Palms for privacy screen

[Makko16]

I’ve been patiently waiting to begin my landscape (bought property 4 years ago) and I’m finally ready to start. I’m working in sections and the northeast corner of my yard here in Miami, FL needs some filling. The ficus seen in picture below is my neighbor’s so I will be planting in front of that and will remove the ground bushes below, from the shed to the far right corner behind the silk floss tree. I’d say is partial shade but the aerial photo below shows the sun/shade exposure I get back there and the red rectangle is where I’ll be planting. Here’s what I’m looking to accomplish:

1. Privacy - Minimum height of 13’ to hide neighbors house and dense enough for privacy too

3. Reasonable maintenance (bamboo too messy) 

4. Something that hopefully won’t bully my silk floss tree. It’s already bullied by a large oak on the right side. Although no leaves this time of year, the flowers that just bloomed are amazing so I want to give it the room it needs. 

I’m really liking ptychosperma schefferi and Pinanga Coronata although I can’t tell which would be better they seem similar to me. Both would look great with some uplights at night. Originally I was thinking Caryota mitis but it’s probably too large for this space and when mature, trunks will give away privacy. 
 

Any ideas or feedback is greatly appreciated. 
 

-Kris

[D. Morrowii]

A couple that come to mind from some research I’ve been doing for a similar project. 

 Caryota mitis

Acoelorrhaphe wrightii

Dypsis lutescens 

Pinanga coronata might work where you are?

Rhapis excelsa  

Calyptrocalyx hollrungii 

Arenga engleri (might be a huge option)

I think Ptychosperma schefferi would be nice as well but you might have to plant in stages to get the best coverage. 
 

You could try a combo of Syagrus schizophylla Vietchia maybe? 

[Makko16]

@D. Morrowii Thanks for the list ill do so research on these. Rhapis excelsa was another contender on my list I forgot to mention. That area of my yard stays fairly shaded except for mid day when sun is directly above so I bet they’d do well too. 

For the ptychosperma schefferi, why do you suggest planting in stages? And do you mean to plant in every other spot on stage 1 and then fill in the gaps for stage 2 once established?

[D. Morrowii]

12 minutes ago, Makko16 said:

@D. Morrowii Thanks for the list ill do so research on these. Rhapis excelsa was another contender on my list I forgot to mention. That area of my yard stays fairly shaded except for mid day when sun is directly above so I bet they’d do well too. 

For the ptychosperma schefferi, why do you suggest planting in stages? And do you mean to plant in every other spot on stage 1 and then fill in the gaps for stage 2 once established?

You should check out a recent thread here regarding lady palms as hedges - mixed feelings on those :-)
I should say I don’t have any mature P schefferi but I want to think they don't or may not cluster uniformly so if you want a dense curtain you may need to add some at proper intervals to fill in. I guess the same would go for the A. wrightii but those are not as attractive I think. 

[Hilo Jason]

Pinanga Coronata gets my vote.  I used them for a hedge to give my yard some privacy from a busy road that we live off of.  These were planted less than 4 years ago from 1 gallon pots.  They have been seeding for about 2 years.  I would guess they are 12 - 15" tall overall.  Nice and dense.  

[Makko16]

Thanks @D. Morrowii I started in that thread actually and came here so I wouldn’t hijack it. The lady palms are nice too but I had trouble with them at my old house so I’m a little hesitant. 

@Hilo Jason that wall of p. coronata is beautiful and just the height I need too. Any challenges with them over the years? How far apart did you plant them? Crazy growth in just 4 years from 1gal pots!! 

[Hilo Jason]

2 hours ago, Makko16 said:

Thanks @D. Morrowii I started in that thread actually and came here so I wouldn’t hijack it. The lady palms are nice too but I had trouble with them at my old house so I’m a little hesitant. 

@Hilo Jason that wall of p. coronata is beautiful and just the height I need too. Any challenges with them over the years? How far apart did you plant them? Crazy growth in just 4 years from 1gal pots!! 

Thankfully I saw a property here on the Big Island that used these for a hedge and that gave me the idea.  These are planted 5-6' apart.  We get plenty of rain here and I throw fertilizer down twice a year for them.  Pest free, no issues ever.  I have a larger property now that I am just starting on, and again will be using these for a lot of the border plantings.  Trying to save money though and use all of my own seedlings, so it will be awhile before I have gallon size plants to start with, but will be cool to say that they were all the offspring of my Hilo hedge.  

[Makko16]

@Hilo Jason that’s awesome congrats on new property. Will take time but so rewarding to grown from seed. Looking forward to pics of the new yard as it grows.
 

Seems like ptychosperma schefferi has become fairly popular here in Miami and the Florida keys. Anyone in this area have pinanga coroanta? They have similar appearance so either would look great but I wonder if one is preferred for Miami, FL climate. @Jeff Searle you probably know!