Add Privacy To Your Small Yard With A Must-Plant Shrub

Privacy is probably the number-one desire a homeowner has when it comes to their outdoor space. It's hard to relax and enjoy your yard knowing the neighbors can see and watch everything you do. Whether you have a small yard, balcony, or patio as your outdoor space, there are many simple tricks and ideas that'll add more privacy to your backyard. One option is to create a screened-off nook — a DIY project that'll add privacy and comfort to your open backyard. If you're working with a patio space, adding mosquito netting all the way around is a DIY project that allows you to privately enjoy your patio with fewer mosquitos to boot. Another wonderful way to create a private backyard space is to add "Pringles" dwarf podocarpus (Podocarpus macrophyllus "Pringles"), a must-plant shrub that you can use to create a living screen right on your deck or balcony.

The lovely, slow-growing, green dwarf podocarpus is a tree-like shrub that grows to about 3 to 5 feet tall and 3 to 6 feet wide, more than big enough to create a wonderful greenery wall. If you live in USDA hardiness zones 8, 9, 10, or 11, your dwarf podocarpus will do great. This plant doesn't handle the cold well: If the temps stay around 55 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, it will thrive.

This easy-to-grow shrub does well in full sunlight and partial shade, although they grow a bit better in sunnier locations. When choosing the best spots for your dwarf podocarpus, take into account the height you want it to be when fully grown (it's fairly easy to keep pruned down to about 3 feet), to make sure you provide plenty of room. If space allows, you can plant several in a row for a green fence, but make sure they stand 2 to 3 feet apart and about the same distance from the house or other structures so they have room to grow. It can handle a variety of soil types from loam to sandy as long as the pH level stays between 4.5 and 7.5. Keep soil moist and well-drained. Heavy water-logged soil is not good for this shrub and will affect its growth. 

For the first year, while your dwarf podocarpus is growing and getting established, it should be watered once every two weeks. Water your shrubs deeply so the roots grow deeper into the ground and provide better drought resistance. Pruning is crucial for forming the shape of the dwarf podocarpus the way you want. Left to grow unpruned, it will grow straight up and look more tree-like. For a shrubby look, prune the plants back hard in late winter after the first summer season, making sure no pruning done within two months of when the first frost is expected. You can resume hard pruning after the shrubs have gone dormant for the winter, but make sure to finish all pruning before early spring when new growth starts.