across this info...Oregon natives, from Portland Nursery. I hope it helps you decide.

The first link is an inventory list, the second is a link to the nursery itself...You may be able to put together a good mixed planting of natives that would not require a major amount of upkeep.

http://portlandnursery.com/doc...

http://portlandnursery.com/pla...

Consider vines too...maybe Gelsemium? should be evergreen in your area, flowers spring and fall, sun to shade --don't know what kind of fence you put in or whether it could grow on it or not, but it could sure make a brush pile more attractive
and/or Trachelospermum jasminoides

I know you asked for not deciduous suggestions, but with 100ft of fenceline it might be nice--and fun--to have the variety of some shrubs/trees/vines that pop with fall color as they loose their leaves and I, for one, am a big fan of red and yellow twigs with the conifers in winter, so...maybe consider tossing in some dogwoods and willows?

After scouting that Portland Nursery site, I was reminded of the big Elderberries we planted at my daughter's house in Salt Lake City. I know they're not native or evergreen, but . . . for a fast, tall screen they really can't be beat. So if the logging happens sooner than you're ready for it, a few of the Black Beauty Sambucus will screen very quickly. Might be worthwhile to add them to your screen border for the contrasting foliage, too. It's really gorgeous! The variety Black Lace is even prettier with leaves that look like Japanese Maple, but they don't get as big.

Ours went from a couple of wimpy little starts about 18in. high to 6ft. the first summer, and were overgrown every summer after that, topping out well over 12ft. if we'd let them. She has clay soil, and they were in the shade for all but the highest sun months, June and July. In Salt Lake, higher and colder than you, they leafed out very early in spring and held their leaves until nearly December each year.

Wow, you guys are great. SO much info!
Aside from the potential logging, I like privacy. We moved here a year and a half ago and have done so much, but we are far from done. There are so many lovely choices.
That Elderberry is so pretty dyzzypyxxy, I will keep it on the list and maybe try it with the others.
Never considered vines, dirtdorphins, but will look them and consider, thank you.
Bonehead, thank you for your thoughts about the wildlife, that is very important to my husband. I found a great site http://www.nwplants.com/busine... and there are two nice Elderberries and loads of other good choices. Also Bonehead (feel mean calling you that), that Evergreen Huckleberry looks real good! I will add Mahonia in the foreground and it grows already in this forest. The other one you mentioned leucothe,,,I am a little afraid of as I killed several pots of it, as it died wherever I planted it, but that was at another property. Very pretty plant though. Thank you!!!

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflowers Center has an excellent database for native plants.
Here is their list of Oregon native. You can use the check off list on the left side of the page to select the characteristic you want, such as height, lighting, leaf retention and others.
http://www.wildflower.org/plan...

If you feel bad using our screen names, most of us who have been on this site for a while have our first names in the upper right corner of each post. Thus Bonehead is Deb, and I am Elaine. Feel free.

Very doubtful if there are any creepy stalkers here, other than the plants of course. Just geeky gardeners.

And, also assume that any screen name is acceptable and perhaps quirky in its own way. I've just embraced the fact that I'm a bonehead in many ways and rather like my moniker...

Please do take and post photos of your project - always welcome and fun to see before and after.

I will have to take some photos of before so you all can tell what I am dealing with