Garden Advice - Fast Growing Trees\Climbing Plants?
Garden Advice - Fast Growing Trees\Climbing Plants?
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scz4

Original Poster:

2,770 posts

265 months

Monday 20th June 2011
quotequote all
Morning,

I'm trying to revamp the garden that I've moved into. I've filled three skips with old patios, plants and borders. Will be laying new turf next week but need advice on what to grow against the back fence.

I'm looking to give the garden as much privacy from the houses at the rear as possible. There is a standard 8ft fence surrounding the garden. What can I grow up the fence or in front of it which will grow quickly, without using Leylandii? Don't mind if it's trees or climbing plants. The only requirement is it stays green during the winter. Back fence is south facing and get sun all day in the summer.

Any suggestions?

If you have suggestions on fast growing shrubs for lower ground levels I would be interested.

Thanks in advance.

Graeme

dickymint

28,512 posts

282 months

Monday 20th June 2011
quotequote all
Evergreen Honey suckle - spring and summer flowering to keep interest. Maybe grow rambling roses through them also.

Bamboo works well.

scz4

Original Poster:

2,770 posts

265 months

Monday 20th June 2011
quotequote all
dickymint said:
Evergreen Honey suckle - spring and summer flowering to keep interest. Maybe grow rambling roses through them also.

Bamboo works well.
Thanks for that. Would bamboo survive our cold winters up here in the north east of Scotland?

dickymint

28,512 posts

282 months

Monday 20th June 2011
quotequote all
scz4 said:
dickymint said:
Evergreen Honey suckle - spring and summer flowering to keep interest. Maybe grow rambling roses through them also.

Bamboo works well.
Thanks for that. Would bamboo survive our cold winters up here in the north east of Scotland?
Just look for cold hardy varieties. Sould get protection from your fence anyway.

FlossyThePig

4,138 posts

267 months

Monday 20th June 2011
quotequote all
dickymint said:
scz4 said:
dickymint said:
Evergreen Honey suckle - spring and summer flowering to keep interest. Maybe grow rambling roses through them also.

Bamboo works well.
Thanks for that. Would bamboo survive our cold winters up here in the north east of Scotland?
Just look for cold hardy varieties. Sould get protection from your fence anyway.
be careful which variety of bamboo as some can be very invasive. It may end up hiding your garden from you.

jfrf

406 posts

278 months

Monday 20th June 2011
quotequote all
i have a bamboo plant, Its not exactly the fastest of growers/spreaders. Seem like 3-4 new sticks a year.
Had it 5 years now and its cover could be better

I bought a Clematis armandii based on advice here.
Seems to grow reasonably fast and is supposd to grow 5m by 5m.

What about ivy


Flintstone

8,644 posts

271 months

Monday 20th June 2011
quotequote all
Generally speaking there are tall bamboos that spread a little and ground cover bamboos that spread a lot. That said I have a clump of black bamboo about 18' high growing in an old concrete pond (filled with compost of course) that has pushed through the concrete and is coming up 5' away. If you do plant bamboo, and I have a few varieties, don't do so without putting in a good root barrier at least 2' deep.

Vron

2,541 posts

233 months

Monday 20th June 2011
quotequote all
scz4 said:
Morning,

I'm trying to revamp the garden that I've moved into. I've filled three skips with old patios, plants and borders. Will be laying new turf next week but need advice on what to grow against the back fence.

I'm looking to give the garden as much privacy from the houses at the rear as possible. There is a standard 8ft fence surrounding the garden. What can I grow up the fence or in front of it which will grow quickly, without using Leylandii? Don't mind if it's trees or climbing plants. The only requirement is it stays green during the winter. Back fence is south facing and get sun all day in the summer.

Any suggestions?

If you have suggestions on fast growing shrubs for lower ground levels I would be interested.

Thanks in advance.



Graeme
Russian vine.

Its not evergreen but grows so fast the stems will soon cover the fence. It can be a problem though !

BoRED S2upid

20,987 posts

264 months

Monday 20th June 2011
quotequote all
Silver Birch grows fast.

Penny-lope

13,645 posts

217 months

Monday 20th June 2011
quotequote all
scz4 said:
dickymint said:
Evergreen Honey suckle - spring and summer flowering to keep interest. Maybe grow rambling roses through them also.

Bamboo works well.
Thanks for that. Would bamboo survive our cold winters up here in the north east of Scotland?
I planted bamboo last year (one plant, which I split in two)...it survived (just) the 4 weeks of snow we had in Dundee. The main stems are pretty scabby, but there is tonnes of new shoots biggrin

I'd also say honey-suckle, or if you want instant heigh...eucalyptus trees or twisted willow (although not green in the winter, but do add some structure to a garden and spread out really quite quickly)

jfrf

406 posts

278 months

Monday 20th June 2011
quotequote all
must admit im quite a fan of russian vine.
one of the stems has grown 4 metres so far this season aftr being cut to the ground

provides preety good cover with the leaves and the vine itself.
never found it unmanageable as you just prune it
just a shame its not evergreen

STROPPY

6 posts

184 months

Monday 20th June 2011
quotequote all
As far as climbers go you can also get evergreen Jasmine and evergreen Clematis too, they are really lovely.

For the trees/tall growing hedges look at the Photinia Red Robin, Eleagnus and it's silvery leaves and Portugal Laurel Prunus lusitanica. They aren't as fast growing as you might like but they will be much easier to control, give a beautiful result without dropping many leaves and are very commonly used as stilted hedges. I prefer broadleaf evergreens like these and with lots of care and feeding will grow a bit quicker. Conifers of various varieties can easily get of control. However, there are some beautiful pine trees of you don't mind them. Eucalyptus can also go a bit mad and grow very quickly. Once enormous begins to die and will need to be removed. The foliage doesn't offer much in the way of screening either but it depends on the health and the variety. A non-invasive hardy bamboo is lovely and will add height and texture.

I'm currently on the hunt for a fairly large holly tree to replace a horrid leylanii like conifer. Holly trees are very slow growing which is why they are so pricey in the size i'm after. I'm determined to find a pretty variegated holly to block the neighbours out though! Good luck!

Mr GrimNasty

8,172 posts

194 months

Monday 20th June 2011
quotequote all
Standard 2+ meter clear stem privet, Holm oak, bay, hornbeam (dead leaves mostly retained until spring) - all available in good sizes at reasonable prices for above fence screening and all OK to be clipped for size control. Or proper multi-stem (not multi-plant in one pot!) birch (Jacquemontii, Ermanii etc) tend to not get as sparse and tall as single stemmed examples, but still grow pretty quickly.