Recommend me a hedge/shrub

[KennyPowers]

I've removed a leylandi hedge that was very close to the house out the front. This was essentially used as a privacy screen between us and next door.

Can anyone suggest a hedge/shrub I could plant next to the house at the front, that doesn't have damaging roots or will grow crazy big like leylandi does?

Someone mentioned privet, but I'd like to hear what anyone else thinks.

Thanks.

 

[Notch7]

a few slightly less common options make a nice hedge:

elaeagnus
escallonia
photinia red robin
lonicera
AFAIK these are ok near foundations -they dont have massive water take up or huge roots

more common:
holly makes a lovely green dense hedge, shoots from low down.....has a prickly issue
beech....lovely but looks dead 6months of the year
yew....classic but takes years to get going -nice and slow growing when it does.

privet is a good choice - pollution resistant, but maybe boring!

avoid hawthorn and of course leylandii near foundations

 

[StephenStephen]

copper beech

 

[KennyPowers]

Boring is fine, as it's function is to act as a privacy barrier.

Are any of these fast growers, and I guess it's best to wait till spring now before planting anything, due to ground frost etc.

 

[Keithmac]

You can get pre grown Privet hedge in sections iirc.

Ours is 70 years old and still going strong, took the width down by 1/2 last year and even that didn't kill it off!.

 

[JohnD]

In the short term, while the hedge grows, you might consider poles with netting supporting a fast annual grower like sweet peas

(Or edible peas, or beans)

If you use sisal or cotton netting and twine, it will not be a nuisance to remove later, as any awkward remnants will rot away cleanly.

You can also use cammo netting as a screen, it looks OK from a distance.

I think holly makes an attractive evergreen hedge with the bonus of discouraging intruders. It is easy to prune but awkward to dispose of the prunings, which do not rot down for a long time.