Recommend trees for a medium sized garden

Jane98

I'm looking for some recommendations for trees to plant in front of a wall at the end of my garden to block out a view from a road. Ideally I would like small to medium height trees that don't have a huge spread and whose roots wont damage the foundations of the wall.

Thanks

Fann Linn

Jane98 wrote: »

I'm looking for some recommendations for trees to plant in front of a wall at the end of my garden to block out a view from a road. Ideally I would like small to medium height trees that don't have a huge spread and whose roots wont damage the foundations of the wall.

Thanks

After the same thing myself and I've finally settled on the Japanese Acer.

magicbastarder

acers are lovely, but are deciduous, which may not suit if blocking the view is the goal.

an arbutus (strawberry tree), maybe?

aw

Also consider the evergreen oak, Quercus ilex, if you need cover year round.

looksee

Japanese Acer are lovely trees but they are happier in a sheltered site. If the place you propose to plant them is any way exposed to wind they can be damaged and not grow to their best.

Jane98

Jane98 wrote: »

I'm looking for some recommendations for trees to plant in front of a wall at the end of my garden to block out a view from a road. Ideally I would like small to medium height trees that don't have a huge spread and whose roots wont damage the foundations of the wall.

Thanks

1. What is your budget?
2. What is the length of the wall?
3. How high is the wall?
4. Do you want the trees to cover the wall plus what is over the wall, or only what is over the wall?
5. Do you want seasonal interest or year-round screening?

The Continental Op

aw wrote: »

Also consider the evergreen oak, Quercus ilex, if you need cover year round.

I used to have one of the biggest in the UK in my garden iirc it was 33 feet around the base and covered about a thousand square yards of ground

Won't be all year round cover but how about training a fig tree to cover the wall and extend above it? A good bit of work but you can plant the roots in a container (old washing machine drum is ideal) as for fruiting you need to restrict the roots.

Jane98

Deleted User wrote: »

1. What is your budget?
2. What is the length of the wall?
3. How high is the wall?
4. Do you want the trees to cover the wall plus what is over the wall, or only what is over the wall?
5. Do you want seasonal interest or year-round screening?

1. < €1000
2. 100 feet
3. 6 feet
4. Cover the wall and about 5-6 feet above it
5. Year round screening

Jane98

Jane98 wrote: »

1. < €1000
2. 100 feet
3. 6 feet
4. Cover the wall and about 5-6 feet above it
5. Year round screening

The below will not answer your question, but hopefully it will give you a few options to think about.

Your requirements (large, long area to cover, 12 feet high) and limitations (budget!) point towards Leylandii or Thuja. These are cheap and grow rapidly, but I would strongly advise against these options. They are ugly, anti-social trees and are expensive to manage, swell outwards in size, and prune terribly. I mention them because it's quite likely someone will suggest these to you, in the real world if not here.

For a project of this sort your budget of 1000 euros will limit what you can achieve in terms of getting the cover you want with attractive plants in a short timeframe.

Roughly speaking, your wall is 30m long. Let's say we allow 2m between each tree, you need approx. 15 trees @ 12 feet high.

You will need to buy very young trees and wait several years for them to get to the desired height and spread.

Alternatively, you could plant a creeper on the wall -- Parthenocissus tricuspidata veitchii -- to cover it, and at the same time invest in 15-20 evergreen hardwood saplings (standard, girth of less than 12cm such as Quercus Ilex) and meticulously pleach them over several years to attain the 6ft of cover above the top of the wall, much as they did here with some Tilias: https://glebehouse.wordpress.com/2017/01/08/creating-and-maintaining-a-pleached-lime-hedge/.

(If you were willing to spend EUR 8000 you could buy ready-pleached trees to immediately cater for 4-5 feet above the wall and simultaneously plant creepers along the base of the wall to cover the masonry).

Another possibility, because you want to cover the wall itself (not just what is over your wall) you could also think of a hedge instead of trees. A beech hedge could be grown to the desired height and thickness. It will become dense, and will provide screening in winter, too. But again, it will take a long time and careful attention to attain the size and shape you want. Taxus baccatta would also make an attractive hedge, but your budget is a big limiting factor (for both it and the beech).

Yet another option would be to fix a trellis along the top of the wall, and plant creepers on it. This is a non-tree option and would probably need to be replaced every decade or so. Also, it probably would be outside the limits of your budget.