Elder Trees

Sido

I'm currently chopping down a Leylandii Hedge that has gone out of control. I was thinking about something else to plant instead and Elder with its white flowers and black fruit does not seem like a bad idea. Does anyone know where I might be able to buy some.

fatoftheland

try future forests they probably have them

Northumbria

Sido wrote: »

I'm currently chopping down a Leylandii Hedge that has gone out of control. I was thinking about something else to plant instead and Elder with its white flowers and black fruit does not seem like a bad idea. Does anyone know where I might be able to buy some.

Elder can look quite scraggy in winter so I wouldn't plant too much. If you search for hedging plant suppliers on the internet you might find some stockists but I wouldn't put in much - I'd go for yew or holly and only put in the odd Elder.

Elder and Hawthorn in winter (the large one is Elder):



Now what do you think? Winter can seem like a long time to stare at a bare, scraggy hedge...;)

Sido

Thanks very much - they do appear to have them.

Sido

Yeah - I suppose its because I'm currently trying to get rid of the Leylandii - one at a time - a daunting task -that I'm thinking along these lines.
Thanks, I quite take your point. - That hawthorn an elder hedge you have there does seem to be rather bleak.

planetX

It doesn't look bleak to me - it looks natural. Much better than the nasty green of leylandii which to me looks unnatural and out of place in winter. Unless you have something seriously ugly to hide, what's wrong with bare wood? You can grow woodland plants and bulbs at the base of it.
Elder on its own wouldn't make a very strong hedge, so mix with other natives and a bit of holly if you want some green.

mathepac

My sympathies OP. Leylandii is my least favourite tree with its flourescent perma-green foliage an assault on the eyes.

However the next least favourite is the elder. It is prone to bolt and the vertical green shoots it pushes out from the base of the trunk make it look odd with the twisty established branches. I dislike its smell, but I do like the white flowers, however, once they turn to fruit you have another problem on your hands.

They birdies that feed on the fruit poo purple and the purple stain can be difficult to remove even from stone-work or paving, not to mention washing and cars.

In my last house I was was on an anti-elder campaign and found it difficult to control due to the birdies having carpet-bombed the area (> an acre) with elder seeds for decades. If you decide to go with elder, you may just be stuck with it.

Sido

@ PlanetX - When I say "bleak" - I was looking at the photograph sent by Nothumbria Which is to my tastes errm .... a bit bleak.

Though the reason I was looking at Elder was that it is in flower at the moment.
I also tend to use both the flowers and the fruit for the production of alcoholic beverages.

Though I had not considered Mathpac's advice on the purple bird droppings - There is also hardy Fuschia which seems to grow quite well round here (Co. Roscommon).

I could bung in a couple of fruit trees. I've always fancied a go at ornamental rhododendrons - though they seem to be very specialist.

Maybe I should post a picture or two up and see if anyone has some good suggestions.

lottpaul

Sido wrote: »

There is also hardy Fuschia which seems to grow quite well round here (Co. Roscommon).

I could bung in a couple of fruit trees. I've always fancied a go at ornamental rhododendrons - though they seem to be very specialist.

Maybe I should post a picture or two up and see if anyone has some good suggestions.

I would definitely not plant the common fuchsia (magellanica) or the white version that I know grows well in the west. In spite of its lovely flowers etc it's basically a thug It will send runners all over your garden that you will spend hours and hours chasing down, pulling them out etc. Their branches are quite brittle and definitely not appealing when bare. I have eliminated it from our boundary after years of effort but it still peeps up from time to time.
Fruit trees might be a good idea, esp if you go for some of the flowering crab apples etc - theres a huge variety.
And ornamental rhodos are very forgiving -- if the soil is suitable they will grow away happily as long as you dont let them dry out.

Sido

Thanks LottPaul I have no experience of Hardy Fuschia - except trying to grow them on from cuttings about 14 years ago - a complete failure when I planted them out - though I was trying to put them on a raised boundary.

Here's some photos of my problem 001.JPG

003.JPG

The first picture the hedge hides a slatted shed.

In the picture with the holly bush the hedge provides a screen for / from my neighbours.

Please keep your suggestions coming.

Northumbria

planetX wrote: »

It doesn't look bleak to me - it looks natural. Much better than the nasty green of leylandii which to me looks unnatural and out of place in winter. Unless you have something seriously ugly to hide, what's wrong with bare wood? You can grow woodland plants and bulbs at the base of it.
Elder on its own wouldn't make a very strong hedge, so mix with other natives and a bit of holly if you want some green.

But if it is to be a boundary hedge for a garden then a hedge that you can clearly see through in winter isn't very good for privacy.
I have this problem, there's an old Hawthorn hedge that goes like that when it loses its leaves. I may put a fence in front of it to give a bit more privacy, in an ideal world the hedge would be some evergreen like holly.

lottpaul

The photos of the leylandii are daunting but persevere - the whole place will look much better when they are gone.
If you need privacy then perhaps a beech hedge would be suitable?
The beech holds its brown leaves during the winter and only drops them when the new foliage appears in spring. Plant a few birch or similar with them for contrast. Another nice tree, but also deciduous is hornbeam.

A holly hedge would be nice, with varieties of green, gold and silver, but it would be slow to establish and would take a while to give good cover.

If you go for an evergreen hedge it will always seem gloomy at some time of the year or other. We have a row of 30 camellias, each now about 2m high - beautiful in winter and spring when in flower, but dark for the rest of the year so we're trying to encourage clematis etc to climb into them -- limited success so far.
A mix of evergreen and decid would be ideal, and use a few climbers to conceal the shed.

looksee

Such a pity leylandii are such thugs, they smell lovely and can be attractive in small doses. I think you are well-rid though OP, I wouldn't put in elder, the odd one in a mixed hedge is ok, but just elder would not look good. A mixed hedge looks good in a rural area, though you would not get many evergreens apart from holly and laurel. Beech holds its leaves so it is a good screen.

paddy147

Hornbeam leafs up faster,grows faster and is a sturdier hedge than beech.

Add in a few birch trees on the land,and you have a beautifull contrast between the hornbeam hedging and the birch trees.

Birch trees and hornbeam hedging...a winning combination.:)


Try Tulleys Nurseries in Dublin.....www.tullynurseries.ie/
PJ Larkins in Roscommon (aka www.hedges.ie)
Or the likes of Future Forests for good quality hedging and trees.

I can personally recommend Tullys Nurseries www.tullynurseries.ie/ and also PJ Larkins (www.hedges.ie)

I have bought birch trees and hornbeam hedging from both companies and am very happy to deal with both again.