A cherry blossom - or another - to obscure view into front room

[NewspaperTaxis]

Decades ago, the family home had a cherry blossom. There are many along our street in Surrey. Right now they are at their prime but our one bit the dust a long time ago. One advantage was, we have one of those houses where passers-by can just gaze in to the front room. I think the cherry blossom deterred that - and also blocked the sun which is very intense in the morning.

But here's the problem - a good many cherry blossoms would not do this. You'd have the trunk, then the branches come out higher so it wouldn't necessarily make any difference to blocking the passer by's view. There's no guarantee.

Neighbours often go for magnolias but I don't like them so much and they do seem to grow quite large, plus I'd like to revert to tradition. Thing is, is there any way of buying a medium tree that is likely to do what I want or is that an AIBU situation. You get cherry blossom bushes of a kind but it seems we don't want that really.

On top of this, is it a home insurance risk? Often they want to know if you have a tree within 25ft of the house. This one would be.

Any thoughts?

1. You can order a tree by trunk height. It would have to be a grafted specimen.
2. Ask a specialist nursery for recommendations for max height / spread for a non grafted.

Ashridge Trees. Majestic. Architectural Plants. These would be my first call.

Weeping pears are gorgeous and screen well, because their branches trail down too the ground, if you can be persuaded away from a cherry.

to not too!

I have a weeping cherry in my front garden for this exact reason. It blocks the view into our house but still lets light through. It does need a haircut once a year but is very low maintenance and looks incredible when it’s in blossom.

Hmm, I don’t know how that would obscure the view into the front room,unless the front room isn’t at ground level? it would surely be just the trunk ultimately as the tree grows in height and that would block nothing.

I’d also go for something ever green to do the job properly.

can you not plant a hedge?

A dwarf variety (weeping would work)

Where I am many horses have pleached limes at window height to block sun and nosy passersby. They're deciduous so you don't lose the light & warmth in winter

If it is one window, I'd go for a multi stem Amelanchier. Which means you can cut back stems that get too thick or tall and keep it as a light blocker and you get great flowers, blackbirds love the berries in June and the leaves go red in autumn. Lovely plant.

We had a crab apple tree which did the job. No idea on the variety though as it came with the house.

Netherlands? It’s pleaching central there, isn’t it?

Yup! Although anyone planting one in front of a tiny city new build is considered a bit pretentious. More in keeping for cute farms, old manor houses and mansions.

These grow to about 25 foot so unlikely to do the job.

even a dwarf tree wouldn’t obscure view as they have small width as well.

non invasive bamboo would do it. But I’m struggling to think of many ever greens that would be of sufficient height and width to obscure view into a ground floor room.

Another vote for a multi-stemmed amelanchier here, also:
Judas tree (cercis siliquastrum)
Wedding cake tree (viburnum plicatum Mariesii)
Red hawthorn (crataegus laevigata 'Pauls Scarlet')

or good old-fashioned net curtains 😂

Pittosporum Silver Sheen?

Amalanchier multistem. As mature as you can afford. We have one in our front garden, flowers in spring. However bare branches in winter. Witch hazel is in leaf all year round. Again try and get a mature one if you can afford it.

Thanks for these answers. I will have a look at them online and see. I think the weeping cherry blossom might be a bit much though I follow the logic of it. It brings out the brigadier general in me, it reminds me of one of the elephants on parade who need a haircut in The Jungle Book!

How about a Japanese Acer? They come in lots of sizes, many stay small so the foliage remains at window level.

Having said that, we have the same problem (front of house close to the street) and I just planted a Portuguese laurel hedge as I want to completely block the street view. Now I just need to wait for it to fill up…

OP, in case it's helpful - we have a hedge for screening and then a cherry tree planted in the front garden, about 2 metres in from the hedge, 3 metres from our window.

We get all the blossom and the loveliness, and then the hedge screens nosy passer-byes. Win-win?

FWIW it's a grafted dwarf variety which is meant to grow to max 2.5m tall.

What about a flamingo willow?

You can grow winter flowering cherry - Prunus × subhirtella'Autumnalis' - like a shrub. It flowers all winter in mild weather and properly in spring and has smaller leaves that turn orangey yellow in the autumn.

It is my favourite cherry. We have a tree sized one that beats the one the neighbours planted, next to it, hands down for flowering.