Q.Carolina cherry
Help! I need to make this decision asap! I live in Murrieta, CA and wanted to know if the Carolina cherries are a good plant to use. I want to plant them on top of a slope on my backyard. My neighbor’s house is on top of the hill and I would like to have some privacy. I have read that this plant is highly invasive and some other horror stories. The other suggested plants are Fiscus nitida and waxleaf privet. What do you suggest? Thank you.
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
All of them will grow where you are and all of them can be rather invasive. The Ficus nitida can have pretty invasive roots, so if there are pipes or structures nearby, this would not make a good choice.
The trick to maintaining invasive plants that you use as privacy hedges is to be absolutely ruthless with them on a regular basis. I myself have an invasive plant hedge and we take a chainsaw to it once a year to keep it in check. If you are up to keeping up this kind of maintenance, you will be fine with these plants.
