Fast growing evergreen hedge

Can anyone suggest a fast-growing, evergreen shrub that will grow in a light shady area? It needs to grow to about 2 metres high as it's required to fill a gap in a high hedge.

 

What plants are already in the hedge?

 

Fastest growing shrub I've seen is Elaeagnus x ebbingei, which does well in shade

 

I, perhaps, shouldn't have mentioned "hedge" as it's really, so I understand, a line of totally unrelated shrubs and trees growing along the one garden border. and one of the existing shrubs has been removed.So, what's there doesn't really matter but thanks for your reply..

It's, also, not my "hedge" but my son's and he lives some distance from me and emaiied me to ask for my help! I did what i could but thought others might know better.

 

Thanks for that. At 5m x 5m it's a big shrub/tree -do you know if it's possible to keep it, by pruning, at around 2m height and spread?

 

How about Photinia 'Red Robin'.

 

Absolutely. It's often used as a hedging plant so can be pruned quite hard and is very resilient In fact it looks better if pruned to shape cos it can can have quite an untidy growth habit.

Picture of it as a hedge here.

 

Yes, that looks good and I think it's what we planted down our garden many years ago! Thanks.

 

Than

Thanks, will pass this one on to my son, as well as the photinia

 

Let us know please what your son decides on Quaedor.

 

Will do!

 

Well, having looked at the problem myself, the answer seemed to be just a simple privet hedge!

What my son had been doing was cutting out old teees and shrubs at the edge of his garden - most of them dead or dying - not having been looked after for many years. The result was that his garden ended up separarted from that of his neighbour by a thin screen ofnarrow tree trunks. Imagine shrubs/trees, such as Lilac, that had had to fight for sunlight so had all top growth way up on very tall thin trunks - well that's virtually what he was left with. and he was concerned that his neighbour would object if he did nothing about it

Luckily his garden is quite a bit higher than his neighbours' so a privet hedge would easily offer a quick screen. No more thasn half-a-dozen plants were necessary, anyway.

Thanks for all your advice! Sorry we went down a different route!

 

Thanks for letting us know Quaedor36. It doesn't matter what route you and your son decided to take, you've both decided what was the best way forward. Privet hedges have been around for a long while and they still stand the test of time.