I just can't find a shade tolerant shrub/tree for screening!

Guys..it's been long since I started this thread and I've been getting great suggestions! But I did go ahead and plant 2 camelia "trees" (standards?) in there. Doss, I believe that was your suggestion, right? : )
They have not grown pass the fence line yet, but, I also planted some "sweet autumn" Clematis...and boy has this baby grown! It is already up the fence line and now I'm training it horizontally against the top of the fence!
It so happens that now, during the summer, there is way more sun than when I first posted (duh!) and both the clematis and camellia are doing great!

Glad to hear it! Sounds like success to me.

Sweet Autumn Clematis can be very enthusiastic but can be kept in line by good trimming. I'll bet that the camellia trees are really lovely. I hadn't thought about starting with standards so that they start above the fence already. Genius idea.

I hope it's ok to piggyback on this thread, because I am having a similar problem...not being able to find a suitable small tree or upright shrub for a mostly shady spot. Basically, I want to screen off our view of the neighbor's driveway, because in the summertime they seem to be constantly coming and going, which is making me a little nuts. The area is bright shade until about 1:30-2:00, at which time the sun passes thru a window in the tree canopy and it does get some dappled and direct sun for a few hours. The surrounding trees are tall pines, oaks, and a maple (which is probably outta here in the next five years). A client of mine gave me a Juniper she no longer wanted, which I planted a few years ago...it surprised me by doing fairly well in the location. I thought about getting a few more to make a more effective screen, but the problem is that I don't know the exact cultivar, so I don't want it to look odd if I get two more that don't match.

Doss, I was interested to see you mention birch, because I was considering River Birch....even though I know that likes sun. I was hoping it would do OK in my spot. I saw one at a local nursery that would give us instant privacy. I guess aside from the sun issue, I was concerned that it would get too big in the long term....because of the spread of the canopy, I figure I'd have to plant the trunk ten feet from the fence? That starts to really eat up the small yard, so I wonder if I need something with a smaller footprint. So I guess I'm looking for something tall (maybe ten feet?), but without a lot of fullness on the bottom. I have a garden bed off to the left and a big, full shrub nearby would start to look crowded and limit my ability to walk near the bed.


Hemlock would be a solution, but they are no longer recommended here in Maine due to the Wooly adelgid problem. (sp?) Also, I'm not sure how to keep the size of those down, either. I know they can get enormous. I guess what I am looking for is something that will be happy as an understory tree. And ideally be quick growing or at least readily available in a larger size from a local nursery.

I also have to rule out anything toxic to pets like Rhodies or Pieris, etc.

Help, I'm really stumped! Here is a pic..so that you can see the site where I currently have the donated Juniper....ignore everything else along the fence, which will be moving

Noreaster, how about viburnums? Many varieties to choose from, though I'm not sure if any of the evergreen varieties are hardy in Maine. Or Oakleaf hydrangea, which grows fast and is nice and full.
Or itea, neillia, neviusia, kerria are all suckering shrubs which ideally prefer a little more sun, but which are shade tolerant and rapidly form an effective screen. I have all of the above in woodland / understory settings and they are all vigorous to a fault. And of course they all flower, which is a nice bonus.

My birch tree closest to my house is 10 feet away but they don't go over the house. Be sure that birch borers aren't a problem before planting them. i did a lot of research when I was trying to figure out what tree would have the narrowest width and birch was the only one other than the columnar sorts of evergreens. It is difficult to grow things under them though as their roots are shallow and they are not supposed to be long lived although mine are about 30 years old. They are white birch not river birch.

Noreaster, 'Fox Valley' River Birch is somewhat more dwarf stature.
It's not as prone to birch borers in our climate.
Same beautiful exfoliating bark.
My understanding is river birch shouldn't be planted too close to foundation, because roots aggressively seeking water.
I'm not sure how close is too close or if it's really a significant concern or not.

I have learned something from this little adventure: nothing will ever give you faster coverage than a vine! I suggest whatever you choose to plant there for the future, put up some chicken wire along your wood fence, make it taller than the fence, obviously, and plant some fast growing vines in there first! Then you can take your time to think of the larger plantings. My 2 cents.

The problem with the vine/armature solution is that it needs to be much taller than the fence to provide the privacy...five feet higher, ideally, and wider, of course to cover the two garage doors. I wonder if I can have something built to accomodate that solution that would be attractive? Or would I even be allowed to but up a ten foot high screen of some sort, that would be seen be cars driving down our street, not to mention from the neighbor's driveway. I like the idea that it wouldn't eat up much lawn space that way. Hmm. My inlaws have a beautiful climbing hydrangea on their arbor and I have to admit that I'd love something like that...not sure what I'd do while waiting for the hydrangea to take off though.

I went back to the nursery and the river birch I liked had been sold. They did have the Fox Valley one, but that was much too small to start with. They had some Himalayan birches which were being devoured by Japanese Beetles, so that's also out. One tree that caught my eye was White Fringetree(Chionanthus virginicus ), which sounds pretty good after looking it up, but it was the only one they had and not priced. Of course when I asked for the price the guy came back and told me it was about twice as much as all the other trees there. Ugh. I also looked at their viburnums but they all seemed to bushy at the bottom. The oakleaf Hydgangea was listed as only getting six feet high...I'm probably looking for something in the ten feet high range.

My fringe trees aren't very fast growing, nor are they very full, so I don't really think they'd be a very good screen.
I do love them, however.
I have several which have been in the ground for 10 years, and none is anywhere close to 10 foot tall yet.

Have you considered pagoda dogwood?
I've seen it planted as an effective tall screen.

This Viburnum was here 13 yrs ago when I bought my house. It was about 6'x4' then, I have trimed it minimally and it is now approx 15'x12'. It is mostly shadey with a little morning light on 1 side and minimal dappled light thruout the day. Needless to say it does very well. It is also lightly fragrant in the spring and provides both nesting sites and berries for the birds. I would be glad to try to get a small seedling for you if you are unable to find a specimen on your own.
I will send another pic of a flower close up.
This is a georgeous showcase shrub

Viburnum flower closeup

Birdieblue, I love your viburnum!
Noreaster, I got one word for you: lattice!
I planted sweet autumn clematis and it's already at the top of the fence. What you want is a very fast grower, or even an annual vine, to get quick coverage. My camelias will be the long term answer, but what really is helping is the climbers.

BirdieBlue, that is very pretty and it's very kind of you to offer to try to get a seedling for me. There is a nice nursery up here that does carry several varieties of Viburnum, but I'm just not sure my husband would be happy with the shrubby-ness of them at the bottom. He wants to be able to have walking clearance around whatever I put there, which is why he would like the birch (or any other tree that is a basic trunk with a canopy.) I saw a Viburnum at the nursery called "Seneca", I think, which sounded ok, but haven't seen too many pics of it in my research. I

Weerobin, the Fringetree at the nursery was about seven feet high and maybe 5 or 6 feet wide, so it would already provide a little screen above the fence line...but yeah, I've read that the growth is very slow, which is a con. I don't need a solid wall of leaves, though. Even a fairly airy screen would be enough to make me feel separate from the neighbors. I love Pagoda Dogwood, but thought it was huge, for some reason. I will have to give that one some more thought, for sure. Is it prone to any bad bugs or diseases?

rob, I hear ya! Lattice with a vine would sure do the job, but I just wonder about how aesthetically appealing a ten foot high lattice screen is gonna look when you are driving down the street...I'm not even sure what, if any, our town's restrictions are on stuff like that. Another problem is that the yard slopes in that spot, which means that the lattice top would not be even with the top line of the fence...more aesthetic issues. Also, nothing will say "I hate you, neighbor" quicker than a ten by 15 foot lattice billboard! LOL...just kidding...although I'm sure it will raise the neighbor's eyebrows! They really are nice people, I just hate the way their garage and driveway are situated and they just seem to congregate there too often. My father in law is stopping by today and I will ask him what his thoughts are about constructing something.

Doss: Just had to add that your Japanese Maple "Butterfly" is stunning!

Glad that you like it. It's almost time to prune it again! It needs to be taken back every year as it's so close to the house.