Buddha Privacy Screen

When you need a unique privacy screen, Palmco has more than one “Buddha” for you to consider!

One Buddha Tree, a nickname of the Mast Tree, is a tall, slender tree native to India or Sri Lanka. It has become popular with landscapers as a great screening alternative to the finicky Italian Cypress Tree.

Another unique option for privacy screening is the unusual Dwarf Buddha Belly clumping bamboo which also makes a great conversation piece for guests. These trees offer just what you are looking for on your next landscaping project.

About Us

Palmco serves the contiguous U.S. from our 600-acre farm in Bokeelia on Pine Island, Florida. We provide FF-grade palms, top-quality clumping bamboos, and spectacular ornamental plants, such as the Mast Tree, to landscape contractors, architects and developers who want to beautify residential estates, resorts, golf courses, commercial properties and more.

The Mast Tree

The beautiful Mast Tree, or Polyalthia longifolia ‘Pendula,’ is also known as the Buddha Tree, Indian Mast Tree or Indian Fir Tree. It became popular in British India because it resembles the Italian Cypress and because its tall, stick-straight trunk was ideal for building ship masts.

The Mast Tree will grow to 30 to 45 feet tall with a spread of 4 to 5 feet at maturity. It has dense layers of feathery, wavy-edged leaves that hang from drooping branches and cover the tree from top to bottom. The contrast of new, coppery brown leaves, older lime green leaves, and mature, glossy dark green leaves makes a spectacular screen in any landscape.

Best suited to USDA Zones 10A to 11, where it prefers well-drained rich clay, loam or sandy soil, the Mast Tree is easy to maintain, has very little leaf drop, no notable pest issues, is drought-tolerant, moderately salt-tolerant, will thrive in full sun and tolerate partial shade, and will attract attention in any landscape. It is also remarkably flexible; once mature, it will bend like bamboo during a storm.

Dwarf Buddha Belly Bamboo

This clumping Dwarf Buddha Belly bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris ‘Wamin’) originates in Burma. It has very unusual bulges above and below each cane’s internodes, making you think it was designed by Dr. Seuss! There is no other bamboo like it in the world, and the plant is definitely an attention-getter. It’s also one of the easiest bamboos to grow and maintain. Dwarf Buddha Belly Bamboo grows to a height of 12 to 15 feet and can have up to 4-inch diameter culms, making it well-suited to privacy screening.

Either of these Buddha trees are ideal for their unique appearances and also for their functionality. There are few better privacy screens available, and these plants are far easier to maintain than, for instance, Italian Cypresses. If you are interested in Buddha trees from Palmco, please call us at (239) 283-1329.