Question
Larry,
Hi !

We would like to plant a natural fence that will give us a very high and dense privacy screen. We are in very rural zone 7 at 3,300 feet altitude. Cobb, Ca is in Lake County which is located between Napa and Sacramento counties. Our choice is buddalei - deer resist, heat tolerant, attracts beneficial insects and butterfly/hummingbirds, minimal pruning if any, easy to establish, fast growing.

We have read about both davidii and alternifolia. The main differences between the two it seems are blooming times, shape of shrub - weeping versus bushy, and height.

This is where we are stuck. We can't figure out from all the reading we've done a consistent suggested height out of the two. Some sources say davidii will go 8-15', others say alternifolia will go 8-10'. Then I read completely opposite suggested heights for each sugggesting that alternifolia will go higher. I understand there are different varieties within each such as dwarf and colors etc that may affect the height.  

Can you please advise us in your experience which of the two will give us what we want in terms of maximum height and if there is a specific variety to ask for? Also since we want to create a dense privacy fence - what distance would you suggest planting them from each other and away from the property line?

I really appreciate your expert feedback and insight! I'm planting 100' of fence and don't want to choose the wrong type for the job :)

Thanks so much !

Regards,
Mona

Answer
Hi Mona
forget about davidii, you have to prune it alot to get it to bloom and to keep it vigorous. i am not familer with
alternifolia but if privacy is what you want i would choose something else, forsythia, wegelia, or maybe a pine for height.  good Luck  Larry  ;-)