🌿 Choose well
🏙️ Balcony and terrace
🌿 In brief
A green privacy screen is made with evergreen plants tall enough to rise above the railing, planted in long, deep planters. Clumping bamboo, climbing plants on trellises, evergreen shrubs, and tall ornamental grasses can be combined to suit the space, exposure, and wind conditions. It takes one to two seasons to create a dense screen.
On a city balcony or terrace, overlooking neighbors is often what keeps you from truly enjoying the space. A plant privacy screen does the same job as a reed screen or panel, but it's alive, filters the wind, cools things down in summer, and transforms the space into a garden nook. Here's how to define your needs, choose the right solution, install planters and care for your screen, plus the most effective plant types.
Choosing your privacy screen
Before choosing plants, answer four simple questions to determine the right solution.
How high should the screen be?
When seated, you need a screen about 1.20 to 1.30 m above the balcony floor; when standing, aim for 1.70 to 1.80 m. A railing is generally about one meter high, so the plants need to extend well above it to be effective.
All year round or just in summer?
For year-round screening, choose evergreen plants. Deciduous plants or grasses that dry out in winter leave your space exposed from November to March.
How much length and floor space is available?
Measure the length to cover and the depth available. On a narrow balcony, climbing plants and bamboo are preferable, as they grow upward without spreading out.
Is the balcony exposed to wind?
On a high floor or at the corner of a building, wind dries out leaves and can tip over a planter. In that case, choose flexible plants and heavy containers.
Three ways to create a screen
Privacy plants fall into three main categories, which work very well together.
| Solution | Floor space | Height reached in a pot | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Climbing plants on trellises | Very low | 1.50 to 2.50 m depending on the support | Slim green wall, often flowering |
| Bamboo and tall ornamental grasses | Low to medium | 1.20 to 2 m | Light screen that sways in the wind |
| Evergreen shrubs in planters | Medium to high | 1 to 1.80 m | Dense, structured screen |
The most effective solution is often a mix: shrubs or bamboo in a long planter for coverage, and a climbing plant on a trellis in the corner or against the wall to grow taller. For climbing plants, our guide to balcony climbing plants covers supports and varieties.
Sun, shade and wind
A privacy screen only works if the plants are comfortable. Check the exposure and wind strength before choosing.
| Setting | Suitable plants |
|---|---|
| Full sun, heat | Olive tree, phormium, grasses, star jasmine, bay laurel |
| Partial shade | Fargesia bamboo, laurustinus, cherry laurel, photinia, Armand's clematis |
| Shade | Fargesia bamboo, ivy, 'Henryi' honeysuckle, laurustinus |
| Very windy balcony | Grasses, phormium, olive tree, well-watered Fargesia bamboo |
On a windy balcony, avoid large leaves that tear and rigid shrubs that catch the wind like a sail. Flexible plants, such as grasses and bamboo, bend without breaking. Our guides to plants for a sunny balcony and plants for a shady balcony round out these lists.
Planters and installation
When growing in a pot, success with a privacy screen depends above all on the container. A dense screen needs well-established roots.
- Long planters, 80 to 100 cm in length and at least 40 cm deep, lined up along the railing or wall.
- A larger planter for bamboo and shrubs: at least 40 to 50 cm on each side, so they keep their foliage right down to the base.
- Two to three bamboo plants per linear metre, or one shrub every 50 to 60 cm, for a screen that fills in over one to two growing seasons.
- Heavy or weighted containers, with a clear drainage outlet and a layer of clay pebbles at the bottom.
- Rich, well-draining potting soil, with the top layer renewed every spring. Our guide which potting soil for which plant has the right mixes.
- Mulch over the potting soil helps limit evaporation, which is very high on an exposed balcony.
⚠️ Before installing
Check the building’s rules: some restrict planters attached to the outside of the railing or very tall screens. Also consider the weight: a one-metre planter filled with wet soil can easily weigh over 100 kg. Place the heaviest ones against a load-bearing wall or along the façade.
Maintaining a dense screen
Water more than you think
Plants packed into a pot and exposed to wind and sun drink a lot. In summer, potted bamboo may need watering every day: when its leaves curl, it’s thirsty. Water until it runs out through the drainage hole. In winter, water less often, but never let the root ball dry out, as evergreens continue to lose water through their leaves.
Prune to thicken
A screen becomes sparse at the bottom if it’s never pruned. Trim back the shoots of evergreen shrubs after the spring growth flush, then again at the end of summer: the plant branches out and becomes denser. For bamboo, simply remove old, dry stems at ground level. Our guide to pruning your plants properly shows where to cut.
Feed in spring
A slow-release fertilizer in spring, or liquid fertilizer every three weeks from March to August, helps maintain dense, healthy green foliage. Stop at the end of summer.
Mistakes to avoid
⚠️ Avoid
Planting running bamboo. In a pot, it eventually distorts or splits the container. On a balcony, always choose non-running bamboo, such as Fargesia.
Choosing pots that are too small. The plant stays stunted, loses its lower leaves, and the screen never fills in.
Relying only on deciduous plants. The screen disappears just when the days get shorter and you turn on the lights at home.
Underestimating watering. This is the main reason potted privacy screens fail, especially bamboo.
Expecting a complete screen from day one. If you plant too close together, the plants compete and become sparse. It’s better to respect the spacing and wait a season.
Privacy screen plants
Now you know how to build your screen. Here are the most effective plant families and how to use each one.
Non-running bamboo
The quickest solution for a light, evergreen screen. Fargesia grow in clumps, don’t distort pots, and tolerate partial shade and cold. Their only weakness: watering, which needs to be regular.
Evergreen shrubs
For a dense, structured screen that keeps its leaves all year round. Viburnum tinus, cherry laurel, and photinia are very well suited to growing in pots and pruning. Viburnum tinus flowers in midwinter, while photinia puts on bright red new growth in spring.
Evergreen climbers
For climbing high without taking up floor space. Planted in a container at the foot of a trellis, they cover a wall or partition and keep their leaves in winter.
View all our climbing plants →
Grasses and striking foliage
For a soft, bright screen, perfect for a windy balcony. Zebra grass grows straight and tall; phormium and lomandra are evergreen and fill out the bottom of the screen all year round.
Verdeia — Balconies and patios
A balcony away from prying eyes
Bamboo, evergreen shrubs, climbers, and grasses: discover all our plants for setting up your balcony, delivered in great condition.
Frequently asked questions
Non-running Fargesia bamboo, evergreen shrubs such as laurustinus or cherry laurel, and evergreen climbers on a trellis such as star jasmine. Combined in long planters, they create a year-round screen.
Fargesia bamboo and vigorous climbers such as honeysuckle grow tall quickly. Allow one or two seasons for a truly dense screen.
Fargesia bamboo, laurustinus, cherry laurel, photinia, star jasmine, Armand's clematis, and phormium keep their leaves all year round.
Yes, provided you choose a non-running bamboo such as Fargesia, plant it in a container at least 40 to 50 cm wide, and water it regularly: potted bamboo often gets thirsty.
Grasses, phormium, olive trees, and well-watered Fargesia bamboo are best at withstanding wind. Choose heavy planters to keep them from tipping over.
Well settled in
Planters sized for your screen
Large pots and planters give your privacy plants the space they need.
