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Posted By: Sonia Lei Windbreaks in zone 9b - March 29th, 2006 at 02:49 PM
I'm looking for something pretty but functional. The winds get pretty strong in the spring and summer here, and because we live out in the country we get all the dust from the road in front of our property... not to mention our garden ornaments end up in the middle of the lawn because of the wind gusts.

Someone recommended Oleanders, but unsure on whether they'll grow tall enough.

Thanks in advance.
Posted By: RugbyHukr Re: Windbreaks in zone 9b - March 29th, 2006 at 10:11 PM
oleander is good, also umbrella trees grow quickly
Posted By: jonni13 Re: Windbreaks in zone 9b - March 30th, 2006 at 05:01 AM
Oleanders can grow 20 ft or more tall. They are an excellant windbreak. But they also grow fairly wide and may take up as much of your lawn as gets dusty. Take what into consideration
Posted By: gardengal Re: Windbreaks in zone 9b - March 30th, 2006 at 05:56 AM
Something to keep in mind on oleanders is they are very posionous. So if you have animals or small children that may want to eat the leaves they are not a good choice. Even if you use their wood for a fire the smoke is poisonous. They are very pretty plants and excellent windbreaks. We have them all over the place in So Cal.
Posted By: Sonia Lei Re: Windbreaks in zone 9b - March 30th, 2006 at 07:46 AM
Gardengal, that is a good point... and considering that we are in the late stages of our adoption & placement of 2 little ones, I would hate to have something in my garden that can harm them. So Oleanders are out of the question. Any other suggestions?

PS
There's a house down the road from us that has really tall windbreak... I don't know what they are, they're similar to bamboo shoots, if I upload a pic, can anyone help me Identify it?
Posted By: tkhooper Re: Windbreaks in zone 9b - March 30th, 2006 at 10:13 PM
put it down in mystery plants. Someone will know and they keep an eye out for things to identify down there.
Posted By: peppereater Re: Windbreaks in zone 9b - March 30th, 2006 at 10:33 PM
That could be cane. I don't have the botanical name at the moment, but it is rather invasive. Does it go dormant each year?
Posted By: Sonia Lei Re: Windbreaks in zone 9b - March 31st, 2006 at 10:08 AM
No, it's pretty hardy from what I've seen. Stays green, and must multipy as it gets denser every year. I'll go by there tomorrow and post a pic.
Posted By: Sonia Lei Re: Windbreaks in zone 9b - April 4th, 2006 at 08:46 AM
Ok folks, I was finally able to go take a couple of pics of this windbreak... they aren't good but considering that I was trying not to get bit by a couple of mean dogs, I'd say they're alright lol

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