Recommendations for very tall screening plants suitable for large patio planters

[Julysunshineishere]

Can anyone recommend a very tall plant, growing to 8ft or more that can survive in a patio planter and used for screening purposes?

I've been advised by different garden centre staff that bamboo isn't recommended as too vigorous, and the container will break.

I've looked at elephant grasses but they only seem to grow to around the height of our 6ft fence.

I'm ideally needing something higher that will provide screening from neighbours.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!
I cannot plant anything in the ground sadly as the area is paved.

Thanks.

I've got a Eucalyptus in a very large cheap plastic pot. It gets a good soak once a week in the summer but ignored otherwise. I coppice it (chop it down to a stump) and pollard (chop off all the leafy branches) every few years in the spring to keep it manageable. Last pollarded it this year in March. Picture next to 6ft fence, the rocks act as a mulch and stop it tipping over. All green growth is from March. It can easily grow 3ft in a year. They want to be very large trees...

A potted Stipa Gigantea could be really good actually....

I have some willow in a pot. It grows very tall..Also Eucalyptus can be a giant. These are cheap and fast growing options that won't matter too much if you kill them. Lots of the suggestions you've had are slow growing and although will do the trick after a few years won't be immediate solutions.

I had some problem neighbours I wanted to screen out. I grew a bamboo 'Winter Joy' in a pot. I went back to the garden and 7 years later it is still in the pot and the pot hasn't split. We ended up moving as they really were neighbours from hell. They are still there too but the now huge bamboo blocks their window that overlooked my garden!

The Big Plant Nursery is great for mature plants.

Another vote for laurel!

i would look into - https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/747/akebia-quinata/details it’s very vigorous but thrives in a pot ( we have it on a very windy patio. It will need a plant support or obelisk to climb but normally keeps it’s leaves in winter.

Garden centre staff are not the best people to go to for advice. They tend only to know garden centre plants. Bamboo's fine. Phyllostachys aurea of one of the fargesias.

MrAlyakhin- Thanks, that sounds an interesting cheaper option too.

Bonbon21-Thanks for the link, I've not heard of them, will have a look.

Frankthegoldfish-
Thanks for the photo and details of caring for the plant, as well as another plant to research.
Askandyforcompo-
Very useful to know , thanks. I'm sorry about the neighbours. Your solution sounds to have worked very well though!
Notmytelescope-
Thanks for the suggestion. The patio can get windy so will add to my list.

Really appreciate all the ideas, thanks! I'm getting a good list here, and will explore a few more recommended websites this evening.

I have bought trees from this place Ornamental trees. I wouldn't pay this for ivy panels, but you could get some planters made with a vertical slot in the middle of them to allow you to slot the right size of wire mesh panels/support into them and grow whatever dense climber you want to up the panel. I quite like their idea of a planter on wheels to allow you to move and/or maintain the plants and planter.

These panels are 8ft x 4ft. I would ask a local handyman or the men's shed to build something like this.

VirtuousVestalVirgin-
That's a great idea! Thanks. Id not thought of using wire mesh like that.

So many ideas now😁

My somewhat heretical suggestion ... fake bamboo!

I know.. fake plants on a gardening forum - horror.
But here's the thing: a 6ft fence, a concrete base, no actual planting bed and you need a further 2 ft of height in a windy spot. It will be a constant battle with gravity.

An artificial bamboo screen, properly secured, with a nice substantial planter in front of it filled with real, lower-growing container plants. You get the height and screening without asking a 2m-high plant in a pot to behave as if it has roots in the ground.

Horticultural sacrilege ... but it might be just the thing.

This one has some great reviews with reviewers photos of it in gardens, so you can get a fair idea of what it might like look like and how to secure it onto the fence to give the height you require.

www.amazon.co.uk/VeriNatural-Fake-Bamboo-Plant-Artificial/dp/B0FQ5Q4BP6?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1

I’ve had bamboo in a wooden planter for about 20 years, no issues at all. The planter rotted so I have just broken it up - the plant is fine, it never breached the plant pot (I used wooden 2x2’s stacked up and screwed together, lined with a heavy plastic bag with drainage holes). Will get a new pot now, but it was weathering and age that knackered my container, not the bamboo!

brambleberries-

That's certainly something to consider if I keep killing my plants, or need a quick solution. Thanks for idea and link, I'm making a note of everything 😁
littlematchstickgirl-
That's really positive to hear. Thanks for letting me know. Bamboo is back on the list!