Hedging....

I don't have much of a garden, more of a drive. Absolute beginner, i'd like to plant a hedge against next doors fence (which is awful and needs replacing) My thinking is, nice healthy pretty bit of green rather than a fence anyway. I dont have that much space between drive and fence, but the fence just rests on the ground anyway. Any ideas please?

 

How high does it need to grow to? How quickly? How much width can you get away with between the fence and the drive?

 

I'd like it to be around 5 feet tall, the width is around 14 inches.......

 

Oh, sorry, the quicker the better i suppose....

 

Unfortunately with hedges they take some time to grow, years in fact, if you are prepared to wait that long they will give you great screening. Depending on the type of hedge, some will grow faster than others. I've grown a Hebe hedge which is faster than some, for my neighbour which is in it's second year and is only 2 1/2ft high. But larger plants may be available from nurseries.

Is it possible for you to post a picture on here of the situation you want to grow in, it's always helpful for us to give members advise.

 

I'll try and get a picture on. Looked on the net today, some root ball plants are available, 80-100 cms when you buy them...(if indeed root ball is the right term!)

 

One suggestion of many possibles:

How about Laurel? Our local college was landscaped up a couple of years ago. They put loads of baby laurels in about a foot high, now they are establishing well and are about 4ft.

 

Forgot to mention, length of drive is two cars, so could be rather expensive!

 

Another option available to you is to erect a strong trellis and then send climbers along it. It might work out cheaper, although it doesn't have to be expensive.

If you can cope with a deciduous hedge, you can save a fortune by waiting for bare root season to open (usually around mid October). Then you can buy young trees dirt cheap in batches of around 25, which you plant while they are dormant.

Or, just stick wooden fence panels along to make it look nice from your side, and then grow loads of pretty flowers next to it.

 

Thanks Clueless, i'm kind of stuck on this hedge idea, then i can just forget about said horrid fence! Is there something which will screen it all year round?

 

Bare in mind that a hedge will require ongoing maintenance, otherwise it will bug you just as much as the fence.

14 inches is a bit narrow for a hedge. It kind of limits your choices a bit I think.

 

I was just looking at the david Austin catalogue and they had lots of pictures of rose hedges. They looked gorgeous. I have no idea if it would work in your garden but I totally wanted one!

 

14" width will be the deciding factor for your hedge. I reckon only Privet or Box will be able to be maintained that "narrow".

Laurel and Rose hedges will be too wide I'm afraid.

Trellis and climbers would more easily be maintained that narrow, and would give you quicker results - a couple of years should be enough.

"2 cars length" is, lets say, 10M max? Most hedges are about 3 plants per metre, and if you get bare-root in the Autumn they will be £2 - £3 each. So about £10 per Metre

If you are feeling flush you can buy taller plants, initially, which will give you some extra height sooner - but buying plants twice as tall won't halve the time it takes - bigger plants establish more slowly, after planting, than smaller ones ...

Sounds like the area along the hedge will be quite dry - i.e. its narrow. You should buy some "Leaky hose" that you can run along the newly planted hedge so you can just attach it to your hose for an hour or so, once a week, during the summer for the first few years so that it gets established quickly

 

What about Ceonothus?