Where to plant new trees

[Ellavoday]

Hi, would be great to get some advice. We've been given a couple of new trees (hawthorn and service berry), still in 9 litre pots. We have a small to medium size garden (new build house).

I'm wondering how far I should plant them from fences? The card we were given says they can spread up to 4 metres so I think they should be at least 2 metres from any fence but DH wants to plant them 1 feet from fence!

Any advice massively appreciated!

Thanks,
Ellavoday

You can plant them up to the fence. They will just grown outwards and upwards.

Bear in the mind the practicalities of how easy it will be to get to the fence in future, eg for maintenance or replacing it. And how much do you want to piss off your neighbours with an overhanging tree? Will you be blocking sunlight to anyone's garden?

I'd allow maybe 1 metre clearance from the fence - that would give enough room for fence access. Depends how that would look in your garden though.

You can plant them anywhere, but be aware that you'll be liable for any damage they cause as they grow, and overhanging trees are a popular method of guaranteeing future neighbour disputes. Oh and make sure the tree won't be blocking sunlight.

I would advise planting them at least a metre from the fence. Until the lowest branches are higher than the fence you will want good access to prevent damage to the fence.

If your neighbours don't like the trees they can legally cut anything on their side of the boundary (see extreme example in the photo).

Thanks everyone! Will move the tree :)

Yes, I've been considering the impact on neighbours, but most people seem to have medium trees (6 metres high) and neighbours seem happy enough with them.

@jcyclops i'm almost hoping that's a photoshop! seems a shame for such an inoffensive tree!

Are you aware of what these trees look like when mature? Hawthorn is usually used for hedging and most varieties are thorny, of course they can grown as stand alone trees but for me personally they are not the most attractive. They will be very noticeable in a small garden.

Personally if I was going to plant trees in a small garden it would be something pretty like camelia, or an acer, but we all have different tastes. Have a look at the mature version of the type you have and then decide if you’d rather keep them in pots or plant them up

Please consider how much shade they will throw on your neighbour's garden. Our dick of a neighbour planted a load of trees hard against our shared boundary so that he would have sun all day and now they have matured, we do not.

@Ellavoday - Unfortunately not a photoshop - reported in all the papers last year.

eg. metro.co.uk/2021/06/23/sheffield-neighbour-cut-tree-in-half-after-petty-row-over-nesting-birds-14817831/