Zone 5b tall plant > or = 5ft for privacy????

I am going to try Darlow's Enigma rose bush, but because it will only get about 2 hours a day of sun, I am afraid it will take a long time to establish.

Any suggestions on a plant that grows back each year in 5b, gets tall enough to give me privacy outside my windows, and can handle only about 2 hours of sun a day?

After digging through my Sunset Western Garden Book, I was able to locate 3 shrubs that can live in your zone, get around 5' or more, and can tolerate full shade. Surprising enough, all of them are evergreen. I don't know if they can handle your heat and humidity, but you might check with the nurseries in your general area about them. The plants are: Aucuba japonica. Various cultivars - some variegated.
Fatsia japonica. Known as Japanese Aralia, and has been
referred to as Aralia sieboldii or Aralia japonica.
Nandina domestica. Known as Heavenly Bamboo or Sacred
Bamboo. Can be Semievergreen in some areas.
I also think that there are some Camellia's that can stand your low temperatures and some of them need deep shade.

I hope these will give you a starting point for looking. Good luck at finding the exact plant you need and want. Dotti

Thank you Dotti! I appreciate your research. I will take a look at these and talk to local nurseries.

Have a great day!

Haleysaunt, as a gardener in zone 5b I can assure you that the recommendations made probably will not survive in your area. Most books list those plants for zone 7! I've never found 'Sunset' books to be very accurate for hardiness zones.

Did you want an evergreen plant or a deciduous one? Here, we grow mostly Yews in shade...you can keep them trimmed to 5 feet. In the deciduous department, we grow False Spirea (Sorbaria), red-twig dogwood or alpine currant.

Thanks, Todd.
A shade loving evergreen that would stay thick and block noise would be great for the boundary between myself and my only neighbors, who are on the East side of my property. They have trees that cause the East side of my yard to be shady.

How much shade can the Yews take? How often do you have to trim them?

They are reasonably shade tolerant although they will be thicker with at least part sun. Meanwhile, I trim mine about twice a year...you are further south so probably at least 3 times a year. The trimming will help keep them thick, even in shade.