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Conifers

Hi,

Im looking at putting a screening along my boundary fence but not sure what to plant, the height I eventually want to achieve a height of 6 - 8 meters.

I was thinking of bamboo or conifers.

 

Appreciate any info.

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Posts

  • Hi,

    Im looking at putting a screening along my boundary fence but not sure what to plant, the height I eventually want to achieve a height of 6 - 8 meters.

    I was thinking of bamboo or conifers.

     

    Appreciate any info.

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190

    I don't think bamboo will grow to 30 odd feet, conifers will take up a mighty big space, widthwise, and take awhile to grow that high. You may meet some planning restrictions there!

    Personally I would hate to see conifers grown that high and not  much good for the birds.

     

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • WelshonionWelshonion Posts: 3,114
    8 metres is over 25 feet, do you really want something so high? What are you trying to hide? A row of conifers of that height will be difficult to manage. Evergreens are pretty depressing with their never-changing greenery.



    A few well-chosen shrubs or smaller trees will probably be more effective, and certainly more attractive.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,072

    Where are you?  If in a residential area there are rules about fence and hedge heights and 2m is the norm.

    However, if there are no such restrictions, I think you can do a lot better than a wall of conifers which would be desperately dull, very wide at the base and suck all the goodness out of the surrounding soil plus not being good wildlife habitat.

    Think instead of a mix of plants such as holly - one male and one female so you get berries or two self fertile to improve berrying - hawthorn, sorbus (rowan), prunus padus (bird cherry), amelanchier, elderflower, euonymous europa and so on to give variation of form, structure, foliage colour and also shelter and food for wildlife.

     

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Thanks for all reply's my mistake I meant 8ft, sorry

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,072

    I'd still go for a mix as a long green hedge can be desperately dull and dark.   There's some good info and food for thought on these sites - http://www.discoverwildlife.com/wildlife-gardens/how-make-your-hedge-wildlife-friendly 

    http://www.wildaboutgardens.org.uk/resources/leaflets/HedgesForWildlife.pdf

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/organic_nativehedge1.shtml 

    If you plant a mixed hedge you'll attract all sorts of bird activity and beneficial insects and have something changing to look at every day.  It would still just need one good cut a year so no extra work.

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • What do you think if I went for bamboo, Bissett.

     

    Thanks

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,072

    Beware of bamboo as it spreads rapidly and is hard to remove if you buy the wrong sort.   Does nothing for British wildlife either.

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Thanks,

    Would you have any idea of the right sort of bamboo.

     

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,072

    Sorry, no.  It's fiendishly expensive to buy here if you want one with decorative coloured stems and either tries to take over the world or dies after flowering.  I decided not to bother and grew ornamental grasses instead but not as a screen or hedge.

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
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