Instant Hedging Recommendations

tweedbean · 14 Jun 2016 at 10:22

Hi all, we currently have 15m wide drive way with an electric sliding gate making up the first maybe 4m on the left, the rest is made up of a 1m high brick wall which provides zero privacy from footpath to front of the house. Its made especially worse by the fact there is a bus stop outside the house.

With this in mind, there is a 2m deep strip of grass running between our driveway wall and the footpath which we also own and I would like to run a 5m long hedge from the end of the electric gates up to the pedestrian gate, then a small gap to allow access to gate and then another stretch of hedge 5m again. I am thing between 180cm and 200 cm tall instant hedging so I dont have to wait a few years before we get privacy. I also want an evergreen hedge so it looks full all year around. Therefore I need around 10M of evergreen instant hedging. I have been looking at 1m length trough grown options

Do you have any recommendations for the types of hedges I should consider and where to get them from?

<Gate - 4m><Low Brick Wall - 5m><Pedestrian Gate - 1m><Low Brick Wall - 5m>
.............................................Small Gap..............................................
<Nothing....><Hedge........... - 5m>< Gap for Gate - 1m><Hedge........... - 5m>

I have so far had the following prices from firing off email enquiries to suppliers of instant hedging online but would be interested to understand what you lot would recommend. Then I can start shopping around for prices for specific plants.

Thuja Brabant - Conifer £132 per metre
Eleagnus ebbingei - Oleaster £138 per metre
Ligustrum ovalifolium - Privet £150 per metre
Quercus ilex - Holm oak £150 per metre
Prunus Rotundifolia - Cherry Laurel £280 per metre
Ligustrum ovalifolium - Privet £165 per metre
Quercus ilex - Holm Oak £185 per metre

Quartz · 14 Jun 2016 at 11:13

You will regret conifers. You can't go wrong with Privet. You might also consider Box / Buxus.

Borealis · 14 Jun 2016 at 11:32

Privet or Box/Buxus would be my choice. Privet is fast-growing, box is slower-growing and will take a long time to get that tall. Mature Box plants of that size will be expensive.

Conifers might look good, but they can get very tall very quickly if you grow the wrong species (Leylandii is a good example). Once they are too big, you can't really prune them back hard without making them look messy.

Privet is rugged as anything and can be hacked back as hard as is necessary.

The key thing is to make sure you maintain the hedge. If you want it to be ~2m tall, then trim it to make sure it stays at ~2m tall. A hedge trimmer makes the job so much easier.

tweedbean · 14 Jun 2016 at 11:37

Happy to spend the money to get an instant hedge. I had already discounted the Conifers due to the fact I have just had about 10 of them removed from the rear garden as I am not a big fan.

Will certainly be purchasing a proper hedge trimmer to keep on top of things.

In regards to privet, I had a quote of £1500 delivered for 10m plus £1050 to plant them, not having paid for this thing before I wasnt sure if this was reasonable or not?

tom_e · 14 Jun 2016 at 11:47

A THOUSAND POUNDS TO PLANT SOME HEDGE!?!?!

I don't know if £1500 is a reasonable price for the hedging itself but I'd recommend just taking a weekend to plant it yourself and spend the grand on beer to keep you going.

tweedbean · 14 Jun 2016 at 11:58

Ha couldnt agree more on the fitting side, happy to give it a go as I am sure theres plenty of videos on line on what I need to do such as how deep to dig the trench etc

Borealis · 14 Jun 2016 at 12:17

Price-wise, you're buying an instant hedge, so the plants are going to be mature specimens that have been growing for quite a long time and are probably a few years old. If you're happy to pay the money to get an instant hedge, then fair enough.

In terms of the planting charge, I have no idea if that's a reasonable price, but if you're buying ~2m tall shrubs, then they will also be bulky and could be quite heavy.

Quartz · 14 Jun 2016 at 12:22

Yes, get some friends round for a planting party.

Bunka · 14 Jun 2016 at 14:31

tweedbean said:
Ha couldnt agree more on the fitting side, happy to give it a go as I am sure theres plenty of videos on line on what I need to do such as how deep to dig the trench etc

Dig a hole, stick a plant in it, move on to the next one. Shouldn't take you much longer than an afternoon unless they're quoting for more than that?

john_s · 15 Jun 2016 at 08:06

Isn't an instant hedge called a fence?

b0rn2sk8 · 15 Jun 2016 at 19:06

Bunka said:
Dig a hole, stick a plant in it, move on to the next one. Shouldn't take you much longer than an afternoon unless they're quoting for more than that?

This and bring a tarp for the mud.

I did 17m of privet in the rain in a short day and I am not exactly fit, I ordered way too many and crammed in over 100 plants. They were around 1m tall bare root plants (advertised at 60cm!) at the time, a year on they are starting to look like a hedge.

For £712 you can buy 24 1.5m - 1.7m plants which should do 1.5 to 2 per meter, easy cover your 10m. Grab a fork and a spade, job done.

For reference you can get 75 40-60cm plants for £270 and 50 60-90 cm plants for £200 for use at 3-5 per meter with free delivery.

AHarvey · 15 Jun 2016 at 20:57

Any reason for a hedge over a sound proofing fence? Instant privacy and sound proofing too.

a1ex2001 · 15 Jun 2016 at 22:24

AHarvey said:
Any reason for a hedge over a sound proofing fence? Instant privacy and sound proofing too.

Fences are ugly hedges are attractive and provide a habitat for wildlife and the warm glow of satisfaction when you've trimmed them to size!

FurryLemon · 15 Jun 2016 at 22:34

Do the planting yourself, it isn't difficult.

Make sure you break up the root ball a touch before planting. Add 3-6 inch of decent fertilizer/compost to each hole before planting. Water well afterwards.

You can make your own hedge for free, but it'll take time to mature. All you need is a willow tree, some rooting powder and patience.

tweedbean · 16 Jun 2016 at 00:18

b0rn2sk8 said:
For £712 you can buy 24 1.5m - 1.7m plants which should do 1.5 to 2 per meter, easy cover your 10m. Grab a fork and a spade, job done.

For reference you can get 75 40-60cm plants for £270 and 50 60-90 cm plants for £200 for use at 3-5 per meter with free delivery.

Where do you get yours from?

AHarvey said:
Any reason for a hedge over a sound proofing fence? Instant privacy and sound proofing too.

As others have said a hedge will look much better, plus being in a row of older cottages, a fence would look out of place.

Quartz · 16 Jun 2016 at 00:23

tweedbean said:
As others have said a hedge will look much better, plus being in a row of older cottages, a fence would look out of place.

Do the other cottages in the row have hedges? If so, consider getting the same.

Quartz · 16 Jun 2016 at 00:25

FurryLemon said:
You can make your own hedge for free, but it'll take time to mature. All you need is a willow tree, some rooting powder and patience.

Not a good idea: willows are poisonous to cats. Not a quick poison, it builds up over time.

Blackjack Davy · 16 Jun 2016 at 01:49

tweedbean said:
Thuja Brabant - Conifer £132 per metre
Eleagnus ebbingei - Oleaster £138 per metre
Ligustrum ovalifolium - Privet £150 per metre
Quercus ilex - Holm oak £150 per metre
Prunus Rotundifolia - Cherry Laurel £280 per metre
Ligustrum ovalifolium - Privet £165 per metre
Quercus ilex - Holm Oak £185 per metre

Hi I'd avoid conifers personally if you cut them back into bare wood they'll die as they have no dormant buds.

Eleagnus is decent dense shrub that thats reliable and easy to grow.
Privet I'd avoid unless you want a tall hedge and a lot of work with a hedgecutter - its literally as tough as old boots and wil put up with any amount of crap but it grows like the clappers and is hard work to keep under control.
Quercus holm oak makes a large and I do mean large, tree if you don't keep it trimmed. probably best avoided as a hedge.
Cherry laurel is easy and reliable and doesn't go bananas and looks pretty decent.

My choice would be either eleagnus or laurel. The secret to getting them established is good soild preparation. Break up the soil at least a foot wide and deep and mix in some compost. Autumn is a good time for planting and bare rooted will be the only option, or winter. You can of course plant pots at any time but you'll need to water regularly in the summer especially if the soil dries out quickly.

If you're looking for a supplier Hedging Direct looks pretty decent I'm getting some for a client from there, and plant plugs a good compromise.

flowrider99 · 16 Jun 2016 at 03:38

Blackjack Davy said:
................Cherry laurel is easy and reliable and doesn't go bananas and looks pretty decent.

Cherry laurel does go bananas, mine did for sure, grew about a foot every 6 months and needed constant triming. If the maintenance isn't an issue then it makes agood tall and thick evergreen hedge.

b0rn2sk8 · 16 Jun 2016 at 20:45

tweedbean said:
Where do you get yours from?

I know someone in the trade and they got them wholesale for me.

Those prices where from hedges direct which was the first hit on google but seemed about on par price wise.

As others have said, bare root plants will not be available until autumn so you have plenty of time to pick what you want. You pay a premium for potted.