V tinus will tolerate shade well.

zone is minimum winter temp predicted.. it doesnt tell us much else..

how about a big city name.. so we know if this it FL..GA... AZ.. etc ...

and how about a pic of the site from both directions..

your problem is.. anything that grows to the height you need.. is NOT going to stop at that height.. and will quickly be twice as big ... leading you to a life long pruning job ...

besides the fact that it will take 5 to 10 years to cover that window..

sooooo.. your solution is window film.. AND planting greenery.. the film giving you IMMEDIATE relief.. and therefore giving the plant time to grow... i was surprised to see them stocked at local bigbox.. who knew.. way back when ...

they are easily applied somewhat like wall paper with soapy water and a squeegee or large sponge..

lastly... the word shade doesnt mean much.. give us how many hours of actual sun ... anything more than 6 is full sun .. e.g the east side of your house can be full sun all morning.. and full shade after noon.. and there is little limitation on plant choice. .. full shade would be more like 2 3 story houses 8 feet apart.. and 15 mins of sun at mid day .. and not much will thrive there...

shade usually doesnt kill a plant.. it just doesnt grow to expectations.. which means in this case.. they will grow slower.. making the accomplishment of you goal even a longer time . ...

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=window+films+&iax=images&ia=images

Viburnum tinus was new to me but sounds like the perfect shrub for me too. It's hardy to zone 7 and I'm 6b. Does anyone have it there?

Hardy to zone 7 is pushing it. Most sources rate it only to zone 8 or a minimum of 15F before experiencing significant dieback. We even see winter cold damage in my very mild winter climate after one of our Arctic blasts. I think zone 6 is well beyond its tolerance range.

Some people, me included, find the flowers of V tinus to smell disgusting. If I smell it out and about I can locate the shrub even if it is hidden. Not to put too fine a point on it, it smells like dog s..t to me. But some people can’t smell it at all, so find one in flower before purchase to test your nose. If you go for it find one of the improved large flowered cultivars, not just the species. btw it flowers in Winter.

How tall is tall? There are a number of broadleafed evergreens that do OK in the shade, although probably are not quite as dense as with a bit more sun. But we need to know how tall? How wide? Are deer an issue? Does the soil have good drainage or is it wet? Will there be a lot of root competition from large trees?

Camellias and Osmanthus (numerous species) are good in shade, but can be just a bit sparse in dense shade. Of course with Camellias, blooms are a big plus.

Illicium parviflorum (Anise shrub) can do shade pretty well. Grows slowly to 7 or 8 feet. Chindo viburnum can take some shade, but will get really big FAST...quickly to 10 feet.

Ternstroemia gymnanthera (so-called Cleyera) might work, if you make sure you don't get a dwarf variety. It will grow maybe 6 to 8" per year and won't overwhelm your space too quickly, eventually to 8 to 10 feet.

I’m in McKinney, Texas (suburb of Dallas). It’s an east facing window, too dark right now but I’ll post a pic in the morning. I will have to manually water it also so I’m looking for something that after it’s mainly established won’t need much more of my help. At the least, 6 feet wide and tall but bigger than that would work great. No deer, good drainage. There’s a red tip photonia about 7 feet away that the previous owners put there but it’s slowly dying off and I’m ready for it to be gone. I would say about 4 hours of dappled shade and the rest of the day full shade. I’ve been reading about viburnum tinus but can’t find any anywhere. I did come across the David and chindo varieties, are those evergreen as well?

I did not know you were in Dallas. V tinus may be unavailable because it’s unsuitable in your climate. I don't know. That’s the problem with zones. They tell you nothing apart from average winter lows.

Chindo and davidii are both evergreen.

This plant will tolerate deep shade:https://www.facebook.com/usbotanicgarden/photos/a.1707000289531060/3024202907810785/?type=3

with an east facing window.. a plant will have full sun from dawn until noon.. that is almost the requisite 6 hours to call that full sun .. unless there is a house next door.. and if so.. you didnt mention that ... nor how close it is ...

i have a bunch of Vs.. some are fragrant.. some are neutral... and some smell like wet gym socks left in a gym bag for a month in the trunk of the car ... rather specific imagery there.. dont you think.. lol ..

look forward to the pic...

ken

Since this shrub is meant to block the neighbor’s window, it sounds like there is a house to the east and no morning sun.

tj

Thank you everyone! I’ve got some pictures from inside the house and outside-it’s 11 feet from wall to wall and about 12 feet

I also plan on the photinia being gone someday

Magnolia virginiana 'Sweet Thing'

Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum 'Summer Snowflake'

Ilex opaca 'Cheerful'

These are all interesting woody plants that could grow and survive in this odd little space. Perhaps you could consider another strategy, which would work to solve instant issues while waiting for long term growth of woody plants to occur.

Use an ornamental grass! Miscanthus giganteus will make a tall screen annually, from a 3G or 5G pot. Plant several if one isn't enough to screen wide enough to start. Plant your choice of woody plants at the same time, and as the woody plant gets big enough, eliminate the grasses.

You could accomplish something similar by growing a vigorous vine on a trellis or piece of wire fencing. There are a plethora of great evergreen southern vines that could work.