Best Plants for Screening

I’m often asked to recommend a screening plant to give privacy to a home and its landscape. The 12 I would rate as best for big parts of Texas would be:

Eastern redcedar juniper (to 35 ft.)
Little Gem magnolia (to 30 ft.)
Teddy Bear magnolia (to 20 ft.)
Nellie R. Stevens holly (to 18 ft.)
Yaupon holly (to 16 ft.)
Oakland holly (to 10 ft.)
Mary Nell holly (to 10 ft.)
Waxleaf ligustrum (to 10 ft.)
Willowleaf holly (to 8 ft.)
Glossy abelia (to 7 ft.)
Elaeagnus (to 7 ft.)
Sea Green juniper (to 6 ft.)

Space your plants two-thirds as far apart as their expected mature height. It’s best not to plan on pruning them to keep them considerably shorter than these heights, as that can be difficult when they are grown as screens.