In South Africa palm branches are very popular as schach because they stay green for long and cover a lot of space per branch. Many palm branch sellers advertise around sukkot time, and every year the price creeps up.
I would like to grow my own schach, but palm trees grow very tall and eventually will not fit in my garden. Which other plants/trees provide appropriate foliage that will cover a large area and preferably stay green for a week after being detached? What is used for schach in other parts of the world?