I wouldn't use the pear for pleaching. In addition to it being almost impossible to locate these days locally (even my nursery buyer is not finding a current wholesale grower), the form just doesn't lend itself well to pleaching.

But if you start with young enough trees, hornbeams, lindens and beech are all favored species for this purpose.

There's a very attractive pleached whitebeam hedge growing near me. That would give you the silvery foliage, albeit a different shape to the pear. Does whitebeam thrive in the PN.W GG? Or is it disease prone?

Floral, I have to admit I had to look up what a whitebeam was :-) It is not a term that is used here at all. And that may be because the only tree we see around here close to a whitebeam is Sorbus aucuparia, which is a weedy and invasive species in the PNW.

Here is a borrowed photo of the rather famous pleached hornbeam hedge at Heronswood, the nearby garden (and former nursery) developed by renowned plantsman Dan Hinkley.

Gasp!

the only tree we see around here close to a whitebeam is Sorbus aucuparia

9 representative Seattle locations - including multiple street tree plantings - are given by Arthur Lee Jacobson for Sorbus aria in his 2006 edition of Trees of Seattle.

A conspicuous component of the Brian O. Mullgian Sorbus Collection at the Seattle arboretum is made up of whitebeam types. Otherwise SS. folgneri, intermedia, x latifolia, pallescens and x thuringiaca were present in publicly visible Seattle locations during 2005.

I have seen S. aria 'Lutescens' offered by at least one local independent garden center in later years.

What may be listed in books is not necessarily reflective of what one sees in local gardens or in area nurseries. Whitebeams are NOT common in this area, arboretum collections not withstanding.

Why not offer suggestions to the OP that they can actually obtain easily?

I suspect the hedge near me is 'Lutescens' since it's is silvery white and it is a fairly common street tree round here. Stunning, especially in spring and early summer. The area I live in is globally significant for Sorbus. http://zoovolunteering.blogspot.com/2010/05/trees-of-bristol-1-whitebeams-and.html

Thanks for all the comments and information. If I did use the silver frost pear I wouldn't use it in a pleaching format but to provide a bit of a above fence screening in a grouping vs training. It appears they can be pruned as pictured below but I know internet information (especially Pinterest) can be misleading. But if they are not readily available, then it's probably best I move on from that idea (even though they are so pretty!)

Gardengirl- the picture you shared of the garden in Kingston is gorgeous. How have I never knew that place existed? I'll have to plan a visit for this spring or summer.

The last picture is pleached hornbeam as I am kind of using it as an inspiration picture since the planting bed depth seems to be about the same as ours. I will have to look at Linden and Beech as well. Do you find some easier to train than others? Can you buy already pleached trees or this something I would need to do myself?

Also I'll have to look out for those tree recommendations the next time I'm in the arboretum! I'm usually there once a week and it's beauty never gets boring.

You can buy, at vast expense, ready pleached or you can do your own. But you'd need to build a sturdy training framework and thereafter maintenance will be constant. You'll need access to both sides of the hedge. It's not an easy business. https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=155

Since pleaching is a much more common practice in the UK and Europe than it is here, I am guessing finding already pleached stock is also more common. After a nearly 30 year association with the nursery industry, I personally have never seen pre-pleached stock being sold here. But you can certainly find - or order - whips or young trees that you can pleach yourself. And in your choice of patterns or formats.

But Floral is correct. It is a very labor-intensive process, both in regards to the training and the ongoing maintenance.

It's true pre-trained pleached stock is very easy to find here. I don't know the situation in the USA.

Thanks for the information, maybe it is best I move onto a different idea since some of the bed backs up to our neighbors yard.

I want the patio to almost feel like an enclosed, green, courtyard and I am trying to figure out how to do that with such a narrow bed (a little over 2.5 feet in some spaces). I don't want my plantings to seem too sparse ( I know a lot to ask in such a narrow space) and I feel the best way to do that is have a higher privacy screen and then underplant below. Would single trunk (are they called standards?) work in this situation? Any recommendations?

There are likely several plants that could work for you. At what height do you want the privacy screen (eg. 6-10')? How wide do you want the canopy to spread?......not much will stay at 2.5' circumference. How much maintenance are you willing to put forth to keep to a specific height and width?

Depending on the size of your patio, too tall a privacy screen or too dense a planting could be out of scale and feel intimidating rather than enclosing.

I believe I would like the privacy screen to start around 6ft (which is height of fence) and maybe be an additional 3ft, although if it's more than that, that's fine too. I think a max expansion for foliage should be right around 5ft. I am happy to prune and do maintenance as I enjoy those sorts of activities.

I agree too dense of a screen would probably overwhelm the space and make the area too dark. The patio length for the planting is 33ft long, unless I took it all the way to the SW corner, than it would be 42ft. I attached a scale drawing (2 sq=1ft) is that helps. The area in question is the part on the West side where I added a question mark.

I'm back with a few other ideas. we were supposed to get our new fence in last month but that has been delayed to the shelter in place which has left me more time to think about plantings. I think I have my general plantings down but just wanted someone to bounce ideas off of if these plants will in fact look cohesive together (good mix of leaf colors, texture, shape, etc). Since it is a small space and I want it to have an courtyard feel I want to go with a neutral palette of dark green, white, blue-grey foliage and bring in color through plantings in pots. Although I know there will be seasonal variation with decidous leaf color.

Top three trees I'm considering: JM Kagiri Nishiki, Hannah's heart Katsura, Crape Myrtle Natchez

Hygrangeas: Zebra Onyx (I already have these and would like to use)

Evergreen shrubs: Top choice-Pittsoporum Majorie Channon, alternative ideas- Hebe, Daphne, Blue Bush germander

Fillers- Spurge Blue glacier, White anouk lavender, guara

I included two views of drawings of what I am thinking. Green balls on each side of tree are the hygrangeas, blue under trees would be blue glacier spurge, two large shurbs currently drawn in are the Pittsoporum but could sub out any of the above mentioned.

I am ready to make the purchase but since it is quite a large purchase I want to make sure. not making any mistakes

Also on a side note, is there a rule of thumb on how many variagated plants are too many? I know I have quite a few listed above.

^^ Lol!! If you have to ask, it is probably too many :-)

I can't see your sketched plans clearly enough to understand placement but just let me say this about the plant selection. The pittosporum will be marginal in this climate. Will be fine through most winters but that one that has drops into the teens could be the end of it. And the euphorbia (spurge) is not a very robust plant compared to its non-variegated cousins and always looks a little peaky. And that will be extenuated by a shady location....it is a full sun plant.

LOL too true. That's good to know about the Glacier Blue and Majorie Channon, which would eliminate two of the variagated plants. I was just worried if I went with the Japanense Maple variety (variagated with white) it would be way too much white variagated plant overload. Although I do love that Pittsoporum....

The area is full sun now but once the trees and fence go in, I think it will be part sun although the trees would still be getting full sun. Do you have any input on the trees? I'm worried that I might be going too big for the space but I really want that space to have some privacy and afternoon shade (SW facing on a street).

Full sun is probably too strong for the maple - white variegated JM's do much better and with less leaf scorch in at least afternoon shade. Of the three listed, I'd go with the katsura. But it would be helpful to confirm the spacing....you should allow at least 12' between the katsuras and I might extend that to 15'.

I have the current spacing at 14.5ft but could extend another 4 feet on each side.

It's not letting my edit my last comment. I realized I don't have space to move it past the 14.5 feet since it might start encroaching on the Camelia and Cherry Tree.

14.5' would be fine!!

So sad to see there wasn't a solution for the pleached trees. I have a very small back yard that my neighbor's 2 story house looks right into. I'm struggling to figure out the best solution for the small space.

The solution was given! Although pre-pleached stock is pretty much unheard of in this area, one can find - or order - whips or seedlings of suitable trees that can be pleached. Like the hornbeam illustrated in my first photo. it just requires patience and a great deal of hands-on pruning and training.

Too many variegated plants? Not possible. Bamboo in containers can also make a nice screen.