Good trees for a screening belt??

[Teal]

I've been asked by a friend who has just had a big car park built next to him what trees I would recommend to screen it off and hide it. I don't know much about trees, but was thinking along the lines of one row of thick (from ground to top) conifers or at least evergreen nearest the carpark to completely block it off. Then I was thinking about having a second and perhaps third layer of trees, consisting of a mixture of poplars and some more ornamental and asthetically pleasing trees like silver birch, holly and hollyoak as well as a few other slow growers.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations - particularily for the very fast growing tree line nearest the car park, I have been told that he definitely does not want lleylandii, but feel that by having two layers of trees in front it may not be so bad?

[dusk2dawn]

I've been asked by a friend who has just had a big car park built next to him what trees I would recommend to screen it off and hide it. I don't know much about trees, but was thinking along the lines of one row of thick (from ground to top) conifers or at least evergreen nearest the carpark to completely block it off. Then I was thinking about having a second and perhaps third layer of trees, consisting of a mixture of poplars and some more ornamental and asthetically pleasing trees like silver birch, holly and hollyoak as well as a few other slow growers.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations - particularily for the very fast growing tree line nearest the car park, I have been told that he definitely does not want lleylandii, but feel that by having two layers of trees in front it may not be so bad?

 

Hi have you considered Laurel, socially acceptable and a very good screen.

 

D2D

[Guest The Outlaw]

I've been asked by a friend who has just had a big car park built next to him what trees I would recommend to screen it off and hide it. I don't know much about trees, but was thinking along the lines of one row of thick (from ground to top) conifers or at least evergreen nearest the carpark to completely block it off. Then I was thinking about having a second and perhaps third layer of trees, consisting of a mixture of poplars and some more ornamental and asthetically pleasing trees like silver birch, holly and hollyoak as well as a few other slow growers.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations - particularily for the very fast growing tree line nearest the car park, I have been told that he definitely does not want lleylandii, but feel that by having two layers of trees in front it may not be so bad?

 

Hi have you considered Laurel, socially acceptable and a very good screen.

 

D2D

Thats a good oneD2D with a fast growing thick conifer behind it, the problem with any conifer is it totally kills the soil around it by drawing all the good nutrients out of it hence not many weeds will grow near it when established, A baffling fence would be better behind the laurel if conifers were not wanted, How much room does he have Teal?

 

Tony

[fishybarney]

Laurel bushes are great, evergreen and get massive and thick and completly block out all noise .

 

Don't know off the top of my head of something that can grow mega quick though

[BSA Shaun]

Leylandii 'Castlewellan Gold', grows fairly quick and can be made very dense!

 

Maple (Acer Campestre) - don't confuse it with field maple tree, unless you want a tree!

 

Failing that privet?

Edited January 15, 2008 by BSA Shaun

[dustyfox]

Have a beech hedge, when winter comes along the leaves stay on it and it looks really good with the autumn colours, I think you can get them up to ten foot high or even higher.

 

But I think the only problem is that it takes longer to grow to a good think hedge. but if you put panal fencing up till it good enough it should do fine.

 

Edited January 15, 2008 by dustyfox

[Pirate]

The daisy Bush (Olearia traversii) is a decent option, or Escallonia Red Hedger. Check them out.

 

Both grow like the clappers, and that said, obviously need to be maintained more so than slow growers.

Either one will put up with poor soil.

 

Well that's my 2 pennies worth.

 

Pirate:

[ME]

I've been asked by a friend who has just had a big car park built next to him what trees I would recommend to screen it off and hide it. I don't know much about trees, but was thinking along the lines of one row of thick (from ground to top) conifers or at least evergreen nearest the carpark to completely block it off. Then I was thinking about having a second and perhaps third layer of trees, consisting of a mixture of poplars and some more ornamental and asthetically pleasing trees like silver birch, holly and hollyoak as well as a few other slow growers.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations - particularily for the very fast growing tree line nearest the car park, I have been told that he definitely does not want lleylandii, but feel that by having two layers of trees in front it may not be so bad?

 

 

Bamboo.

 

Depending on the type it can grow high, spreads like wildfire, requires no maintainance, evergreen, great for screening.

[Cranfield]

I would suggest a hedge nearest the car park, the Escallonia Red Hedger is good, this grows at about 18inches a year.

There are also other Escallonia varieties you could look at and a mixed hedge can look nice.

I would then plant the mixed tress behind the hedge, to give it a nice back drop.

[Suffolk shooter]

Take a look in the back pages of either Shooting times, sporting gun or sporting shooter and you will see a company that specialises in fast growing trees/shrubs for use on game shoots. They also appear to be decently priced.

 

SS

[lurcherboy]

Willow, it's a bit slow to grow but you can buy some teenagers at reasonable prices and looks nice all year round.

 

 

LB

[dustyfox]

Willow grows very fast and they are suited best for wet areas.

[Oly]

Tricky one that, as you want a fairly instant screen but then no doubt don't want to have to cut it twice a year for the next 30 years! I would go for Hornbeam with (at least initially) a panel fence behind. Hornbeam is like hazel, so you get the great colour during winter and it is a 'softer on the eye' decidous tree that's better environmentally than a evergreen (esp. conifers - if your mate wants to maximise the birds/wildlife in his garden don't go for a conifer!). But with Hornbeam it doesn't lose all it's leaves in one go during winter like Hazel. With Hazel, unless your very lucky you will get a see-through hedge in winter and a mass of leaves to collect.

 

Willow & conifers will be great in the short term but will be a nightmare in the longterm with excessive growth that will requier quite a lot of maintenance (willow is good in wet areas but will grow pretty much anyway - unless it's really dry)- and if your shelling out for a decent hedge you might as well only do it once!

 

Hornbeam also grows fairly quickly to start but will then slow after about 5ft, but will continue to grow to 10ft+ if you so wish. A screening panel fence behind will initially screen the carpark, but then after 5 or 10 yrs if it rots away it doesn't matter as you will have a lovely hedge by then. Hornbeam should be planted at approx 30-50cm centres in an offset fashion so that each plant has it's own room to grow whilst effectively providing a double layered hedge.

[salisburykeeper]

i just brought a load of laurel plants off ebay,about 4-5ft high got 150 for £300 delivered,ive got around 2000 leylandi on my land but wish i had started out with laurel as leylandi are high maintainance and also are a big fire risk in the summertime,the laurel as with leylandi take a year or 2 to get going but if you put plenty of horse muck under them they take off like rockets.