Quick Grow Evergreen Hedge

[evedawn]

We want a very quick growing evergreen hedge. Ideally to get to about 6ft. Quick growing conifer also an option . Would like to do the planting within next month. Thanks in advance

[Stargazer]

Definitiely leylandii. But you must tend to it every year and keep it at your maximum height,

[evedawn]

Ok
Thanks stargazer. How quickly (in your estimation) would it grow to 6ft (approx) if we bought bare root stock? X

[VHG]

Dont plant a leylandii, they are horrible boring plants.

There are far nicer evergren plants thant that.

They also grow far too big, see here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15018807

[Stargazer]

I am not an expert. I would get yours from a specialist nursery and they will tell you. One thing I know now that I did not when I planted them was how to prune the young plants so that they made bushy growth near the bottom. Mine have now been there for 18 years and the trunks are very thick at the bottom and there is about a 12 inch piece of trunk with no growth where cats and any animal can just run through. I have watched other peoples leylandii hedges grow and asked about thickening them up and have been told that snipping off growth in the early years causes more thicker growth to occur, Research this online or ask a professional as this seems an important thing not to overlook, It is much harder to keep the hedge to 6 feet if you have neglected any of this "pruning". Also realise how thick (fat/wide) the hedge will become as these plants are essentially small trees to start with and the hedge may become wider than you realise.

[buildersmate]

Unsurprisingly, something that grows to six feet in about three years doesn't want to stop there.
The ones on my site were eleven metres high (and still going) prior to me decapitating each and every one of them.
They can look very nice if you are prepared to trim them every month for 8 months of the year.

[Chipchopper]

I would go for (thuja plicata) Western red cedar. It is fast growing as a young tree and will re sprout from old wood when pruned, some variegated forms are also available which grow less vigorously ie auria or zebrina. All are fully hardy and will take heavy shade

[coccinelle]

Have you considered putting a fence up and planting a flowering (or a couple) of climbers? It would look a lot less boring than a green living screen that needs endless pruning and cutting back and would also take up less space.

[ladybirder]

Anything but Leylandii, they're horrible featureless monstrosities IMO.

Why don't you choose some of these native, good for wildlife hedge plants and create something beautiful.

http://www.habitataid.co.uk/acatalog/wildlife_hedges.html

Whatever you plant don't forget to keep it well watered for the first couple of years.

[johnk]

Lady b is right, plany Leylandi and you'll spend the rest of your life pruning the stuff. They also end up bare at the base and look awful

[craft1948]

After taking advice from a hedging expert re soil, light and shade etc it was agreed the best hedge for my back garden was leylandii. Mine were planted about 2-3 years ago, and the gardener keeps them trimmed to 5'........