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Evergreen screening

rachel.allison208rachel.allison208 Posts: 5
in Problem solving
rachel.allison208 says:

Hi, 

I am a total novice when it comes to gardening so was hoping for some advice please, 

I am looking to plant 2 trees at the end of garden to screen the view we have of a block of flats.

We'd like to trees to reach about 5 metres in height, 2/3 meters in width and evergreen so we have privacy all year round. We're happy to plant them and wait for privacy until next summer, or the one after but we do want something quite fast growing if possible (but not so much so that we have to preen monthly). 


Do you have any recommendations at all please? I'm looking to plant these trees in an area right up against my back fence which is a small walled area i currently use as a herb garden, about 3 meters wide by about 2 meters deep. I'm based in Southampton. 

Thanks in advance... Rachel. 

See original post

 

Posts

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,905

    Hi Rachel. At the risk of having to wash my mouth out and spending the next month in disguise, the plant that fits your needs would be Leylandii. If you choose the golden variety - Leylandii Castlewellan Gold - it is not as fast growing as the green variety but will still produce a dense hedge quite quickly. Now I'm going to run away fast!

    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • rachel.allison208rachel.allison208 Posts: 5

    Hi,

    Is this a swear word then? Looks OK to me. So this is an evergreen plant yes? Do you have any other suggestions, maybe I can plant two different evergreen trees for variety

    thanks again really appreciate it. 

    Last edited: 11 July 2016 11:10:43

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,905

    The Leylandii has provoked more neighbour wars than any other evergreen. They can grow 3 feet plus a year and need to be pruned/sheared regularly to keep them in bounds. They are all evergreen and managed properly are actually great. You could have a green one and a gold one. There are other evergreens but none with the growing speed of Leylandii.

    Thuja, Portuguese Laurel and Griselinia are other alternatives.

    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • rachel.allison208rachel.allison208 Posts: 5

    Hi, 

    Ah I see - thanks. I've taken a look and really like the look of the Portuguese Laurel. It says to plant 45cm apart for hedging but would you say two plants across my 3m long fence section would do the job? I'd like to encourage them to grow very tall, in excess of 5m would be perfect! 

    I like that this one flowers too. Any tips for planting or caring for them to get the most privacy?

    Thank you Ladybird4! :)

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,905

    rachel, I think two sound fine for that length - bearing in mind it may seem a bit gappy until the laurels bush out. I would go for the biggest containerised plants I could find bearing in mind the budget and plant them evenly in the gap allowing equal spaces at each end of the stretch and between the two plants. Plant them the same depth in the ground as they are in the containers and add a general purpose fertiliser to the planting hole. Water in well and keep them watered until they establish - without drowning them image Don't plant anything too close to the trees until they establish. You will be able to see new shoots forming eventually then all you need to do is mulch with well rotted garden compost in the Winter and enjoy.

    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • rachel.allison208rachel.allison208 Posts: 5

    Hi, 

    That's awesome thank you! Between my husband and I i'm sure we can follow these instructions - we're getting to grips with this gardening stuff since we moved from our flat two years ago! :) Thanks again for your advice, it was really helpful and we'll be planting some Portuguese Laurel this weekend!

    Last edited: 11 July 2016 15:11:31

  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,354

    .

    Last edited: 11 July 2016 15:23:18

    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • rachel.allison208rachel.allison208 Posts: 5

    Hi, 

    My garden is roughly 15 meters long and about 7/8 meters wide. The rear garden has some shops just outside the back gate and above these shops, there are flats whose windows over look my garden. The neighbours have huge great conifer trees, some as tall as about 20 metres i'm sure, but we very narrow minded-ly cut these down when we moved in two years ago as we didn't think it'd bother us. It now does! 

    I have a 6 foot fence and will add trellis for now and plant something that can climb too, but i think these shrubs will offer a little more privacy. In front of the walled area where i'll plant the shrubs is a lawn so it's not next to our seating area or anything. 

    I loved the idea of creating privacy with fruit trees but none seem to be evergreen. :(

    I will ensure we keep on top of trimming it width wise but am very happy to let it get tall height wise! Our garden is south facing so the sun rises on the left and sets on the right meaning it won't block sun either. 

    Thanks so much for your help guys! I really appreciate it! 

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