Hi there,

My garden backs onto some common land with only a 3ft wall as the
boundary. Some local youths have started congregating there especially in
the summer evenings, making a racket and throwing litter and fag ends
over the wall, so for privacy we want to get a tall hedge along the
boundary.

I know leylandii have had some bad press in the past when people have let
them get out of control, but as I understand it they're about the fastest
growing hedge conifer you can get. I'd like to plant a line of them to
cover the 35' boundary - thinking of 10 to 12 plants for that?

We'd like them to get to about 8' high - how many years would that take?
And once they've reached the target height, would it be fairly easy to
keep them to that height by annual pruning (with a ladder and shears, not
powered tools)? The wall is about 25' from the house, so we definitely
don't want the hedges to get tall enough to shade the whole garden or
even the back window of the house.

Thanks for any advice.

Cheers,
Jeff

On Jun 5, 10:36*pm, Sacha wrote:
On 2011-06-05 22:26:22 +0100, Jeff Bailey said:





Hi there,

My garden backs onto some common land with only a 3ft wall as the
boundary. Some local youths have started congregating there especially in
the summer evenings, making a racket and throwing litter and fag ends
over the wall, so for privacy we want to get a tall hedge along the
boundary.

I know leylandii have had some bad press in the past when people have let
them get out of control, but as I understand it they're about the fastest
growing hedge conifer you can get. I'd like to plant a line of them to
cover the 35' boundary - thinking of 10 to 12 plants for that?

We'd like them to get to about 8' high - how many years would that take?
And once they've reached the target height, would it be fairly easy to
keep them to that height by annual pruning (with a ladder and shears, not
powered tools)? The wall is about 25' from the house, so we definitely
don't want the hedges to get tall enough to shade the whole garden or
even the back window of the house.

Thanks for any advice.

Cheers,
Jeff

The problem with leylandii in any restricted space is that they take up
a lot of width and in your case, may well make the matter worse by
pushing the wall outwards. *I had some which had grown to about 15' or
so and which had distorted a wall and the railings set into it. *When I
cut them down, I think I probably gained an extra 6' to 8'of garden, at
least. *But yes, they can be kept trimmed to a height that you want. *
What you can't do with them is cut back into old wood because they
won't re-sprout.
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I'd plant a mixture of Hawthorn and Lonicera Natidia, that will give
you a tough hedge and evergreen, it will be a bit slower than
leylandii but if you get it to 8 or 9ft and then change your mind you
can cut it down to any height you want without spoiling it.
With Leylandii they can push through if they want, and as it gets
older if you dont clean it out the old growth is very flamable.
Don't be tempted to but large plants as they take longer to settle in
and smaller ones will often be larger after a couple of years than the
big ones.

On Jun 5, 10:43*pm, Dave Hill wrote:
On Jun 5, 10:36*pm, Sacha wrote:





On 2011-06-05 22:26:22 +0100, Jeff Bailey said:

Hi there,

My garden backs onto some common land with only a 3ft wall as the
boundary. Some local youths have started congregating there especially in
the summer evenings, making a racket and throwing litter and fag ends
over the wall, so for privacy we want to get a tall hedge along the
boundary.

I know leylandii have had some bad press in the past when people have let
them get out of control, but as I understand it they're about the fastest
growing hedge conifer you can get. I'd like to plant a line of them to
cover the 35' boundary - thinking of 10 to 12 plants for that?

We'd like them to get to about 8' high - how many years would that take?
And once they've reached the target height, would it be fairly easy to
keep them to that height by annual pruning (with a ladder and shears, not
powered tools)? The wall is about 25' from the house, so we definitely
don't want the hedges to get tall enough to shade the whole garden or
even the back window of the house.

Thanks for any advice.

Cheers,
Jeff

The problem with leylandii in any restricted space is that they take up
a lot of width and in your case, may well make the matter worse by
pushing the wall outwards. *I had some which had grown to about 15' or
so and which had distorted a wall and the railings set into it. *When I
cut them down, I think I probably gained an extra 6' to 8'of garden, at
least. *But yes, they can be kept trimmed to a height that you want. *
What you can't do with them is cut back into old wood because they
won't re-sprout.
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I'd plant a mixture of Hawthorn and Lonicera Natidia, that will give
you a tough hedge and evergreen, it will be a bit slower than
leylandii but if you get it to 8 or 9ft and then change your mind you
can cut it down to any height you want without spoiling it.
With Leylandii they can push through if they want, and as it gets
older if you dont clean it out the old growth is very flamable.
Don't be tempted to but large plants as they take longer to settle in
and smaller ones will often be larger after a couple of years than the
big ones.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Get rosa rugosa. Natures own barbed wire and pretty scented flowers to
boot.
Grows quite quickly too.

Slightly OT. There was a local Leylandii hedge caught fire. Bloody
hell. An inferno!

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2011-06-05 22:26:22 +0100, Jeff Bailey said:

Hi there,

My garden backs onto some common land with only a 3ft wall as the
boundary. Some local youths have started congregating there especially in
the summer evenings, making a racket and throwing litter and fag ends
over the wall, so for privacy we want to get a tall hedge along the
boundary.

I know leylandii have had some bad press in the past when people have let
them get out of control, but as I understand it they're about the fastest
growing hedge conifer you can get. I'd like to plant a line of them to
cover the 35' boundary - thinking of 10 to 12 plants for that?

We'd like them to get to about 8' high - how many years would that take?
And once they've reached the target height, would it be fairly easy to
keep them to that height by annual pruning (with a ladder and shears, not
powered tools)? The wall is about 25' from the house, so we definitely
don't want the hedges to get tall enough to shade the whole garden or
even the back window of the house.

Thanks for any advice.

Cheers,
Jeff

The problem with leylandii in any restricted space is that they take up a
lot of width and in your case, may well make the matter worse by pushing
the wall outwards. I had some which had grown to about 15' or so and
which had distorted a wall and the railings set into it. When I cut them
down, I think I probably gained an extra 6' to 8'of garden, at least. But
yes, they can be kept trimmed to a height that you want. What you can't
do with them is cut back into old wood because they won't re-sprout.

I planted a Leylandi hedge at our last house, and let it grow to about 7ft
tall. It was never a problem and easy to keep in trim. I did use an power
hedge cutters to keep it in trim though. Firstly a cheap electric one, this
worked fine on the Leylandi and was really good at regularly "shaving" the
sides to stop it growing to more than 2.5ft thick. Later on I bought a two
stroke petrol machine as I wrecked the electric one on other older overgrown
hedges around the garden.

It certainly achieved what we wanted by producing a good thick all year
round hedge quite quickly, about three years ISTR. It was planted next to an
existing mesh fence and I made a point of trimming the other side as well,
two or three inches beyond the fence.

Mike

I think you would need twice a year pruning at least - as Sacha points out, they grow quite a bit widthways, and since you can't cut beyond the green tips, little and often is the best approach for keeping the width down.

I hadn't thought about the flammability, and of course any hedge has dead leaves below it which might conceivably ignite in response to a fag end. But conifers have resin and are particularly flammable - I used to use cypress leaves as tinder for fires as a child, when I used to enjoy the challenge of lighting a fire with only one match and no paper.

"Jeff Bailey" wrote in message
...
Hi there,

My garden backs onto some common land with only a 3ft wall as the
boundary. Some local youths have started congregating there especially in
the summer evenings, making a racket and throwing litter and fag ends
over the wall, so for privacy we want to get a tall hedge along the
boundary.

I know leylandii have had some bad press in the past when people have let
them get out of control, but as I understand it they're about the fastest
growing hedge conifer you can get. I'd like to plant a line of them to
cover the 35' boundary - thinking of 10 to 12 plants for that?

We'd like them to get to about 8' high - how many years would that take?
And once they've reached the target height, would it be fairly easy to
keep them to that height by annual pruning (with a ladder and shears, not
powered tools)? The wall is about 25' from the house, so we definitely
don't want the hedges to get tall enough to shade the whole garden or
even the back window of the house.

Thanks for any advice.

Cheers,
Jeff

Jeff please don't plant Leylandii, its great as a windbreak on farm land
buts virtually impossible to maintain in a restricted form for many years as
each year it gains a little height and width
Because of the problem you are trying to solve I would go for something
prickly in any case although all would be slower initially at least you will
not run into the problem of no off switch that you get with Leylandii


--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk

Yes, that's a good idea. Will grow to 6ft plus, tie it back to keep tidy, every year cut one or two old stems low down to encourage new shoots from the base. Deciduous, but you can get a sufficient tangle of stems for that not to be a problem.

On Mon, 6 Jun 2011 13:14:24 +0100, Janet wrote:

Jeff Bailey;925765 Wrote:
Hi there,

My garden backs onto some common land with only a 3ft wall as the
boundary. Some local youths have started congregating there especially
in
the summer evenings, making a racket and throwing litter and fag ends
over the wall,

Just inside the wall would be the ideal spot for a comfrey-tea fertiliser factory.
Use old buckets or paint pots, load up with fresh comfrey leaves (sure to be a wild colony nearby if you have none)
and fill with water. Cover with a lid or roof slate. In a fortnight, the liquid produced is a superb
fertiliser and plant conditioner (dilute to apply, and WEAR OLD CLOTHES** the tea factory also stinks to high heaven; remove the lids and trust me,
no teens will be congregating nearby. Best of all, nobody will guess the source
... they will be looking around for broken sewer drains, or decomposed bodies.

** which is why you don't ever want to get a splash on clothes you wear socially.


Janet.

LOL Janet!

Pam in Bristol

On Jun 6, 11:00*am, "Charlie Pridham"
wrote:
"Jeff Bailey" wrote in message

...





Hi there,

My garden backs onto some common land with only a 3ft wall as the
boundary. Some local youths have started congregating there especially in
the summer evenings, making a racket and throwing litter and fag ends
over the wall, so for privacy we want to get a tall hedge along the
boundary.

I know leylandii have had some bad press in the past when people have let
them get out of control, but as I understand it they're about the fastest
growing hedge conifer you can get. I'd like to plant a line of them to
cover the 35' boundary - thinking of 10 to 12 plants for that?

We'd like them to get to about 8' high - how many years would that take?
And once they've reached the target height, would it be fairly easy to
keep them to that height by annual pruning (with a ladder and shears, not
powered tools)? The wall is about 25' from the house, so we definitely
don't want the hedges to get tall enough to shade the whole garden or
even the back window of the house.

Thanks for any advice.

Cheers,
Jeff

Jeff please don't plant Leylandii, its great as a windbreak on farm land
buts virtually impossible to maintain in a restricted form for many years as
each year it gains a little height and width
Because of the problem you are trying to solve I would go for something
prickly in any case although all would be slower initially at least you will
not run into the problem of no off switch that you get with Leylandii

--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvshttp://www.roselandhouse.co.uk- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yes, and since we've been talking about roses, what about Cerise
bouquet? If hawthorn is nature's barbed wire Cerise bouquet is her
razor wire. Untrimmed Berberis stenophylla is magnificent in flower
and scent and nobody will get through that or see through it.

Rod

Holly is slow, though.

If you like the Leylandii type hedge, then you can have the look without the rampant behaviour if you choose something else more manageable. Thuja occidentalis is much more manageable. It also looks nicer.

Berberis species makes a vareity of quick-growing thorny evergreen hedge if you choose the right species, with the advantage that you can cut it back hard as you like, and keep it as a very slim hedge. You can also choose purple leafed forms. Have nice flowers and berries too.

My specimen of that is *really* slow! and tends to like to spread rather than go upwards.

I saw a city centre church the other day which was set back behind iron railings, and which had planted a broad strip of butchers broom behind the railings. What a very good way of discouraging the scallies climbing over the railings to carry out their depredations, I thought.

Trouble is, they'd still readily be able to chuck litter over, and you'd still get the visual impact.