Ideas for a small tree or large shrub

I'm in the deep south zone 9a and what I'm trying to find is an evergreen tree/shrub to use as a screen. Problem is one of my bedroom windows is right in line with the neighbors garage door. I'm afraid of mooning the neighbors when I come out of the bathroom into the bedroom. LOL.

It only has to be 6-10 tall, evergreen, some nice flowers or color. Needs to pretty dense or ability to prune it into something dense. Width doesn't matter I can plant two or three if need be.

Any suggestions?

Yes,
A bottle brush tree is just right, and blooms several times a year in our zone, suggest the weeping variety as opposed to the shrub.
Rj

Good idea, problem is my neighbor has two large ones in their front yard.

hmmm ...How about a Vitex tree?
Firemans cap tree or False Poinciana.

A Hibiscus would grow that big. I have a tequila sunrise hibiscus that is to the eve of my house right now. It is a good screen plant for that fact.

I'm afraid the Vitex tree would run wild around here. My wife likes those BTW.

Firemans cap looks like I might want to try that but I have small childern and so do my neighbors so thorns and deadly seeds aren't a good idea where I want to plant that. I do have a spot where the kids won't be that might be good.

I'm not warm enough for a tropical hibiscus to look good through the winter. You can grow them here but they get burnt durning the winter so I don't think I could pull it off. It won't be planted by the house but about 20 ft away. I've never seen a hibiscus that wasn't pruned, how big do those get?

Thanks for the input.

Maybe a "Little Gem" magnolia?

Wax myrtle doesn't flower, but it makes a nice screen.

I agree with escambiaguy, a magnolia would make a nice screen. The Magnolia virginiana, (Sweetbay Magnolia) should stay evergreen for you in your zone and won't get too wide to still be attractive in front of your house. It's also a host tree for the Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly.

http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/85242/

This message was edited Jul 17, 2007 1:27 PM

Chinese photinia would also work. They're not as flashy as the "red tips", but they are more resistant to leaf spot.

I have had good results using Carolina cherry laurel for screening, but some people don't like the fact that they reseed in the landscape. I just pull up the unwanted seedlings.

Here's another. Oleander...

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1327/

This message was edited Jul 17, 2007 8:26 PM

This message was edited Jul 17, 2007 8:26 PM

Good ideas so far but I have. 2 large DD blanchard magnolia's in front of my house. 6 red tips on the side of the house, 4 large wax myrtles in the back, both of my neighbors have oleanders. That's the problem I'm running into. I want to plant something that isn't already in my yard or next door to me. A sun tolerant camelia wouldn't be a bad idea. I'm the only one on my street who seems to like camelias.

The Carolina cherry laurel might be a possibilty. Let's see if I can find a picture of a full size one.

Oh, the cherry laurel might not be a good idea.

The leaves and branches contain high amounts of prussic acid (cyanide), making it a toxic hazard to grazing animals (of course it should not be planted around childrens' play areas either - just in case...)

It's a native that likes sun and water which is perfect. How much cyanide do you think is in the leaves? I mulch when I mow the lawn so I wouldn't want the ground filled with cyanide and the little kids running around, not that they would eat the leaves, more from getting it on their skin. In general the whole bunch of them are sweaty, dirty and personal hygiene is a little shaky. LOL.

I grew up around Cherry laurel all my life and I turned out normal (at least I think so) LOL. I also have two dogs and they never have a desire to eat the leaves.

If you decide you want some I can send you some seeds in the fall.