97TURBO

Anybody here know much about gardening/trees. Im looking for something to screen the bottom of the garden from neighbours. Im thinking a row of conifers, but it does seem a little boring. Any suggestions would be great, fast growers would be best!

dpb

Can't really suggest the ole British leylandi I suppose!

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

Have you also considered the amount of work in a few years time to keep them to a desired height? Maybe a wooden fence would suffice? If not then, yes, Leylandi do grow rather quickly.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Conifers are a bad idea as our neighbour has them at the bottom of the garden and they can grow 15ft in a year hence he is forever cutting them as they do go out of control. After 10 years of cutting them down he finally pruned them to 8ft to stop the growth and it seems to have worked.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Just had a look at what leilandi is and that is what me neighbour has, they do grow out of control quicklg and each year will be taller than your house.

Budget in a gardener or some proper tools and a ladder to get them under control each year.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Just had a look at what leilandi is and that is what me neighbour has, they do grow out of control quicklg and each year will be taller than your house.

Budget in a gardener or some proper tools and a ladder to get them under control each year.

2pot

iTrader: (3)

How tall a screen?
How far North are you?
Is the site fully open or is it shaded by buildings/trees to either side?
What, if anything, is growing really well in your garden; shrub/tree wise?

dpb

Yes , mine wasn't a completely serious suggestion!

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

There are laws about leylandi height now although they can benign depending on the council.

Sycamore Tree (aka weeds) grow quick...uproot a seedling from your local forest. I'll even give you some as the seed down all over the place.

Fat Boy

Silver Wattle- Alcacia Dealbata - I drove home with two in the front seat of my car and both are now 40 foot high at the end of the garden. They grow to that height in a few years, are a good screen but not as heavy as conifers as they are kind of frondy, and have yellow flowers all over them in the middle of winter when everything else is grey and dead.
They do develop a lot of seed cases in spring - which the local birds ( including parrots ! ) can't get enough of.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silver-Wat...p2054897.l5661

urban

iTrader: (1)

Having some trees at the front of my own house, I'd reconsider my options if it were me.
Those trees are at second story level now, and they don't have block out the light when in full bloom.
There's only so much maintenance one can do, generally every two years I have to bring in the professionals to sort them out.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Hawthorn...makes a great hedge and is a security barrier and great for wildlife.

97TURBO

looking for 15ft. Lower Perthshire(scotland) the home of tall trees! The garden is grass and eh....grass.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

I wasn't saying anything I was just saying that was what my neighbour had. Chillax

2pot

iTrader: (3)

OK.
How long does this screen need to be?

jonc

We have Elder trees at the bottom of our garden, provide good screening and grow fairly quickly. Grows more like a large shrub than a tree and produces berries in the summer. Ours are around 15ft tall and grow upto 20ft tall.

paulr

Silver Birch grow quite quickly..........for a tree.

Matteeboy

Bamboo? Fastest growing plant in the World.

pacenote

You can get conifers that only grow to a certain height, I have one that has grown to a height of about 4m and that's it. The local garden centre should be able to sort you something.

97TURBO

Around 12 metres.

tarmac terror

iTrader: (2)

The birds keep bringing me willow trees. They do grow quite quickly.

I have planted various trees and shrubs around my property to screen it from the road and to break up the view at the rear of my house.

I have silver birch at the end of my front garden they are tall and narrow about 30ft tall now, but the first six feet provides no cover at all, it is just trunk, although I do like the colour of it.

I have a laburnum trees at the bottom of the front garden as well these provide good cover from view in spring and early summer but die back a little at this time of year as the blooms are gone off them. They dont seem to increase much in height, mine are about 15-18 feet tall - great for attracting the bee population to your garden.

I planted new zealand flax plants to fill some gaps - big mistake and I would advise avoiding these. At the same time planted Fatsia Japonica shrubs, these are now about 12ft high and 12ft wide and provide large dense foliage.

I have Eucalyptus trees in my back garden, they grow tall quickly but remain quite narrow, but the foliage isn't dense enough to cover anything from view.

Have a look at Google for Castlewellan Gold - they make a great dense hedge, provided you invest a bit of time shaping them - I have two which I have kept to 8ft tall at the entrance to my driveway.

There are tons of possibilities, all depends on what you want spend and how much time you want to invest in maintaining what you plant. Sometimes a wall or fence can be a much cheaper option with a more predictable outcome.

2pot

iTrader: (3)

Due to the low temps you experience and the max height you require, and the specification of fast growing, a few things spring to mind - but, due to your low temps, there's no guarantee they'd stay totally evergreen over the winter - may be:

Cotoneaster Lacteus

Photinia davidiana or Prunus lusitanica (As this can become a tree, the max height can be controlled by selecting the planting distance)

Also, by the sound of it, you don't want to be out there with the nail clippers every weekend.

So I think a CLUMP FORMING Bamboo. Probably 1 to 1.25 metres apart
http://www.scottishbamboo.com/index.htm will understand your conditions.
Probably this:
http://www.scottishbamboo.com/Farges...27Jumbo%27.htm
I think they've got the height wrong? They're listing 3 metres. Variety 'Jumbo' is normally listed at 4-6 metres. Expensive for a 12 metre run though - minimum 8 plants; if you started a metre in from each fence/wall.


Also near-ish(?) to you, for a more conventional screen

http://www.conifox.co.uk/default.aspx

They'd also know what works locally. They do sell Cotoneaster Lacteus, which is cheaper than bamboo

HTH

These are a good buy, for the size:

http://www.hopesgrovenurseries.co.uk...ACTEUS-32~4512

Because you need them to get to their maximum height, only plant 5. 1m in from the side boundaries, and 1m away from the rear boundary.