What to grow?

bbari

Hello Boardsies,

Our back garden is overlooked from the three directions and I would like to grow something which can create a bit of privacy, colourful, evergreen and fast growing. Its a newly built house so there isn't anything grown already. I was suggested Red Robin hedge by a friend, is that a good choice ? I will sincerely appreciate if you can suggest the plant and the time when I should plant ?

TIA

PS: I know nothing about gardening and only started to learn.

Living Off The Splash

The Red Robin grows very quickly but also very bushy. I have to cut mine back every year to keep it a manageable size.

bbari

I think it will grow towards the garden (away from the fence) too making the garden smaller hence I should be looking at planting trees ?

macraignil

bbari wrote: »

I think it will grow towards the garden (away from the fence) too making the garden smaller hence I should be looking at planting trees ?

Many trees will in time get too big for the average suburban garden. There are some exceptions but these are likely to be slow growing and take a long time to provide any of the privacy you mention in your post. You can prune trees to keep them from getting too big but it is easy to make a bad job of it and take away from the appearance of the tree.

Some plants like red robin take well to being trimmed and bush up to fill in for where you might cut them back. It would be less work to keep some red robin cut back than some of the conifers like leylandii that need much more regular clipping to keep under control. You can keep the inward growing branches from your hedge clipped so there is less of your garden space taken up. The idea of hedging plants in the garden often is to trim them to become the height and width you would like. Bay leaf, olearia and privet might also be worth considering and if you can wait to let them get bigger pieris forest flame is great for year round colour.

There are a number of fruit trees that are grown on root-stock that restricts their eventual size but again these might not provide for the privacy you are looking for.

GrumpyMe

Bamboo but you need to choose and/or plan carefully.
If it is contained it will be fine. Lots of bamboo will grow quickly, grow tall and there are many colours/shades.
a couple of examples -
http://tinyurl.com/hwmn5ow
http://tinyurl.com/zeoka5x

bbari

Thank you for the replies.

They don't have to be that dense for privacy. That forest flame looks very pretty. How high that or the Red Robin can go? Which fruit tree can serve the purpose? Bamboo looks a bit crazy high in the 1st link but looks ok in the 2nd pic.

macraignil

bbari wrote: »

Thank you for the replies.

They don't have to be that dense for privacy. That forest flame looks very pretty. How high that or the Red Robin can go? Which fruit tree can serve the purpose? Bamboo looks a bit crazy high in the 1st link but looks ok in the 2nd pic.

The pieris forest flame can grow up to 4 metres and the red robin 6 metres from what I have read. The ones I have planted would take a long time to reach this from the pace of growth so far although they could still be getting settled.

Apple trees and pear trees are not too big for many gardens and pruning them to a particular size should encourage them to give more fruit. Cherries are nice as well but if your going for fruit trees it might be best to pick what you like to eat.

Living Off The Splash

I have crab apple trees and sorbis trees in my back garden. They are lovely but will lose their leaves later this month.

I would consider fruit trees. You might as well get some food from your plantings rather than just looking nice.

I took out some shrubs a few years back and replaced them with fruit bushes. A great decision. I now have gooseberries, blackcurrants and raspberries in place of just something that looks pretty.

bbari

Living Off The Splash wrote:

I have crab apple trees and sorbis trees in my back garden. They are lovely but will lose their leaves later this month.

I would love to have fruit trees like apple trees for example but prefer the ever green element for the privacy reasons.

gk5000

bbari wrote: »

I would love to have fruit trees like apple trees for example but prefer the ever green element for the privacy reasons.

What about a beech hedge - not evergreen but keeps its leaves for parts of the winter.
Or holly or yew, but slow.

bbari

When is the right time to plant whether its a hedge or a tree ? Can I plant now or I do need to wait till Feb/Mar ?

macraignil

bbari wrote: »

When is the right time to plant whether its a hedge or a tree ? Can I plant now or I do need to wait till Feb/Mar ?

Autumn through to spring is usually the best time to plant. The biggest danger to newly planted trees is drying out. It is a good time to plant now and I have seen it said that autumn planting is better as it allows good conditions for the roots to settle in and be ready for healthy growth in spring.

It is also worth considering that bare roots can be damaged by frost so it would be worth making sure they are not exposed at the wrong time. I think it's best to plant when there is lots of rain forecast as the rain seems to help the plants settle in their new position faster.

looksee

How big is your garden? A hedge all the way round could be very claustrophobic if the garden is not big.

Also remember that if you plant on the south/ south east/south west sides of your garden you will be cutting out sunlight.

Is it really necessary to have a solid wall of growth? Look at the placement of the most undesirable windows and see if a single tree would give the privacy you would like. You would have to have very odd neighbours for them to be standing at a bedroom window looking into your garden!

Do you already have walls around your garden? A shrub is going to have to put on a lot of growth to be above wall height, and you would probably find that a north facing wall will reduce the quality of growth of shrubs.

bbari

looksee wrote:

How big is your garden? A hedge all the way round could be very claustrophobic if the garden is not big.

Yes, it's not too big and that's exactly my concern is.

looksee wrote:

Is it really necessary to have a solid wall of growth? Look at the placement of the most undesirable windows and see if a single tree would give the privacy you would like. You would have to have very odd neighbours for them to be standing at a bedroom window looking into your garden!

No, I'm not looking for a solid wall, i said the same in my 3rd post i think. No, there isn't any odd one That's good idea re single tree, any recommendation ?

looksee wrote:

Do you already have walls around your garden? A shrub is going to have to put on a lot of growth to be above wall height, and you would probably find that a north facing wall will reduce the quality of growth of shrubs.

Yes there are fence walls around which are 6ft high minimum.

looksee

I would not be too concerned about evergreens - in the time of year when the trees have no leaves, how likely are you to be out using your garden? Does it matter if it is a bit overlooked in the winter?

I am a great fan of silver birch (in spite of just having removed one, as two birches, a holly and a crab apple were too much for my small garden). They are light and delicate and provide non-solid screening that is not oppressive. They happily put on size exactly where you need it - about 6ft from the ground, so they are not 'filling' the garden. Most shrubs put on most of their growth below that level, so you are not gaining any privacy.

Remember what ever you put in, if it is too close to the wall it has potential to damage the wall, and hang into a neighbour's garden where it could (quite legally) be trimmed back, spoiling the shape from your point of view.

Depending on angles and not annoying your neighbours you could consider putting in some trellis structure (properly built, not the fragile stuff you get in diy stores) or post and wire, and grow climbers up it, which would be quicker, probably more decorative and take up less space. Roses, clematis, solanum alba (not the blue, it is too vigorous) and numerous others. Avoid ivy and honeysuckle as they will pull down a trellis.

bbari

Thank you. Is 2ft away from the wall enough distance? Yes i would like to grow em 6ft above the ground so they don't fill up the garden.
Just saw pics of Silver Birch, do they not grow too high? I think 12-15ft heigh is enough?

macraignil

bbari wrote: »

Thank you. Is 2ft away from the wall enough distance? Yes i would like to grow em 6ft above the ground so they don't fill up the garden.
Just saw pics of Silver Birch, do they not grow too high? I think 12-15ft heigh is enough?

2ft is fairly close to a wall for a mature tree. If the tree gets bigger it could cause damage to the wall. It's hard to predict exactly as different trees have different rooting patterns.

Silver birch does get taller than 12-15ft.

I have seen a garden where they had planted a tree in a pot shaped concrete container in the ground and it seemed to be a strategy to stop the tree getting too big. Not sure how they allowed for drainage but still kept the roots contained.

bbari

Any nursery recommendations around Blanchardstown area? I was recommended Flynns in Summerhill.

rob1air

Silver birch is a lovely tree but considering the size of your garden and reading what your needs are I think it may not be suitable. I would suggest spending some extra money and purchase a pleached tree. They will never get to big with a little formative pruning each year. It will give you instant privacy they come in evergreen or deciduous wont take up any real room in your garden and look amazing all year round.

bbari

Thank you all for your help.
I went for these at the end - White Birch, Crab Apple, Cornus Kousa and Cotoneaster Cornubia. Ordered online on Monday, delivery arrived on Wed and they were planted as soon as they arrived. Hopefully they will grow and make the garden nicer!

macraignil

bbari wrote: »

Thank you all for your help.
I went for these at the end - White Birch, Crab Apple, Cornus Kousa and Cotoneaster Cornubia. Ordered online on Monday, delivery arrived on Wed and they were planted as soon as they arrived. Hopefully they will grow and make the garden nicer!

Sounds like a nice choice of trees. I have heard advice to top(cut back) the main growing tip on the birch after a few years to stop it from getting tool tall. Its a bit too late for me to do this now with the ones growing in the hedge near my own garden. The crab apple can also be trimmed back and recovers fairly well. Watch out for cotoneaster seedlings as I have found a few sprouting in the wrong place myself recently. A couple are after sprouting very close to a mature tree planted near the drive way and they are going to take a bit of digging to remove in the spring. I'm afraid to dig them out now as there could be some damage to the roots of the tree I want to keep in the process. Good luck!

bbari

macraignil wrote:

Sounds like a nice choice of trees. I have heard advice to top(cut back) the main growing tip on the birch after a few years to stop it from getting tool tall. Its a bit too late for me to do this now with the ones growing in the hedge near my own garden. The crab apple can also be trimmed back and recovers fairly well. Watch out for cotoneaster seedlings as I have found a few sprouting in the wrong place myself recently. A couple are after sprouting very close to a mature tree planted near the drive way and they are going to take a bit of digging to remove in the spring. I'm afraid to dig them out now as there could be some damage to the roots of the tree I want to keep in the process. Good luck!

Phew! I wasn't sure if it's a good choice.

Birch trees are about 3ft tall and the rest are over 5 ft. I put a fist full of fish bone fertiliser when planting. is there anything else i need to be doing to make em grow faster and to look after the trees?

macraignil

bbari wrote: »

Phew! I wasn't sure if it's a good choice.

Birch trees are about 3ft tall and the rest are over 5 ft. I put a fist full of fish bone fertiliser when planting. is there anything else i need to be doing to make em grow faster and to look after the trees?

The main thing is they get some support while their roots settle in. Its standard practice to put in a couple of stakes either side of the small tree and use a smaller cross piece of timber between the two stakes that can be tied with a purpose made tree tie that will stop the wind toppling over the new tree. For the size you are talking about and if it's a sheltered garden something simpler might do.

Its also a good idea to keep an area around the tree free of competing growth and an area of mulch around the new tree seems to do them good.

bbari

Hi folks,

I am back again looking for your advise...

Trees are doing well except the Silver Birch which have worms eating the leaves. I noticed the leaves had holes on them but only notices the worms today.






They also not strong enough to stay up / straight.




Cornus Kousa doesn't have any worms on it but the tree doesn't look too healthy.




Crab Apple Tree is looking well


I got Fishbone fertiliser at the time, should I put some around the trees ?

Day Lewin

To be honest, fencing of some kind is very private, and offers height and shelter on which you can grow some lovely plants - clematis, honeysuckle, jasmine, climbers of all kinds. It is narrow, instant, and needs little maintenance.

The only snag, compared with a row of hedging shrubs, is that the fence is much more expensive.

If you do want a hedge, you might consider some shrub roses, interspersed with holly, Garrya, and other evergreen shrubs. Yes, they take up room, but they offer something to look at year round, between berries, flowers, catkins etc.

bbari

Day Lewin wrote: »

To be honest, fencing of some kind is very private, ........

Thank you for your reply but I have already planted trees. If you look at the last post, I was looking for advise as to how to get rid of worms eating the leaves.

toddunctious

Looks like sawfly larva

macraignil

bbari wrote: »

Thank you for your reply but I have already planted trees. If you look at the last post, I was looking for advise as to how to get rid of worms eating the leaves.

Its natural to loose a few leaves to the odd few caterpillars etc. and it should not be too much trouble for the tree. Squash some of them if you like but if you miss them they still go away after eating enough to change into moths or butterflys.

The birch often has a drooping pattern to its branches so I would not be too critical of its growth pattern when its just getting established. It should improve as the tree gets stronger.

The cornus does not look that bad and the varieties I have would often have the odd leaf spot but be overall healthy. The evergreen cornus capitata I have grown from seed still shed some of their older leaves but are growing strongly otherwise.