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Very specific hedge plant requirements

iGizmoiGizmo Posts: 10

Hi,

I'm really struggling to select a suitable hedging plant for my needs.  I have a 15m fence which stands 1.8m tall that I wish to grow a hedge against to negate the need for a fence in the long term.

I had settled on Yew, but the health and safety brigade have put me off as I have two small children, with recent reports of one young man losing his life after tending a pond near a Yew hedge.

The ideal hedge would be able to grow to around 7-8 feet to hide away neighbours windows behind but without blocking out everyone's light, would be evergreen, dense as I want to keep it fairly narrow and quite formal.  The options were Box which the speed has put me off, Yew whilst still not the fastest would have been suitable but the poisonous element is making me think I should pick something else and then Lonicera Nitida but I might not be able to obtain the height/formal look with this.

Please does anyone have any suggestions of alternative plants, or perhaps further reassurance that I'm not unduly taking a risk with Yew?

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Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190

    Pansy, that made me laugh, where have all the congregations gone then.

    Originally yews were planted in church yards to ward of the devil, but more recently they were planted to stop farmer Giles grazing his sheep in there for free.

    In answer to the OP, Laurel is probably the best bet.

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340

    beech?
    Although the leaves die over autumn, they stay attached until the new growth begins in spring.

    We had a 300ft beech hedge at my parents house. It completely obscured any view of the neighbours year-round with the exception of a couple of weeks in April between leaf drop and new leaves appearing

    an example here- 

    http://www.ashridgetrees.co.uk/hedging-plants-trees-shrubs-bareroot/native-hedging/green-beech-hedging-plants-fagus-sylvatica


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • SwissSueSwissSue Posts: 1,447

    How about Thuja Smaragd, Gizmo? Pretty formal and only needs the tops cut off when it has reached the desired height.

    image

     

  • artjakartjak Posts: 4,167

    Privet is pretty forgiving and it comes in a either a green or golden form and possibly a variegated version also.

    There is a fantastic website that is dedicated to just hedging material. Try googling hedges.image

  • I have a bit of laurel and yellow privet..  Hadn't discointed either but wonder if both can look a bit thread bare when kept narrow?  Some of the privet I see driving to work are nearly transparent as there's no foliage left.  Possibly not looked after in fairness.

    With the Yew, I know the chances of one of the kids ingesting something is slim and I don't shy away from other poisonous plants that may result in a bad stomach for example.  The potentially fatal bit is what has me sitting on the fence as it were.

    The compact conifers I'd thought about but have a small row of exactly that in another place in the garden, and they're expensive.

    As for the googling, have been doing it for a few days and been to the most familar online sellers but what the details can't indicate is how they might look in certain circumstamces, hence the call for help.  Thanks everyone.

    Not a lot of love for the box then or the lonicera?  Beech is interesting me, although we're quite high and exposed so there may be more leaf loss than in some gardens when the winds get up.

    I've got a couple of books on the go now too, so will see if Monty can persuade me to go for the Yew or the Beech.

  • As an after thought, How do the larger Cotoneasters stand up at a reasonable height?

  • SalinoSalino Posts: 1,609

    ..whereabouts roughly do you live in the country?  you have more options, different and interesting,  if you live near the coast...

  • Have you considered Holly? Will certainly reach 8ft, is evergreen, completely hardy and an effective barrier.

  • I'm fast coming around to the green Beech, given I can encourage it to keep it's leaves through winter.  My only concern is if it will be OK with the conditions.  We're quite high up on the lead in to Calder valley on the edge of the pennines and the fence I want this for is south west facing.  Whilst it should be protected a little from the really cold arctic winds it will have to stand a battering in the depths of winter when the wind and driving rains arrive.  

    So final question about Beech please is how narrow I can realistically keep such a hedge?  I realise the narrower I want means more effort but I can't have it taking too much garden, which is my main worry with the laurels.  I really want it as a privacy screen and perhaps somewhere for the blackbirds to nest, that's about it.

  • P.s. 300ft wouldn't please the 'happy' chap that lives on the other side of the fence, but then again don't even think a money tree would please him..  So think I'll give it a trim before then.  image

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