oleander.

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Ditto. Oleander.

Privets

I have some Oleander and quite honestly I'm not completely impressed with the way they look. But it could be because I do not trim it back enough. I realize I live in AZ and I cannot be too picky. I want green, tall, desert climate hedge.

I love the way the Privets look. Will those survive in Arizona? Do they require a ton of water or are they pretty drought tolerant like Oleanders? I believe Privets are what I posted in my picture originally if I'm not mistaken, correct?

Any other suggestions or options?

you could try some ornamental citrus. I've seen quite a few houses around central phoenix that use them as hedges. They stay green all year long. Even in the cold weather they seem to stay relatively green.

Ficus hedges would look good too but really cold winters would get them.

Arizona yellow bells would work too and they're fast growing.

Whittaker, Check out this link to a booklet about Plants for the Arizona Desert. It may give you some good ideas. There is no section on 'hedges', but try browsing 'trees' and 'shrubs'. You may find something that will work for you. These are all low water.

Here is a link that might be useful: Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert

Hop bush (dodonea viscosa) can be sheared like privet, and does well on way less water. It will go to 10-12 feet quickly with ample water.

The green variety is hardier than the bronze/purple one.

@lazygardens thanks for that. That bush almost looks like the Oleander, which again, I'm not completely fond of. However, I truly do like the "green" aspect of it in which there is little water required. Makes a lot more sense in our desert climate. Any idea where I can purchase these? I would like to see them in person. Does Home Depot carry them? I like shopping there because of their 1 year policy if I kill anything inadvertently.

lazy, thanks for the reminder about hop bush. We have been struggling to decide what would be the best solution for sections of our 'green' lady banks hedge that are dying out. I've been talking to Whitfills (I have a $100 gift coupon for that nursery) about oleander and they have ordered some for me. After reading your post I called the guy there yesterday that I've been working with, told him the situation and asked what he would recommend. Heartily replied "hop bush". So, hop bush it is.

We don't know what's wrong with the lady banks, we planted them in 2005 to cover a chain link fence that runs 150' along the alley behind our lot. Here and there along the fence line, some have died or are dying.

@marymcp what I really don't like about the hop bush is the brown undertone of the bottom of the leaves. It almost makes the bush look like it's dead or brown in color.

With this being said I went to the Home Depot on Val Vista and the 60 and there is a really cool guy that works in the garden department who also specializes in this. He informed me that most people do not like Oleander's because they're not properly trimmed and grow out of control. He assured me that he has in many times hedged Oleander's to where people where completely shocked that was even the plant. He said with proper maintenance Oleanders are one of the best hedge plants in Arizona. He also made a good point that they will survive through anything, heat, cold, lack of water, etc. This is the route I decided to go with my purchase yesterday.

I also plan on adding a few Wisteria vines/trees to my backyard canopy. After finding the Japanese Wisteria garden online these look like they will create a very nice ambiance in my backyard.

I appreciate everyone's suggestions.

thanks for the reply whittaker. It's been a tough decision and frankly we don't feel we have to do all one shrub. We do have some oleanders now and I'd like to try the hop bush. I already know about oleanders and thevetia's as well as the lady banks, which I have really liked for a long time. Not sure what went south with that hedge. I've recently added some beneficial nematodes and hubby whacked errrrr, pruned them back and up away from the ground. Maybe they will rebound in spring. Meantime, we'll fill in with a combination (probably) of both oleanders and hop bush. I don't mind the color change but are you sure it's the green hop bush that changes color?

You might look at primrose jasmine as a nice vine, it's great. Here's the LB hedge in it's prime - this was April 2008, they were about 3 years then.

sour orange...plant 4 feet apart..they are a little slower on the growing end but do make a nice hedge. we had 6 footers planted in in spring and now they are around 8 foot just need them to start filling in..PS they got really sharp thorns for protectionand can grow up to around 15 feet high if you want them...in LA they grow to 30 in some areas...

I have a 10'+ dwarf myrtle hedge in my courtyard here in Phoenix. It's green all year long, no mess, and it loves the heat. I have attached a photo, the hedge is on the right. Good luck on your quest.

jojoba is nice, evergreen, or ever silver really since it is more of a silver color. red barberry is nice too. have you considered a trellis/vine combo? That would give you more options

So I have built my solar panel structure and you can see it is quite intrusive in the neighborhood. Can anyone offer any suggestions to quickly hiding this thing as to not upset my neighbors!? I was considering a faux ivy trellis that you can purchase on Amazon but to go the 40ft length it would be rather costly and I'm not sure if that would look tacky or actually suffice. I'm open to any suggestions here. Thanks in advance for your time.

First, I'd paint it to match the fence.

Then plant a few fast-growing, slender trees between it and the fence ... SKINNY ones like palo blanco, shoestring acacia, etc. to break up the outline of the panel supports.

That's probably faster and more effective than having a 40-foot wall of green behind the already tall concrete fence.

Another tree idea is thevetia, it can be pruned to a tree and they are leafy, green and pretty with bright yellow flowers. But they are frost tender too.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Great things to consider.