Can you help me find a tree please?

[ContraryToPopularBelief]

I'm looking for a tree that fits these criteria:

Can be bought 5-6 feet tall at least.

Either evergreen or very 'branchy' as I want them for privacy.

Ideally don't want to spend more that £100 per tree.

It's south facing so need to be able to cope with that.

It's fairly exposed to the wind so need to be able to cope with that.

Not ugly! 🤣

Oh wise garden people can you help?

Nope. You need a bit more patience! Like 2 years more.
So, buy 2-3ft high and it will grow if you plant and feed it properly.
Do you want something evergreen? (Ie won't flower)
Have you thought about a trellis and climbing plant instead? That way you can have all year privacy and seasonal flowering.
South facing is great if you water well for first few years.
What about a bay tree?
If you

Posted early
Bay tree slowish to grow but can get huge (easy to prune and shape though) and provides thick dark green foliage. And you can bung it in yr stews/soups/everything.

Whatever you do, don't buy cypress of any kind or eucalyptus gum

Actually I think you'll be able to find quite a lot of options which fit those criteria. The problem may come if you add other criteria!

for example; is there a maximum size you need to stick to, especially maximum spread? will it spread over into your neighbour's property or cover most of your garden?

are you looking for one single tree or several to make a sort of tall hedge?

what is the soil like, is it acid/alkaline, is is dry and shallow or quite deep and fertile? Is it clay soil near a house, if so will there be walls that could be affected by roots?

are you expecting to be able to plant below it?

Some popular choices for your situation include evergreen photinia, or deciduous hornbeam, both of which can be pleached at height to make a thicker barrier.

I've used this company before and had good results;

mail order trees, they sell photinia Red Robin at £59.99 for a 240cm tree;
and these people have been around a long time & know what they are doing architectural plants

Fab quick replies! Thanks guys. Okay so I'd rather not have patience 🤣. I'm want a bit of privacy for a high up ground floor window if that makes sense. So it won't even start to help till it's about 8 feet tall.

I'm rubbish with soil types but it's about 8 ft from house and right next to a wall and then pavement. Unlikely to be rich and fertile I'd have thought.

Definitely don't want a hedge type.

It won't encroach on neighbours or block their light.

I don't want it to block my light.

I don't want it to get too tall or unmanageable.

Maybe a hornbeam? European or Japanese are more vertical and neat than the American hornbeam. It's very tolerant of pruning so you can have it trimmed to the size and shape that you want it to be.

Hornbeam not evergreen.

Ligustrum Japonicum Variegated Tree is your man. Fab trees and although evergreen the foliage is pretty and light coloured so not dark and dingy.

OP asked for either evergreen or very branchy, hornbeams are definitely very branchy, I have one and it's still very dense even without leaves.

Mountain Ash trees are very 'branchy' and get leaves early in the season and keep them late.

If you look for a tree with maximum spread 3m and height about 4-5m you'll have plenty of choice.

Mountain Ash would be a good bet as a pp said, they do lose their leaves in winter but they are branchy so would interfere with views even if not fully blocking them. See also smaller varieties of Crab Apple where you get blossom, fruit for the birds and autumn colour.

Loads of info there. I'm going to have a proper research in to them. I'll report back in Sunday.

How close do you anticipate planting it to the pavement and wall?

At 8 feet/3m from your building, you definitely need to avoid hornbeam, even the Frans Fontaine cultivar will fill that space. Look at Crategeous monogyna 'Stricta', Cornus mas or Sorbus aucuparia 'Fastigiata'.