Planting tall shrubs in containers (Arvada, Boulder: buying, live, suite)

[Jane7]

I would like to achieve a little more privacy on my deck by buying a couple of containers - 5 ft long by 2 ft wide and planting two or three shrubs of around 4 ft or 5 ft in height. Does anyone know whether this will work in Colorado? My deck is south facing. If it's feasible, what type of shrubs will survive?????

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

Is there a way you can create a raised bed around the deck and plant them in the ground? That would be the better way to go.

I don't know how long they would last - for one thing, that size they will get root bound in a container quickly. Also, without the ground to kind of blanket them in the winter, I'd think the roots would freeze pretty good and south facing wouldn't necessarily be a good thing.

We did raised beds around our deck. On one side I planted chokecherries. Some consider them trees, some bushes. They will get taller relatively quick. We keep them trimmed to be more like bushes. They do get berries that can make the deck a mess - but the Robin's live them so much they usually get eaten before that happens.

[kryptos]

You can plant evergreens in the containers. I have seen dwarf spruces in containers that do quite well here. Yew, holly, junipers and boxwoods are all good options. Your best bet is to ask at a nursery like Harlequin's (Boulder) or Timberline (Arvada) for the best evergreens suited to containers.

[Jane7]

Thanks for this info - I will go talk to one of the nurseries. I think I forgot to mention that our deck (JKCoop) is not on ground level and neither are my neighbors, which is why I would have to go with containers.

[kryptos]

Came across this article, it might help a bit- Creative Screening with Plants