trees for privacy

rodred

hi, i have attached a sketch of the house i have just finished,
we are over looked on 2sides of the back garden, so i want to
plant trees to create some privacy for us. im not to bothered
about what i plant, i just want it to give good coverage.

i was in the garden centre in kilmacanogue and they had trees
not sure of the name, but they have a silver bark and grow
to about 18ft or so..

can anyone advise of best options etc, should they planted
a certain distance from the wall
so the roots dont cause a structural problem down the road??

any advice much appreciated...
thanks

looksee

Silver birch - which is what I think you saw, are very good garden trees that do not have invasive roots. I think about 5ft from the wall would be loads.

However they are quite 'airy' and open, which is often an advantage in a garden, but if you want privacy they will be bare up to about 6ft, and will lose their leaves in the winter.

magicbastarder

looksee wrote: »

if you want privacy they will be bare up to about 6ft, and will lose their leaves in the winter.

not necessarily; silver birch commonly have branches from near the base, but it's quite common for people to trim them off.

Sonnenblumen

OP - what height of screening is required and on your plan what is the orientation of the site ie where's North? Birches are a very attractive trees but will reach beyond 18' and at that height possible impact on sunlight might need to be considered?

rodred

hi, thanks for the feedback, the back garden is facing south west approx...
the wall is 6ft all around, so i suppose is want something to bring be to about
12ft or so, that can be planted relatively close to the wall so as not to take up
to much of the garden..

bbam

One of the attractions of Birch trees is their airy light habbit, this prevents them from blocking too much sunlight... It would also reduce their effectiveness for a privacy screen..

Maybe some of the tall growing clump forming bamboo, I understand they can grow tight to a wall, create a near complete screen and are most attractive..

looksee

Looking at your garden plan I don't think you really have space for a lot of trees. The area is about 50 sq meters - roughly 5 x 10 m I would guess, looking at your plan. If you put 18ft trees at the wall they will shade the garden for quite a lot of the day, and a silver birch would grow to maybe 2 to 3 m wide so if you imagine trees coming 2 m into the 5m width, thats quite a lot of tree.

I suggest you look at the most overlooked directions and put in just one or two trees to block the worst of it.

Thats just 'off the top of my head' calculations, maybe someone else might be able to work it out more accurately.

Sonnenblumen

Be careful with Bamboos, even clumping types are best planted in trapped (concrete/block) pits otherwise you can expect trouble within 3-5 years.

I agree with other Poster, space is limited for tree screening. A specimen tree might be added (Sorbus Autumn Spire, Amelanchier).

Consider Hedge/Shrub eg Cotoneaster Lacteus, Cotoneaster Cornubia, Photinia Red Robin, Olearia Haastii.

rodred

thanks for all the feed back, i know what you mean about the trees
taking over the back garden in a few years...
decisions decisions decisions, ill chek out the hedging
and anyone know how much the bamboo might be and where to get?

looksee

You can buy bamboo in most nurseries, its quite expensive considering how vigorous it is. I would be cautious about bamboo, if it likes the situation you could end up with an impenetrable thicket which would be very hard work to get out.

Skrynesaver

looksee wrote: »

You can buy bamboo in most nurseries, its quite expensive considering how vigorous it is. I would be cautious about bamboo, if it likes the situation you could end up with an impenetrable thicket which would be very hard work to get out.

So long as it's a clump forming variety (Phyllostachys Aurea is good), and you mow the grass beside it, you shouldn't have a problem with bamboo

rodred

Skrynesaver wrote: »

So long as it's a clump forming variety (Phyllostachys Aurea is good), and you mow the grass beside it, you shouldn't have a problem with bamboo

what height will this grow up to?

Skrynesaver

~20 feet fully grown, ours is in 10 years and it's about 12 ft @ the moment.

Sonnenblumen

Skrynesaver wrote: »

So long as it's a clump forming variety (Phyllostachys Aurea is good), and you mow the grass beside it, you shouldn't have a problem with bamboo

You must be the luckiest gardener ever, because IMO all Phyollstachys varieties (Aurea, Nigra and Spectabilis) will send up wayward shoots and if left unchecked will quickly establish a new clump etc. Simply mowing the nearby grass is rarely enough to keep these plants in check, especially in lawn areas, as I have also regretfully learned in my own garden.:(