Instant Hedging advice

Hi all

I'm hoping some of you can advise. We have a small area (about 8 feet wide) that we want to plant some instant hedging to block out the view of the neighbours hideous garages. I'm thinking probably Laurel or Hornbeam as we already have quite a lot of beech hedging and I don't really want to add more.

Can anyone advise which might be better - garden is north facing and soil quite poor but well draining and not clay.

Also can anyone recommend a supplier of instant hedging - there are lots online but it is difficult to know who is best to deal with. We are hoping to get something quite big to block out the view straight away which I know is impatient but that's how I am!!

Any advice welcome

 

Not a lot to choose between then two - they look similar, they both hold their leaves in Winter. Hornbeam tends to be planted on wetter / heavier soils as Beech is not so tolerant of that. So you might want something different if you don't want it to look like Beech

If you are quick you could get some barerooted plants from Ashridge Trees.

http://www.ashridgetrees.co.uk/Hedging-Plants-Trees-Shrubs-Bareroot

the bare rooted planting season will end in a week or two though (I think, but anyways I wouldn't want to plant much later than that)

I've had 150/175 cm Copper Beech off them £9 each for less than 10 - you probably only need 8 in a double row. Will take a while to form a dense screen though.

Not sure that the Instant Hedge people are going to sell you as little as an 8' "piece".

I've bought 2M yews from
http://www.shrubsdirect.com/shop/Taxus-Baccata-Yew-Rootballs.html
they were trimmed "square" intended for hedging. They are £90 each - you'd probably need 4. They would look smart but not cheap.

Or your could go for Thuja plicata atrovirens (I think the "atrovirens" cultivar is important )
http://www.shrubsdirect.com/shop/Thuja-Plicata-Atrovirens.html
2.4M for £58 each - again I expect you only need 4 (maybe one extra for the "end of the row"). This makes a really nice clipped hedge - all the benefits of Leylandii without any of the drawbacks. Doesn't grow as fast (which means cutting once a year is usually enough). Can be cut back to old wood if it gets out-of-hand, unlike Leylandii.

Laurel is a good choice too, but it does grow a pretty thick hedge, not sure how much "width" you have at that spot? Probably need 8' thick, maybe get away with 6', for a hedge of decent height. Whereas for Beech or Thuja you'd be fine with 4' or less.

 

thanks for advice Kirsten that is really helpful - I didn't realise the hornbeam would look similar to the beech so I think I'll go with one of the other options you've suggested - probably the Thuja as my husband loves the conifer look!

 

Don't want to mislead anyone!

Beech has a smooth leave, and Hornbeam's are ribbed, but they have similar style of growth and both hold their leaves in Winter (Beech usually longer than Hornbeam). So they are not "identical" per se, but they are pretty similar and hard to tell apart from a bit of a distance.

Anyway, I think the Thuja is very smart, so if you like an evergreen conifer hedge that will clip very nearly as smart as Yew (without waiting decades, or paying millions!), then hopefully that's your answer

 

Kristen recommended Ashridge Trees in a previous thread of mine a month or so ago.

I have ordered bare-root hedging plants from them since, so has my mum, and I have to say they are fantastic.

I heartily recommend them.