Suggestion for hedging plants to cover neighbour's building

I was thinking about cedars (Smargard) to cover the building (I would need about 6 cedars at 2 feet apart). However, I also want to create a perennial bed right in front of the cedars and wonder if this is a good idea since I read somewhere that the root system of cedars are quite invasive.
I would appreciate any suggestions for planting a hedge to block out at least 10 feet of the view of the building. The hedge will be north facing will bright light and gets most sun in the summer months but not much in the winter, spring and late fall.

 

burning bush might work, it can get tall if not trimmed back and it has lovely fall color - also looks nice in the summer. it would be bare branches in the winter tho.

 

SOOENG, how much room do you have between the neighbour's building and you? Are you trying to create a backdrop view from your patio or a window? A small tree instead of cedar hedging would provide the height that you are looking for. If space is limited perhaps a beautiful trellis with vine would screen the neighbour's building.

 

Hi Sooeng,

I would second the suggestion from the previous post to try to block the view of the building using trees rather than a solid cedar hedge. We have a cedar hedge on two sides of our back yard, and although it does provide great privacy, it's very difficult to grow anything within five feet of the dripline. The upkeep is also a bit of a nightmare - our hedge is about 18 feet tall now and having it professionally trimmed each year is quite expensive. Finally, if your garden is small (like mine), a solid uninterrupted hedge will make it seem even smaller.

I am actually thinking of taking our hedge down and replacing part of it with bamboo and part with a selection of trees. The bamboo has a softer look, and if it is contained with a sunken barrier (as it should), roots will not interfere with perennials planted right next to it.

Cheers,
Laura

 

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

The view of the our neighbour's building, which also acts as part of the fence, is about 25 feet from our patio door and is about 15 feet long. The other 20feet is an actual fence which is attached to this building.

Having read that the cedar hedge upkeep is going to be expensive, I think I'm going to go with growing4it's great suggestion of a small tree to cover the topmost part of the building. I cannot plant any vines directly on the wall because it is actually my neighbour's building. I think a trellis might work for the vines.

What would you think about having 3 cedars with 2 trellises between them?


I like bamboo too and did think about it but am so afraid of it taking over the yard.

Lauraf, what kind of barrier will you be looking at to prevent the spread of the bamboo, or are you thinking of the clumping variety? I love the black bamboo, but it's a spreading species.

 

Forgot to ask what kind of small trees would you suggest

 

It sounds like whatever you plant will be right next to your neighbor's building. If that's the case, be wary of planting any tree with a shallow root system, as it might eventually heave the foundation. If you wouldn't plant XYZ next to your own house, you probably shouldn't plant it in this location either. Choose something known for having more of a taprooting growth pattern. Consider something with columnar growth, else you'll be constantly pruning it off your neighbor's building, leaving the tree potentially lopsided, unbalanced and prone to toppling. Arborvitae might work, although those things are woefully over-used in modern landscaping. Something like Pinus contorta might work--it has delving roots and doesn't grow densely enough to threaten the building or totally shade out anything you might want to plant beneath it. Acer circinatum would also be an excellent choice, growing a couple of feet per year under good conditions and having both an insubstantial root system and a naturally asymmetrical growth pattern that will eventually grow to 8 meters in height. I've seen some of our larger native shrubs, such as Amelanchier alnifolia, growing big enough to obscure the wall without threatening its structural integrity.
Another approach might be to build a large trellis and plant something that can be trained to grow on it.

 

I looked up both tree suggestions, and really liked the Amelanchier alnifolia. I'm not too keen though on the berries of the trees. Both my neighbours have the cherry trees and it attracts a lot of crows cawing a morning symphony in the summer months.

Also we actually have a small retaining wall (our yard slopes down)and we have built it up) 2 feet high and away from our neighbours' wall. We also don't want a tree that's going to damage that retaining wall down the road.

What do you think of the Japanese Maple? Or the Gingko Bibolba (chartreuse?sp)?
Any other suggestions for a smaller tree?

 

Fruit of Amelanchier alnifolia ripens much later than cherries do. They're edible, so you can beat the crows to them. I'm also thinking that crows, being scavengers, would probably prefer overripe fruit. Oddly, they don't go after my overripe pears. It could also be that cherries, being much larger and much earlier than serviceberries, as well as being that bright red color (relatively speaking) might be more attractive to crows. I'll investigate.

When choosing between Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) vs. vine maple (A. circinatum), I'll invariably go with the latter. From a horticultural/landscaping perspective, the two are practically interchangible. A. palmatum has the advantage of having a number of cultivars with intricately-shaped leaves, which, while quite beautiful, seem to be less hardy in the PNW than the type species. A. circinatum, on the other hand, is more drought-tolerant and more compatible with local wildlife.

Ginko biloba might be a bit too slow-growing. It'll eventually grow large-ish, which I suppose qualifies it as a medium-sized tree. I can't say I've noticed its roots to be particularly shallow or aggressive, which would certainly qualify it for your site. Most of the ones I've seen have a rather strongly horizontal branching pattern, which might cause problems, although the ultimate size of the tree may mitigate those. I suppose you could plant one or two and then if they aren't doing the job, you could transplant them.

 

Thanks for sharing your knowledge on trees. The fact that the Vine maple is compatible with the local wildlife is a plus for us. How tall and wide does it grow ... can we prune it? Our yard is small and we prefer to not have too much of a shady yard.
I'd sure be interested to hear about the crow situation.

 

Just planted a ginkgo bilboa suggested to you above

 

>How tall and wide does it grow

Vine maple can grow up to 8 meters in height according to Hitchcock and Cronquist, although most I've seen have been less than half that. I have a couple that I've had in my garden for about 5 years and are maybe 2.5-3 meters tall, but still rather narrow. You can probably expect it to grow about half as wide as tall. Most of the 2-3 meter tall specimens I've seen are probably not more than 1.5 meters wide. Beyond that, the growth habit is fairly comparable to that of Acer palmatum.

>can we prune it?

Yes. Vine maple responds very well to pruning. It should be fairly easy to direct its growth and control the breadth of its spread.

>I'd sure be interested to hear about the crow situation.

I'll keep you posted.

 

Jacksparrow, your plantings look lovely. Thanks for sharing.

Unther, thanks for sharing your knowledge ... will look forward to your posting on the crows.

 

Hi Sooeng,

I read that a high-density polyethylene barrier, going about two feet deep all around the area in which the bamboo is planted will do the trick. I put read in boldface because I actually have not done it yet, so I cannot vouch for it. This said, I have some bamboo planted on the side of the house (by the previous owners). I think it's the running variety, and in spite of the fact that there is no barrier around it, I find that spending a couple of hours in the spring cutting the shoots and slicing through the rhizomes that popped up in unwanted places does the trick. Less upkeep that the cedar hedge, anyway :)

I too like black bamboo... I was thinking of that for our back yard...

Best of luck,
Laura

 

A vine maple is a good choice but if you find Japanese maple that you like, you could use that too. Amelanchier would be interesting. While ginkgo are beautiful trees I think it would be too large for your particular site.

I would be cautious when planting bamboo. I've seen reinforced concrete broken by tree roots - I would expect that bamboo roots are capable of breaking concrete too. Perhaps a sturdy 18" wide band of metal 'cone' could control the bamboo. The sides of the container angled might be enough to direct new growth up towards the centre rather than letting the bamboo spread.

Good Luck.

 

Thanks to all for your suggestions.

 

Some bamboo is clumping bamboo; it does not run. A reputable nursery would be able to assist...

 

Here's a reply, regarding Amelanchier and crows, from a member of another list:

"The crows definitely go after the fruit on my serviceberry, but they don't
seem to come in as great a number or to be as "raucus" as I've seen crows
on cherry trees. The robins and a number of other birds also feed on
them. The birds will be feeding on the berries of the adjacent red
elderberry. Then at some point of ripeness, they switch to the
serviceberry -- and don't return to the elderberry until the serviceberries
are pretty much gone. And the fact that my serviceberry has quite a bit of
rust on the branch tips AND the berries doesn't seem to make any different."

I hope this helps.

 

Thank you Unther for the information.

 

I saw on the Victory Garden a tour of small gardens in places like New York and elsewhere.

They showed some white birches growing very tall, it was in a courtyard of a 3 story house or building. I was quite interesing, as i did my old research for planting a birch very close to my house. The birches grow and gradually they cut off the side brances that are close to the walls. These are usually at dentist and Dr's offices, and other city buildings.

some people plant Aspen, but I read that they are always sending up shoots and they can break up a sidewalk also.

My neighbor had planted some SENTRY RED MAPLE trees close to our fenceline and I've seen them close to the fenceline of dental offices that are newer than the ones with birches. They are planted on the souths side of the buildings.

They are very pretty, but I don't know how high they will grow though. Just thought I would add these.

I do like the idea of the contorted Pine.

 

I have a similar situation where my neighbour's house wall is adjacent to my yard, forms part of the fence in effect, and is a major part of the view. I've planted trees throughout my yard so that their canopies will eventually screen the wall from various viewpoints - back window, patio, etc. One I chose, since the wall is light grey stucco, is a puple leaved birch.

 

What about this one. Mine has been beautiful in it's spring dress. The neighbour up the road has just planted an avenue of them down his very long drive. We also have them as street trees.

http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/20...ering_plants_and_shrubs2/new_ornamental_pears

http://www.flemings.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5

http://www.global-garden.com.au/burnley/decjan97dte.htm

Liz

 

A columnar conifer for dark areas is Irish yew (Taxus baccata fastigiata). Slow and gloomy, sometimes apt to splay out in snow, with age, but shade tolerant - and very tolerant of clipping.

 

Could you tell me if the serviceberry will grow well in Zone 3? From what you folks have to say, it seems it might be an ideal smaller tree for promoting privacy without taking over too much of the back yard. Does it grow quickly? Thank you so much.