Anyone here know about trees and shrubs?

[toppstuff]

I need a hedge.

A big, thick, fast growing hedge that will obscure the pikey mess that is the garden of the house next door.

I am impatient, but want to plant something that will grow fast to form an impenetrable fk-off fence almost instantly.

But I can't have Leylandii.

Anyone here know their plants?

[V12Les]

Bamboo?

[Einion Yrth]

Even Leylandii would take several years - build the fence and plant a decent hedge in front of it, in time one will replace the other. I'd favour Beech.

[Mattygooner]

[Knight of Ni]A Shrubbery![Knight of Ni]

A path a path...

[HOGEPH]

I like bush

[stinkysteve]

There are varieties of fast growing conifers. But them 3 ft high and they'll be 8 foot within 18 months.

Willow is very fast growing, cheap, and makes excellent hedges. google 'willow supliers' and you'll get the idea. - cheap too.

[Simpo Two]

What about something prickly? Pyracantha is a bd, also Berberis.

Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 22 December 13:59

[Adrian W]

Laurel

[Munter]

A hedge is not maintainance free. A Fence basically is (except replacing it).

[Famous Graham]

My garden designer housemate says that if you go for something fast growing it's going to give you a st load of maintenance issues over the years. Better being less impatient

[rlw]

The great thing about a hedge is that you have to prune it every so often which is a great excuse for a fckuing great big bonfire.

Edited by rlw on Monday 22 December 14:04

[dealmaker]

Adrian W said:

Laurel

Thats the boy - the one you wnat is Prunus Laurocerasus - Cherry Laurel - Fast Growing - up to 2/3 ft year - you can buy it at 5ft if you must - (albeit the 2ft ones seem to grow faster?) - will grow just about anywhere - will grow up to 30 feet high if you want - and can get very dense.

[Cooky]

Indica or Sativa...thats about the only choice to make

[Digga]

dealmaker said:

Adrian W said:

Laurel

Thats the boy - the one you wnat is Prunus Laurocerasus - Cherry Laurel - Fast Growing - up to 2/3 ft year - you can buy it at 5ft if you must - (albeit the 2ft ones seem to grow faster?) - will grow just about anywhere - will grow up to 30 feet high if you want - and can get very dense.

+1

It may take a year or two to become fully established, but a decent hedge will really blot our the view and help to reduce noice.

Laurels are of course evergreen, and they're also good habitats for garden birds, which is nice.

Other thing to consider is Rhododendron. Certain varieties are very tough and you've the added bonus that it flowers. Superb site for ordering rhododendrons and azaleas: Glendoick. I've used them a few times now and the service is excellent although I wouldn't recommend ordering/planting until spring.

[Wings]

Simpo Two said:

What about something prickly? Pyracantha is a bd, also Berberis.

Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 22 December 13:59

+1 mixed with conifers, one get's the best of both worlds, privacy and security.

[CaptiV8ted]

dealmaker said:

Adrian W said:

Laurel

Thats the boy - the one you wnat is Prunus Laurocerasus - Cherry Laurel - Fast Growing - up to 2/3 ft year - you can buy it at 5ft if you must - (albeit the 2ft ones seem to grow faster?) - will grow just about anywhere - will grow up to 30 feet high if you want - and can get very dense.

+2

I've got just one of these and it's grown massively over the last 3 years. A chappy round the corner from me has used them planted close together (about 2 yrs ago at 3 ft high approx), now he has a 8 ft dense hedge surrounding his newly aquired land next to his house. Superb.

[andy43]

toppstuff said:

I need a hedge.

A big, thick, fast growing hedge that will obscure the pikey mess that is the garden of the house next door.

I am impatient, but want to plant something that will grow fast to form an impenetrable fk-off fence almost instantly.

But I can't have Leylandii.

Anyone here know their plants?

I recommend that you hire a crane and stack the metros and mk2 fiestas at least three-high on your own lawn, close to the boundary with your neighbour, so obscuring the view of their untidiness.
HTH

[Simpo Two]

Wings said:

+1 mixed with conifers, one get's the best of both worlds, privacy and security.

Aye, my neighbour has a 10-foot chunk of pyracantha next to a fence and it's worse than barbed wire!

The problem with plants that grow fast is that they will either give you a pruning nightmare every year, or be sappy and fall over, or both.

[Fatboy]

Simpo Two said:

What about something prickly? Pyracantha is a bd, also Berberis.

Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 22 December 13:59

Echo Pyrocanthus (aka Firethorn) - tough, grows really quite well, and good and thick. Plus no bugger is ever going to climb over it

As an aside bonus, birds love the berries so you should get plenty of songbirds etc in your garden as a result.

[richyb]

I'd put up a fence then plant a hawthorn hedgeline along it. Whips are 50p a go and you put then 9-11 a metre (depending on how thick you want it). Very durable, very spikey and will only need two cuts a year. Very little in the plant world is instant I'm afraid. You could get yourself willow or hazel hurdles and put them up on the inside (yourside) of the fence to make it look a bit more attractive till the hedge kicks in.