Privets or other help

[Mirinjawbro]

Hello

looking at getting something to cover a 25-30m gap infront of the house. there are green privets further along which i wanted matching

however the price of filling the gap seems a bit crazy.

can anyone recommend anything else? looking ideally to be 5 foot + to stop nosey neighbours.

fencing is a no go has to be some sort of bush or plant

ideally filled all year round aswell


thanks

[Little Lofty]

Yeah, I’m in the same boat as need screening for a large overlooked garden. I bought a 8’/9’ Photina and Prunus last year to place in a gap between a couple of trees. I probably need another 8-10 but at a couple of hundred quid each I’ll do it in stages. I’m not a big fan of privet and it takes a lot of looking after once established.

[Desiderata]

Whatever you buy, you pay less for smaller plants if you're willing to wait for them to grow. Privet at 5 to 6 feet will be roughly 10 times the price of 2 to 3 feet plants, and more if they are rootballed or potted rather than bare root..
If you want to match the rest of the street with privet, I'd be looking at 3' bare root plants at around £3 each and maybe a temporary fence if you need the gap filled straight away. 5'or 6' mature plants will be at least 10 times that each. Can you afford to wait on them growing?

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

Photinia “Red Robin” is attractive, evergreen, easy and fast growing, and responds very well to pruning. Gives a nice splash of new red foliage in spring, and when that starts to fade to green you can just give it a haircut and within weeks you’ll have a second flush of red. Its only flaw is that it’s a bit ubiquitous - most gardens have it nowadays.

But even with fast growing shrubs, it’s best to keep pruning it back to thicken it. Tempting to just let it grow unchecked, but you’ll get a much better screen if you’re patient and keep trimming it. That said, with Red Robin you can always cut it back as hard as you like and it’ll immediately form lots of side branches.

It’s quite a hungry shrub, so it benefits from a good scattering of Fish Blood & Bone every few months.

[Little Lofty]

Desiderata said:

Whatever you buy, you pay less for smaller plants if you're willing to wait for them to grow. Privet at 5 to 6 feet will be roughly 10 times the price of 2 to 3 feet plants, and more if they are rootballed or potted rather than bare root..
If you want to match the rest of the street with privet, I'd be looking at 3' bare root plants at around £3 each and maybe a temporary fence if you need the gap filled straight away. 5'or 6' mature plants will be at least 10 times that each. Can you afford to wait on them growing?

I bought some large and small, there is a huge difference in price, the small will catch up eventually, but instant privacy is expensive.
These were £300 each.

[PhilboSE]

Oleaster Elaeagnus x ebbengei is a good alternative to the usual suspects. Can be bought as instant hedge by the metre, but it’s expensive that way.

I just bought 24 in 5l pots about 2’ tall each for about £10 per plant. They grow 30-50cm annually so should fill in within a couple of years.

[The Gauge]

There are often people advertising their hedges for free on Facebook marketplace etc, buyer to dig out and remove but privet isn’t deep rooted so should come out fairly easy. A mattock used to dig a trench around the perimeter helps when lifting out with garden forks.

[Sheets Tabuer]

You're in bare root season, loads of places doing it cheap. Might need to pay a bit more for taller plants but it's every where at the minute.

Paid about 180 for 120 Portuguese laurel plants last month.

[ACCYSTAN]

I would avoid laurels, not native and don’t offer a lot (if any) benefits to wildlife.
Blackthorne and Hawthorne is what I used to install for a natural hedge but they take a while to grow but offer brilliant security and screen if planted in a zig zag formation.
They are native, great for wildlife, great for security (no one is climbing through it) and easy to maintain.
They are cheap as well if you buy saplings but you will be waiting 8-10 years for the signs of a hedge.

[RGG]

Have a look at Lonicera Nitida.

We had a property that was originally "ex Estate" in the old sense of the word.

Dense, small leaves - a little similar to box, privet, yew - that kind of thing.
Grows well and fast.
Made a fantastic hedge.
We kept ours at around six foot.
Easy to clip.

In my opinion, far superior to any of the above and would be my first choice if starting again.

[mcelliott]

RGG said:

Have a look at Lonicera Nitida.

We had a property that was originally "ex Estate" in the old sense of the word.

Dense, small leaves - a little similar to box, privet, yew - that kind of thing.
Grows well and fast.
Made a fantastic hedge.
We kept ours at around six foot.
Easy to clip.

In my opinion, far superior to any of the above and would be my first choice if starting again.

Yes we the same, great wind break and hardy, we also have a gorse hedge which when clipped looks great and has the lovely scent blooms, plus absolutely nothing is getting through that.

[paulw123]

I like private, it will grow fairly quickly. I'd go for a small potted plants. 3L pots size as they establish quickly. Usually gives plants about a 3ft starting hight. Space accordingly and you will have a decent hedge in a few years.

[RGG]

mcelliott said:

RGG said:

Have a look at Lonicera Nitida.

We had a property that was originally "ex Estate" in the old sense of the word.

Dense, small leaves - a little similar to box, privet, yew - that kind of thing.
Grows well and fast.
Made a fantastic hedge.
We kept ours at around six foot.
Easy to clip.

In my opinion, far superior to any of the above and would be my first choice if starting again.

Yes we the same, great wind break and hardy, we also have a gorse hedge which when clipped looks great and has the lovely scent blooms, plus absolutely nothing is getting through that.

Thanks mcelliott,

It's not well known and deserves a higher position in the primary go-to choices.

It originates from China, but you would never guess.
It looks so at home in an English country garden.
Easily available too.
Plus would make a practical and aesthetic replacement for a low box hedge.

[Fatboy]

Hedges Direct have a 20% sale on, and they're good to deal with, I've used them a couple of times...

https://www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/all-hedges/bare-roo...

[Chrisgr31]

Why is fencing a no go? If it’s planning check a tall hedge isn’t a no go as well!