Hedging Trees

Hello everybody,
I have a project to undertake which is a hedge that will be planted to screen an industrial yard.
The hedge will be planted on a strip of land that runs across the back of our houses about 45 feet long and the hedge needs to grow to approx. 15-20 feet tall .
The land is quite hard to access so I am looking at a hedge that is very low maintaince.
I would like it to grow reasonably fast to provide screening as soon as possible but not at a massive cost.
The hedge will need to be evergreen for year round screening.
My first thought was Leylandii but not sure they fit the bill.
What would your views be on what to plant for this project?
Many Thanks
Andy

 

Hi Andy

If you look at conifers it may be best pricing up Thuja, its a better plant than Leylandii as it can be cut back into old wood if necessary where as Leylandii can't.

Other alternatives for a large hedge are Privet or Laurel, either Cherry or Portuguese varieties

 

Leylandii will grow at 3' a year, so will get to 15-20' in 5 to 7 years ... trouble is it won't then conveniently stop, and will continue to grow at 3' a year, so if you don't want it to then become a massive nuisance (particularly if you have neighbours) it will need cutting 2 - 3 times a year - and cutting a 20' hedge requires a scaffolding tower or similar. (Henchman make some nice platforms for cutting tall hedges)

www.henchman.co.uk

Leylandii cannot be cut back to old wood (it doesn't regrow) so it is crucial that you don't miss-a-year as you can't cut it back hard the next year to compensate and sort it out.

How about pleached trees? They are like a hedge on stilts. Not sure what would be best for evergreen, but they are basically trees that are trained sideways, either on a frame and you buy them "done" and/or you attach wires to some end-posts and train branches sideways to them. When the branches reach those of their neighbours you bind them together and they grow into them "as one" so you can then take the wires down.

So initially there is some training of the trees (once a year will do), and then it needs clipping. Depending on how fast it grows (once it is 20' tall it will slow down), so that would be once a year, or possibly every other year if it doesn't grow too much.

Here's mine that I am growing, its 3 years old in this photo:


(If you need a hedge at the bottom too then you can plant a conventional hedge as well)

Here's an example of something more mature, blocking a view:


Mature, "instant" and fully formed, pleached trees will be £250 or more each. They would need to be planted about 6' apart - so a 45' run would cost £1,750. You can buy trees suitable for pleaching yourself, they will probably be 15' tall, but won't have much in the way of width. I paid about £35 each for some "pleach ready" young Limes this spring, so £245 for a 45' run. Dunno of any evergreens that are sold "pleach ready" though, so you'd have to start with fully-trained, or do them yourself.

An alternative would be a climber. You erect a frame (tall posts and wires) and then plant climbers up it. There are things that will cover a frame that size in a couple of years ... dunno about evergreen though, those would probably be a bit slower. They might be almost zero maintenance, although I suspect once they become "massive" they would need severe pruning - might even be cut-down-and-start-over which might be somewhat straightforward. The poles will need to be strong though, it will take a massive strain in a high wind.

 

I think there is a bit of a risk that they won't hold their leaves when they are 20' tall

Of the two Beech holds it leaves better than Hornbeam, but Beech should not be planted on heavy / wet soil. In have a Beech hedge here, its 10' tall, and I have had to replace a couple of plants every year that have snuffed it due to my clay soil - and the area is well drained, relative to my garden in general. I'm hoping as they mature that they will survive ... but the jury is still out, and the hedge has been in for 5 years.

 

Hi Everybody,
Sorry not been on, been a bit mad over last few days.
The hedge will be planted on a slope/banking.
Not had a look at the ground yet, hopefully tomorrow.
I have done some research on your recomendations and I think I may go with the Thuja (Western Red Cedar) due to the speed of growth and the abillity to prune back and cost.
Thankyou for your recomendations and I will keep you updated how it goes.
Many Thanks
Andy

 

Note that Thuja does not have the ability to regenerate in the sense that other plants do - so hacking the face back to old wood won't regenerate (AFAIK), it will regrow directly off the trunk in such a situation, but that does take time (on a mature, tall, hedge probably 3 years before it has made some appreciable growth), so the face of the hedge will need cutting annually, although I think on a mature hedge you might get away with missing a year.

I recommend you choose the cultivar Thuja plicata atrovirens which will give a nice smart result and, more importantly, "consistent" along the length of the hedge - compared to seed-grown Heinz-allsorts!