Hedge advice

Hi all – i’ve got a evergreen leylandii hedge between me and my neighbour at the moment. Our properties have a step between them of about 3 foot, so it’s about 9ft tall on his side and 12ft tall on my side.

I’ve also currently got a collapsed sewer which is partially related to the hedge and a (now removed) willow tree. Some of the sewer is totallly collapsed so needs replacing, the bit under the existing hedge is not looking great as it has roots growing into it (now removed with jetting). I’ve never been a fan of the hedge, so am not devestated to remove it, however it does provide good screening between me and my neighbour.

I’ve had a chat with them this evening and they understand the predicament, so are reasonably amenable to it going (tho by no means delighted). I’ve said i’ll happily replant an evergreen hedge with less invasive / shallow roots. The two options i’ve suggested are privet or box hedge.

Both privet and box seem to get to the required height (it’d be fine if it’s only 6ft on his side, so 9ft in total). Does anyone know how long it takes for a hedge to get that high? Ideally not 20 years – happy to plant some reasonably mature plants to maintain neighbourly relations.

Any other varieties of plant I should consider? Fast growing, shallow rooted (so not laural) and evergreen are the main criteria.

Instant hedge

Hmmm

I’d normally never recommend it but what about bamboo? Will grow to that height in no time. However it must be planted in plastic pots (with no holes in) to stop the roots spreading and it taking over. Can’t really think of anything else that could be suitable/wouldn’t take years to grow.

Edit. Fake plastic tat can **** right off

I would definitely consider privet, our hedges are probably over 90 years old and still doing well. They cope with being cut back hard if necessary. I don’t cut mine until late August/September and we’re rewarded with lovely fragrant flowers in July that the insects love. Birds love it too including house sparrows that appear to thrive in it’s protection. If planting from whips then plant in a zig-zag and follow cutting advice, don’t let it get to your desired height and then cut, you need to develop “bushiness”! I’ve created more density by simply sticking prunings in the ground. I hate the smell of box and I think there’s some sort of disease/pest that is going around at the moment?
Hope this helps!
Just seen the above about bamboo. Don’t! We had some that had been at the house before we arrived, it looked fairly docile so I moved some. It went rampant, the runners spread just below the surface and appear to be impervious to any type of obstruction. Digging up is incredibly difficult and, although I don’t usually use weed killer, I did and it doesn’t. My mate had some from me, knowing my problems and it went under his lawn, 20m, and under his garden office.
Just sayin..

Privet grows twice as fast as box (12” vs 6” pa)

Definitely Privet for fast growth. And as said it responds well to hard cutting back if needed in future.

Not a looker but for a quick hedge which is easy to maintain once big it is hard to beat.

This site suggests a 1 to 2 ft per year growth.

https://www.lovethegarden.com/uk-en/article/fast-growing-hedges-privacy

There’s a reason privet is so popular.

Note however that if you let it grow too fast, it may be fairly thin and weedy, and never thicken up properly especially on the shady side. It’ll be a while before you have a decent 2m hedge. My parents inherited a privet hedge that had been allowed to bolt, took it down a few feet to regrow more slowly and it’s much better now.

Privet dries out the soil quite a bit, though certainly no worse than Leylandi. Something to consider is hayfever… I’d never suffered from hayfever in my life until we moved into a house with a large straggly Privet. In August and with the windows open pollen would blow in and cause absolute mayhem. As soon as the thing stopped flowering the hayfever disappeared. It was a nightmare as couldn’t sleep with the window open at night. I’d go laurel, grows fast, looks good and a very good screen. Ours host all sorts of bird nests, spiders and bees too!

Privet for speed. Box is more attractive imo. I did a mix in my garden 70% privet with some box, Holly and roses. Been in for 3 years and is about 3 foot tall and still pretty see-through.

Box is not a fast growing species. Also has plenty of disease problems and it’s very easy to spot damaged patches due to the small leaves/growth habit. I wouldn’t have a box hedge personally. Privet is a much better bet and a good wildlife friendly native.

Have you considered Bay trees?

Evergreen and can be bought already quite tall. They have the added advantage of giving almost unlimited bay leaves for cooking and being able to make the Dad joke “Oh no! The bailiff/bayleafs at the door”*

*I am not saying this was the only reason I bought a bay tree, but it was

You can get non-invasive bamboo (bambusa) which are clump-forming. They won’t withstand a cold-snap in Braemar but would manage in Brighton
If the neighbours are happy and you can put up with the Leylandii then I’d make the sewer root-proof and lower the overall height of the hedge. Cheaper and quicker

Thanks for all the advice.

I think bay trees are a type of laurel and have deep roots which is what i’m trying to avoid.

As for leaving the hedge, reducing in height and root proofing the sewer, that would be fairly hard to do – the roots are already in the sewer, so it’d probably deform any lining i put in. Also the other reason I am keen to remove the existing hedge is that it is quite near to the house (approx 3m). The house had previous minor subsidence a few years ago, and the hedge was called out as one of the reasons in the insurance reports (previous owner so the reports is all i have to go on) so it was partially removed (tho not as much as the report recommended I note). With the weather not getting any wetter long term, it seems sensible to get rid of the hedge whilst I have a good ‘call to action’ as it were – both for my house and my neighbours house (the hedge has damaged some of his retaining wall). It’s also very ugly from our side and i believe it’s hard to cut back a leylandii without making it go brown.

One thing i was thinking I could do, is stick up some 6ft trellis and grow honey suckle up it in pots. Would probably provide screening in less than a year. Could then take it down when the privet is established. Tho that will add a fair bit to the cost. I’d be looking at the thick end of 500 quid for enough privet plants (120cm high ones i guess) for the 5m distance.

snip…is not looking great as it has roots growing into it (now removed with jetting)

snip…the roots are already in the sewer, so it’d probably deform any lining i put in

I is confoosed 🙂

Re: privet – you should be able to get a discount for quantity, either online or at a local nursery. Family-run businesses might be more flexible and you can always sell any plants remaining from deals that get you better value
Whatever you grow will take time to establish and pots will need watering. Pots are also more vulnerable to frost/heat if above ground

I is confoosed 🙂

Yeah good point, brain not in gear. I guess those roots aren’t in it anymore! but the ends have presumably just been sliced off but at still in the junctions between the pipe sections so will then push in.

Good point re: watering. I figured i’d put in a drip irregation system as there is a tap next to the hedge, it seems to be pretty cheap to do, they’re hose pipe ban permitted, and i’m very lazy about that kind of thing.

Definitely not box. Slow growing and is being absolutely decimated by box moth caterpillar in all the gardens around here.

i have a similar situation to you although i am above the neighbour by 2-3feet. The fence was rotted so the neighbour put in a privet about 5 years ago. It has done well, it’s about 6 foot on my side so at least 8 on his although it was a decent height quite quickly. The last couple of years I have been cutting it back and it has thickened well. We are in the highlands which has probably meant slower growing. I think the saplings were under a meter when planted.