Above wall privacy trees

[Emma110871]

Hello

 

I’m new to this forum and would welcome advice on planting some new trees. 
 

We have a garden wall which is just under 2 meters high and are looking for 1 or 2 trees to plant against this wall for further privacy above wall level. 
 

Ideally we need trees with fairly narrow and tall (around 1.8m) trunks as we have limited garden area.   The trunks would then be against the wall with the crown of the trees above the wall. We would like evergreen trees that are slow/medium rate for growth (cutting back perhaps once a year). 
 

Looking at either 1 tree if the spread of the foliage will be quite wide (around 2 meters) or 2 trees if narrower spread. 
 

All suggestions welcome. 
 

Thanks in advance. 
 

Emma

[Marc Lewis]

Have a look/google pleaching trees Emma.

[agg221]

Hello Emma,

Could you confirm - are you looking to create a bare trunk of 1.8m and then foliage above it? If so, what total height do you want the trees to reach? Also, what kind of look are you after? You have suggested evergreen and cutting back, which would effectively be a solid wall of green, like a hedge on stilts - is that what you are after or do you want something with a less formal shape? If the latter, it will need more subtle pruning or choosing something which will never get too big. Marc has suggested having a look at pleaching which can be a very effective look. Alternatively a tree with a suitably shaped crown might do it. Most trees will naturally be fairly balanced - that means they will stick out to the sides as much as they do along the wall. What is the other side of the wall and is that a problem? Alternatlvely, this could be managed by careful shaping.

 

Apart from the ubiquitous conifers such as leylandii, other looks you could consider include holly, which could be variegated to give a lighter overall effect and if you plant male and female, one of them will then also give you berries for a bit of winter interest including birds.  If the overall height you are looking for is not that great there are also many shrubs which could be grown up on single stems. Some of the Ceanothus spring to mind - blue flowers.

 

If you don't use the space so much over winter and early spring then an alternative would be beech or hornbeam (depending on soil and location) which if regularly trimmed will keep its leaves over winter, giving you a less heavy look than most evergreens - these really will pleach well. The beech hedge outside my window is still well covered in last year's leaves now and will soon be leafing out again.

 

Alec

[Paddy1000111]

Could get some trellis work built ontop the wall and put some nice climbers up? Depends on the look you're going for really? 

 

Anything but F******* leylandii 😂😂 

[Emma110871]

Thank you all for your responses , very helpful. We are looking for a bare trunk and then about 1-1.5 meters above the wall and don’t want the look of a more formal hedge. The pleaching trees and holly both look like they are suitable. 

 

We definitely don’t want conifers!

[5thelement]

A couple of Olive trees, evergreen and easy to create the shape that you want with secateurs.

[Paul in the woods]

I would consider bay (Laurus nobilis), quite common to find decent sized pot grown bays that can be clipped to various shapes.

Edited April 10, 2021 by Paul in the woods

[Lowestoft Firewood]

Beech keeps most of its leaves on virtually all winter and looks great pleached. 

[Conor Wright]

I was tempted to say pleached leylandii but unless you have space they will get out of control quickly, actually, even if you do have space they will probably become a nuisance.

Cotoneaster can make a very nice pleached hedge, flowers and berries add to its appeal.

[Paddy1000111]

I'd go with beach or maybe olive. Leylandii get out of control quickly and from my experience of Bay, they do exactly the same. Our neighbors have Bay and we are forever pulling it out of our garden, the trees need regular trimming and the hedges grow out of control quickly. Handy if you need a bay leaf though, I rob them for pizza sauces! 😂

[daveatdave]

i think you are supposed to plant them so you have enough space behind them for cutting them back and i would not plant them tight to the wall as there will be problems in the future