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jb_989

Ideas to keep sun off this window?

18 years ago

I'm trying to keep the hot sun off a large window.

Any ideas on a large shrub or small tree that would work? The area obviously gets full sun. I would like to plant at least 10-15' away from the house so I still have a view out. I would need to have the mature size smaller than 20' tall x 15' wide. Zone 7, NJ, clayish soil. Thanks!

{{gwi:268586}}

Comments (4)

  • 18 years ago

    If they're hardy, crape myrtle would do the trick, and fast.

  • 18 years ago

    One of the crabapples, selected for size, color of flowers/leaves, color and persistence of fruits AND for disease resistance, might be just the thing.

    Another thought might be a Japanese Maple, one of the taller ones, although that might be too much sun for a JM. Several other maples will stay small - Acer ginnala/Amur maple; A. griseum/paperbark maple; A. tatari8cum/Tatarian maple. If hardy that far north, Shantung maple might also work.

    A tree lilac - if you like the scent of the flowers - would stay fairly narrow.

    Amelanchier/Juneberry/service berry might eventually get too tall, but would cast a nice light shade, flower in spring, give berries the birds might share in June, and has decent fall foliage.

    Carefully chosen, one of the clumping bamboos might be very nice - exotic and different. It would be evergreen.

    In full sun, redbud would probably stay small enough for your wants - you have several cultivars, with varying leaf color and flower color to choose.

    Fringe tree is another spring-flowering tree with good fall color - no fruit to speak of.

    Smoke tree, esp. if limbed up on a selected specimen, could be very nice - again, there are several leaf and flower colors to opt from.

  • 18 years ago

    an awning would be the fastest ..

    by the time you buy a $500 plant .... big enough to accomplish your goal ... in the near future ... you may as well have spent the money on the awning ...

    ken

  • 18 years ago

    Ken is correct if you need shade NOW. They also make "window shades" for the outside of windows - try googling for Coolaroo, which is one brand I can remember off hand.

    If you can wait while you put it up, a trellis or pergola set about 2' away from the wall, and trained with a fast growing vine would be the second place winner in the speed stakes. (Try an annual vine - lablab beans, morning glory, etc., for the first year, and clematis, rambling or climbing roses, AMERICAN wisteria, etc. as permanent vines for the later years.) A pergola with a series of narrow "laths" across its top would give immediate shade while you wait for the vines to grow, or you could cover the top with shade cloth as a temporary - or permanent - measure.