I want to screen an unsighlty fence and add some extra height. After reading a few posts my lelandii planting has been put on hold.

Hornbeam looks good, especially as you can buy 4ft plants.

The fence is north facing in staffordshire, not sure on the soil (but its in the Trent valley)

Will it grow adequately, in full shade, how fast will it grow.

If not any suggestions?

Cheers

gasdoctor muttered:


I want to screen an unsighlty fence and add some extra height. After
reading a few posts my lelandii planting has been put on hold.

Hornbeam looks good, especially as you can buy 4ft plants.

The fence is north facing in staffordshire, not sure on the soil (but
its in the Trent valley)

Will it grow adequately, in full shade, how fast will it grow.

If not any suggestions?

Cheers

Buy bare root hornbeam and plant them anytime from now to March - beware of
planting big plants they tend to sit there not growing very much for a few
years, whereas smaller bare root plants develop a good root system and grow
steadily from the start and are much cheaper, it'll take 2-3 years to get a
decent hedge so be patient. Also we found that hornbeam is much less fussy
than beech.

Cheers,

What size would you recommend?
2-3 years is pretty good.

What size would you recommend?
2-3 years is pretty good.

Hornbeam grows 2-3ft per year, so it depends on how high you want your
hedge. Hornbeam is ideal in wet clay conditions, whereas Beech prefer
well-draining soil.

When pruning a new hedge, don't cut the leading branch (with the exception
of hawthorn) until it has reached the desired height, in early autumn cut
the sides of the trees to encourage a dense hedge.

HTH

Cheers

Nick
http://www.ukgardening.co.uk

In message , Nick
Gray writes

What size would you recommend?
2-3 years is pretty good.

Hornbeam grows 2-3ft per year, so it depends on how high you want your
hedge. Hornbeam is ideal in wet clay conditions, whereas Beech prefer
well-draining soil.

No one told our beech hedge that. It grows perfectly well on cold wet
clay. Looks nice and golden at this time of year too. Hornbeam grows
better and has nicer berries though.

When pruning a new hedge, don't cut the leading branch (with the exception
of hawthorn) until it has reached the desired height, in early autumn cut
the sides of the trees to encourage a dense hedge.

Planting a long hedge in runs of about 2-3m the same species looks nicer
than having 30m of all the same unless it is a very formal garden.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

That does help, thanks

I want about a 6-8 foot hedge.