Growing Plants/Trees/Vines for privacy

Eire212

I consider myself far from being a botanist, but I'm trying to find a way to gain privacy from houses that overlook into my own. I'm not sure what the best option would be. I have a 2 meter high wall which I'm thinking of growing English ivy up along. I'd most likely also need a trellis also. I need an evergreen plant/tree/vine (or combination) that can grow aggressively fast and provide complete coverage 24/7 365 days of the year through hail/sleet/snow/hurricanes etc. I'm wondering what the best evergreen vine would be, particularly one that can grow significantly high up from where the trellis/wall would end.

The main concern i would have with trees is that i have a narrow stretch of grass that is pinned between the wall and a pavement path. I don't want either the pavement nor wall to be significantly affected from tree roots. Is there a tree whose roots mainly spread vertically as oppose to horizontally? and that can also grow quite high with significant width? I was thinking a cherry blossom tree, but i read online that should be at least 4 meters away from any pavement, the stretch of grass i have isn't even that wide.

I would greatly appreciate any of your expertise and suggestions in this area. Thanks!

Accidentally

There are various forms of climbing Pyracantha that should do what you want. Evergreen with glossy leaves, and red berries that it hold through the winter.

Cherries are shallow rooted and send out runners. Rowan might be an alternative, native, no control needed, and good for berries that the thrush's will thank you for.

Wyldwood

Whatever you do do not plant a Cherry tree. The roots do major destruction to buildings, walls and paths. I know from experience where a Cherry tree's roots cracked my concrete driveway. How about a nice Acer? Bloodgood is a lovely large shrub/small tree.

macraignil

Eire212 wrote: »

I consider myself far from being a botanist, but I'm trying to find a way to gain privacy from houses that overlook into my own. I'm not sure what the best option would be. I have a 2 meter high wall which I'm thinking of growing English ivy up along. I'd most likely also need a trellis also. I need an evergreen plant/tree/vine (or combination) that can grow aggressively fast and provide complete coverage 24/7 365 days of the year through hail/sleet/snow/hurricanes etc. I'm wondering what the best evergreen vine would be, particularly one that can grow significantly high up from where the trellis/wall would end.

The main concern i would have with trees is that i have a narrow stretch of grass that is pinned between the wall and a pavement path. I don't want either the pavement nor wall to be significantly affected from tree roots. Is there a tree whose roots mainly spread vertically as oppose to horizontally? and that can also grow quite high with significant width? I was thinking a cherry blossom tree, but i read online that should be at least 4 meters away from any pavement, the stretch of grass i have isn't even that wide.

I would greatly appreciate any of your expertise and suggestions in this area. Thanks!

Not possible in my opinion to recommend any trees that would fit in a normal suburban garden but still provide tall enough growth to block neighbors views and not have any potential to damage structures with their roots. A friend in a similar situation has decided to go with cherry variety prunus amanagowa with the intention to plant three along the back wall of their garden to block the neighbors upstairs windows that look into their back garden. In their situation I think it could work but not sure from your post if this would work for you. I also would recommend photinia red robin as being a possible option but pruning would probably be required to make sure it does not get too wide as it matures. I also think pyrachantha is a very good sugestion and have seen some of the red berry varieties looking particularly good and providing great colour in the winter.

Eire212

Yes, I think I'll have to avoid the use of trees. Thanks for those suggestions.

Wyldwood

macraignil wrote: »

A friend in a similar situation has decided to go with cherry variety prunus amanagowa with the intention to plant three along the back wall of their garden to block the neighbors upstairs windows that look into their back garden. In their situation I think it could work but not sure from your post if this would work for you.

Prunus Amanagowa is exactly the tree i had that did the damage to my drive... avoid at all costs, the roots are deadly.

macraignil

Wyldwood wrote: »

Whatever you do do not plant a Cherry tree. The roots do major destruction to buildings, walls and paths. I know from experience where a Cherry tree's roots cracked my concrete driveway. How about a nice Acer? Bloodgood is a lovely large shrub/small tree.

I bought an acer bloodgood variety that was about three foot tall when I planted it about four years ago. It's now about four foot tall so would not think it would be able to contribute much to privacy in the back garden for a couple of decades. Nice leaf colour but very slow growing from my experience.

Lumen

Problem with a climber is that you need trellis, and that breaches planning regs if you want to go over 2m because it's a structure. So if you neighbours don't like it they can force you to take it down.

Better off with a tall shrub or small tree that is self-supporting (no law against trees!).

What height are you aiming for, and how much depth can you tolerate?

Lumen

How about pleached Quercus ilex (Holm Oak)?

http://nangleandniesen.ie/pleached-trees/



Or pleached Photinia (Red Robin) but that might be trickier to keep dense.

Eire212

Lumen wrote: »

Problem with a climber is that you need trellis, and that breaches planning regs if you want to go over 2m because it's a structure. So if you neighbours don't like it they can force you to take it down.

Better off with a tall shrub or small tree that is self-supporting (no law against trees!).

What height are you aiming for, and how much depth can you tolerate?

I was thinking at least 3 meters all together. The wall is not actually directly connected to any neighbours gardens or properties, they themselves are actually situated across a road from the wall. I'm sure they'd even appreciate the privacy in return from us not being able to see into their home etc. That is something i did think about though, that 2 meters is the max height by law for a wall? Is that only a problem if neighbours complain?

Those trees you are showing me look ideal, they don't look too big either. But i need to take into account the potential destruction of their roots overtime. I know climbers are destructive to a wall also, but i'd imagine it would be over a seriously long period of time for their destruction to be seen, as the wall is quite thick and strong. I think i can tolerate loads of depth, as i say, if there are trees that grow roots more vertically than horizontally, that would be great, but I'm guessing that's just not desirable anchorage for any tree?

Thanks for those suggestions.

Accidentally

Eire212 wrote: »

I was thinking at least 3 meters all together. The wall is not actually directly connected to any neighbours gardens or properties, they themselves are actually situated across a road from the wall. I'm sure they'd even appreciate the privacy in return from us not being able to see into their home etc. That is something i did think about though, that 2 meters is the max height by law for a wall? Is that only a problem if neighbours complain?

Those trees you are showing me look ideal, they don't look too big either. But i need to take into account the potential destruction of their roots overtime. I know climbers are destructive to a wall also, but i'd imagine it would be over a seriously long period of time for their destruction to be seen, as the wall is quite thick and strong. I think i can tolerate loads of depth, as i say, if there are trees that grow roots more vertically than horizontally, that would be great, but I'm guessing that's just not desirable anchorage for any tree?

Thanks for those suggestions.

Pleached hornbeam might work for you. Deep roots, good in confined places and easy to maintain. Not evergreen, but still a good barrier in winter.

Lumen

Eire212 wrote: »

But i need to take into account the potential destruction of their roots overtime. I know climbers are destructive to a wall also, but i'd imagine it would be over a seriously long period of time for their destruction to be seen, as the wall is quite thick and strong. I think i can tolerate loads of depth, as i say, if there are trees that grow roots more vertically than horizontally, that would be great, but I'm guessing that's just not desirable anchorage for any tree?

I think you might be excessively concerned about root damage. With a few notable exceptions (like cherries), a 3-4m tree or shrub will not bother a well constructed garden wall. I wouldn't plant one next to a wall of my house, but the country is full of trees and shrubs next to walls.

My question about depth was about the amount of horizontal depth (back from the wall) you're prepared to give up for your screen.

Hocus Focus

The Building Regulations limit the height of garden walls to two metres. Anything higher requires Planning Permission.
It's debatable whether or not trellis could be considered a 'structure' under said regulations.

Eire212

Lumen wrote: »

I think you might be excessively concerned about root damage. With a few notable exceptions (like cherries), a 3-4m tree or shrub will not bother a well constructed garden wall. I wouldn't plant one next to a wall of my house, but the country is full of trees and shrubs next to walls.

My question about depth was about the amount of horizontal depth (back from the wall) you're prepared to give up for your screen.

I'm not sure how much depth i have horizontally, probably 1.5 - 2 meters total. I'd be prepared to give up as much as it takes.

Good point, I think those trees in the picture you supplied wouldn't affect the wall or pavements too much so. I think small trees would be ideal for my situation. Is 1.5-2 meters of spacing width (between wall and pavement) too tight for those trees? Should i plant them right in the middle (0.75 - 1 meter) from wall if adequate? The length of this stretch of grass is also, I'd very roughly guesstimate, 15 meters long. I'd plan to fully cover those 15 meters.

I guess i could also control the spread of the roots beneath the ground by pruning the trees every year to the same fixed height and width?

Thanks!

TomOnBoard

Accidentally wrote: »

Pleached hornbeam might work for you. Deep roots, good in confined places and easy to maintain. Not evergreen, but still a good barrier in winter.

+1

Makes a lovely hedge. Not evergreen but most species hold onto their leaves over the winter. Quite similar to beech hedging, but more forgiving of soil quality and drought. It can be shaped/formed relatively easily.

blackbox

Accidentally wrote: »

There are various forms of climbing Pyracantha that should do what you want. Evergreen with glossy leaves, and red berries that it hold through the winter.

Everything mentioned above about Pyracantha is correct, but it also has fierce thorns. Great for security but annual pruning is a nightmare.

Accidentally

blackbox wrote: »

Everything mentioned above about Pyracantha is correct, but it also has fierce thorns. Great for security but annual pruning is a nightmare.

Or Cotoneaster if you want the same thing without thorns

Effects

Accidentally wrote: »

Or Cotoneaster if you want the same thing without thorns

Will that work well as a climber?
They are great for bees in spring and then the berries later in the year for the birds.

Accidentally

Effects wrote: »

Will that work well as a climber?
They are great for bees in spring and then the berries later in the year for the birds.

I've seen it grown up a timber planked fence to a height of about 8 feet and 30 feet long, obviously with multiple plants. It was tied in initially, but still there after 20 years and i'd say there's more plant than fence now.

macraignil

Accidentally wrote: »

Or Cotoneaster if you want the same thing without thorns

Cotoneaster(link to RHS page) is a group of plants that have different characters so some might be better in the situation described than others. I have a type that grows as a small tree and another that grows as a thick shrub and both these seem like really good plants to have in the garden. The medium leaf size shrub type I have is particularly good at keeping trimmed to a set shape as would be required in a hedge. I've also seen a small leaved variety, that I have seen grown as a climber against a house wall and also seen growing on awkward slopes. This type I do not like but that's just my own taste in what looks well.