Mumsnet Talk

Well, we live next door to a pub- and our garden runs next to theirs with a tall fence in between. I want to plant a selection of conifers for evergreen year round psychological barrier. And I love conifers, the smell shape etc. Its s/west facing so a good position for them.

Any suggestions of fairly quick growing trees -that can be pruned eventually to keep in check?

thanks!

Most conifers are not great for pruning as you can't cut back into old wood, if you want to keep the height in check you need to prune very regularly, or they end up getting huge.

Have you thought about something like bamboo instead? Or evergreeen shrubs which are easy to prune, such as Viburnum tinus/Escallonia/Pittosporum?
These all flower and take much less moisture from the soil than conifers, so you can grow nice ground cover underneath them.

Try Thuja if you want conifers. They are beautiful strokeable trees. The main thing is they never need pruning as they never grow too tall. They do the job of Leylandii without becoming huge monsters. Decent nurseries or garden centres will sell them in the conifer section. Be careful when you buy as some are dwarf. Look at the label. Mine will grow to 15 feet and were labelled Thuja Plicata.