Yikes! So in an ideal world, I should persuade them to prune it back to just a couple of feet... i.e. well below the fence line. Well, hey it will all be in shade then, so maybe that will keep it (and me) happier.
They're fine in sun as long as they aren't dry. They need moisture, but aren't as adaptable as the common laurel re soggy soil -they need better drainage. It certainly doesn't look great in the site it's in, and it's got vine weevil damage, and possibly other problems. If you can negotiate with the neighbours re chopping it right back, that would be the best solution. They aren't terribly attractive in most garden settings IMO - a bit municipal, but they can be useful as windbreaks etc. There's a garden near me which has a long border filled with them, oak leaf hydrangeas and a few other things, all pruned to about 3 feet or so. The centrepiece is a lovely Prunus serrula, so the shrubs just provide groundcover, albeit a bit bigger than most types of that!
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
So those holes are from vine weevils? Eek! I was seduced yesterday morning by the long thread on here about Tidal Wave Red Velour petunias and I bought some seeds yesterday afternoon with the intention of having them in a pot near the door and up against that fence. Are any pots there likely to be a no go due to vine weevils?
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It certainly doesn't look great in the site it's in, and it's got vine weevil damage, and possibly other problems. If you can negotiate with the neighbours re chopping it right back, that would be the best solution.
They aren't terribly attractive in most garden settings IMO - a bit municipal, but they can be useful as windbreaks etc. There's a garden near me which has a long border filled with them, oak leaf hydrangeas and a few other things, all pruned to about 3 feet or so. The centrepiece is a lovely Prunus serrula, so the shrubs just provide groundcover, albeit a bit bigger than most types of that!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...