We moved to our house in Northeast Florida in 2009. Our backyard is approximately 80x80. Back then, it was just a giant open field of St. Augstine grass with some small oak trees planted by the builder.
After moving in, we've decided to install a privacy fence. The only fencing option commercially available and approved by HOA was a white vinyl material. The cheapest quote we received was over $8000 to install the vinyl fence. After doing some digging around, we found using bottle brush trees as a privacy hedge is a viable and far cheaper option.
We planted over 75 bottle brush trees that were slight over a foot tall. They were planted about 1 foot apart. Some were planted closer near the house in hopes of providing quicker privacy for the back patio. The cost for each tree was about $7. Digging and planting took about 5 hours. Total cost for the project was less than $600.
Amazingly these bottle brush just grew and grew with minimal care and fuzz. Frequent watering in the first few weeks is all it took for them to firmly establish and to grow vigorously. Within a year, we already had some decent privacy in our back yard.
Fast forward 3 years later, this is what they look like. A solid green wall of bottle brush trees!
In our zone (9a), the bottle brush stay green all year round. They send out beautiful bottle brush shaped red flowers several times a year attracting myriads of beneficial insects and humming birds. In my opinion, they are far more aesthetic appealing than the white vinyl fence.
Bottle brush is a beautiful and a versatile plant. Besides using them as a privacy fence, I've seen them grew as a standalone landscaping tree. According to Green Deane, the bottle brush tree leaves and flowers can be made into a tea. I have not tried this yet and will do so in the near future.
If you are considering putting up a privacy fence, I would strongly recommend bottle brush trees as an alternative to the traditional fence options.
