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yew hedge

Sam JessonSam Jesson Posts: 121
in Plants

Hi all,

I've got a smallish (70 sqm) garden. I live in London and i'm lucky enough to have my garden backing onto a large field with an uninterrupted view of Alexandra Palace. I want to soften the back fence with the intension of making it feel like my garden goes on through the view. So i thought an evergreen hedge would be good. I'm new to gardening so i'm not sure what would work size wise. In front of the hedge would be a flowery boarder (south east facing). I've been offered 6, 6ft yew plants for £150, will they take up too much space? Whats the slimmest they can be pruned to so they don't intrude too much and take up space in the boarder. If not yew, then what would you recommend?

Thanks!

Sam

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    Hi Sam - at this time of year you can buy bare root hedging which is a very inexpensive way of doing it. If you want potted plants, smaller ones establish more quickly than bigger ones, so I'd go for some at around three to four feet. If you're doing a yew hedge, let them grow into each other but you can keep them quite tightly clipped - around 15 inches depth would make a nice hedge. Unlike conifers, they can be cut back into old wood with no ill effect - they grow back!

    Another trick for your situation is to have a 'borrowed view'. Cut a window in the hedge once it's established, or put in a little gate along the boundary which doesn't open - these will give the impression that what lies beyond is also part of your garden. image

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Sam JessonSam Jesson Posts: 121
    Great, thanks! The ones I'm looking at getting are 6ft high, and in rootball sacks. Am I ok to plant them this time of year and if so, how far apart?
  • Dave MorganDave Morgan Posts: 3,123

    Sam yew can be planted quite close together  so it just depends how wide your border is. The advantage with yew over other conifers is that they can be very close pruned to no more then 10-12 inches in depth. They are shallow rooted and although your border will be quite close they don't completely drain the soil of moisture or nutrients like leyllandii does. Have you thought of a wildlife hedge?

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    I think Sam wants a more solid barrier to blur the boundary between his garden and what lies beyond - as they often did back in the Landscape and Picturesque eras.

    It's a great trick and works best with an evergreen barrier image

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Sam JessonSam Jesson Posts: 121
    Im actually going to put a gate in the hedge so I can get straight into the park. I've been offered 6 x 6foot plants for ??175 which I think is a good price (still in root ball sacks), so it's kind of an instant hedge. What do you think about that? Is it ok to plant larger plants or should I grow from smaller and wait out the years to get the screen?
  • Sam JessonSam Jesson Posts: 121
    It need to be about 6 meters long
  • TootsietimTootsietim Posts: 178

    I don't like the idea of planting such large yew trees as they tend not to establish as well as smaller plants, as well as being far more expensive. 

    As for spacing, at least two foot apart, so the individual plants have room to grow without competing.  ( Christopher Lloyd's father wrote a guide to yew hedges and recommended planting two foot apart and then as the hedge grew to remove alternate plants to leave four foot spacings. )  Smaller plants, 18 to 24 inches high will establish well and reach a six foot in about 4-5 years. 

    If you type ' how to plant a yew hedge' in the search box above, you can watch a video by Monty Don on the subject.

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