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How about dracaenia? They are very vertical and have lots of color choices. Easy to grow, too.
There are also non-spiky palms such as Manila or areca.
Bananas? They are vertical and fast growing. As well as some types of bamboo, although you'd want to make sure to get the non-running type. Heliconia, perhaps? There are a zillion different types of them, although I don't know if they can go down to a zone 10.
How about coffee? That is a shrub with nice shiny leaves and you can prune it to almost any height you like. Get the kind that has bronze colored new leaves and it will taste better.
I had limited success, wonderful smell, grew very very slowly. It was hard to find besides. Never got enough blooms to justify all the work.
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