What to do here?

Bramble55 · July 2023

First post on here. Not been living here that long, garden was neglected, between and on these trees was taken over with ivy, nettles and brambles, cleared it all now not sure what to do to make it better? Probably best to get rid and plant new but there’s 18 of these trees along the fence and would lose all privacy to neighbours if we took them down, privacy is a huge must, advice please? Btw it’s not all as dead as it looks in right of the photo, most are ok, maybe a climber to hide the deady bit? Laurels inbetween? Thanks in advance

Ceres · July 2023

Welcome to the forum.

Conifers can be a bit of a problem, as you are finding out. They suck moisture out of the ground and very few things will grow near them (ivy, nettles and brambles being the exception). You won't be able to get laurels to grow between the trees as there will be nothing left in the soil for them to live off and it will be too dry for them to establish, and then there is the lack of light. This applies to climbers as well.

How much privacy do you need? That is, how high do you need plants to grow in order to screen out the neighbours?

philippasmith2 · July 2023

I would say it will depend on what effect you wish to achieve ? If you want a border for planting all or part along the tree line, you will need to improve the soil. create a wide enough border and choose your plants carefully. Laurels are generally large and will require careful pruning once established - many are quite boring really but that's a personal opinion.
Budget and time for maintenance will also come into it. How much lawn you wish to retain ? Do you want a lot of colour and do you have a colour preference ( or a colour you wish to avoid ) ? Keen on attracting wildlife ?
An idea of your rough location and aspect will also help others to make suggestions

Bramble55 · July 2023

@Ceres @philipasmith2 Thankyou. I slid any advice, I’m a complete novice. I don’t mind at all what grows there any colour, anything (apart from nettles, brambles and ivy!) I just want something to make it look a bit prettier, and keep and improve the privacy. It’s N/E facing. If there trees weren’t there we’d be looking right over next doors back yard and back of house windows. I really don’t know what to do. Now I’ve got rid of all the rubbish there’s a little gap between fence and bottom of tree, I’d ideally like that filled in with something to improve the privacy, not really wanting to put new/taller fence in if can help it. I’m starting not to like conifers, I’ve heard they don’t do re growth, are they doomed? Will laurels not grow at all, if I look after them really well, feed the soil? Or what would happen if I planted more conifers inbetween the ones that are there? There’s about a metre between each tree. I don’t mind about taking up lawn space, maybe something would grow better a bit infront away from them rather than right inbetween, just want the privacy and to look nice. Thank you!!

SalixGold · July 2023

You could try deep raised beds there - allowing you to add whatever soil you want.

Lyn · July 2023

Laurels would grow but would need a lot of looking after for the start, you’d need to dig a trench and put in some chicken pellets (that’s what I use some don’t) get the plants in November when it’s wet, you can get bare roots then, buy them at 3’ and cut down to 2.6” on planting, put them in your trench about 2.6” away from the conifers. Stagger them with the existing trunks. You have the advantage of NE facing, they won’t dry out so quick, but if it’s dry, keep watering until established, then they won’t care what they’re planted in.
I have laurels growing well out of a dry stone wall bank, also in front of a row of 30 year conifers.
your conifers will never look any better than now, they will get worse as they get older.

Lyn · July 2023

Just to add, I wouldn’t plant more conifers in front, they’re big ugly trees, Laurels would be a better choice, you can cut them back as hard as you like to keep them in shape, not so easy with conifer.

Also, those conifers only have a life span, you may have to get rid of them in the future, We had to get a tree feller in to do ours, @philippasmith2 will remember 😀

Bramble55 · July 2023

Thankyou @Lyn

nick615 · July 2023

To those who've offered advice above, could you substitute 'Rhododendrons' in place of laurels? If the conifers are going to have to be taken down at some point, would the rhodies be filling out by then?

Fairygirl · July 2023

Rhodies are shallow rooting so again, like getting laurel established - water is key, and unless you're in a very wet area, you'll be watering them for the next couple of years until they do well. Easier with the aspect, but it'll still need work to get any of those settled and growing well.
If you want something that will manage drier conditions, and you want to block the ugly conifers, a narrow beech hedge would work. You could even try something like Cotoneaster or Escallonia, as they won't mind drier soil.
However, if you can't get rid of the conifers [which would be the best solution] a raised bed to the inside, with a decent gap between it and the hedging, for maintenance, will be easier as you can then have more scope for attractive planting. It would need decent soil to fill it though, and that can be expensive. You could add trellis/screening and use climbers instead of a hedging material.
A lower raised bed and cotoneaster would be fine - but pick an evergreen one that gets to a decent size. There are lot of varieties.
It comes down to what you would like and how much time you have for maintenance too.

What to do here?

Posts