Using tree stumps as posts for privacy screening - height restriction?

[Fidgetbottom]

Hi,

So until very recently I had a row of incredibly tall conifer trees at the back of my garden. They were out of control and had long grown past the point of offering privacy and were now just a complete sun-block.

i.e. The bare trunks were taller than our back neighbours upstairs windows and the actual bushy leafy part started at their roof!

I have since had them cut down, however in a moment of infinite wisdom… I left the stumps (?) at about 3.5m high so I could using the stumps as tall fence posts and attach some kind of screening to them to ensure privacy in my garden.

I have since seen that the rules for privacy screening heights typically cannot exceed 2.5m if you are using it as a fence…. Which I am not sure that technically I am?

Does anyone know if I will fall foul of any regulations by stringing a load of mesh artificial plant screening there?

I was planning on planting some vines (not ivy!) and wiring between the stumps so that it could grow around that but that will take a while to start offering privacy so was thinking of putting the artificial stuff there for the foreseeable.

Am I allowed or is there a better solution?

Many thanks!

Depending on the species they may start to regrow, so I suppose you could always say you'd just pruned them and it definitely wasn't a fence 😄

Well, if anyone complains take it down to the height allowed.

just because the fence posts are rooted into the ground will not stop it being regarded as a fence if you put panels, windbreak fabric or any other type of screening there.

If its a living hedge then thats different.

Fortunuately or maybe unfortunately, there is no chance of these particular trees re-growing!

I would have liked to replace with some dwarf crab apple trees but I doubt they would establish with such a massive amount of existing root structure from the previous trees and I am not in a position to get the roots dug out, let alone possible issues with having that much mass removed and what it would do to the ground.

I'd worry about the logs falling down and xausing damage tbh. I'd still keep them and put them in a dark space of the garden. The creepy crawlys will love em.

So it seems that my best option is to grow something up and between the stumps then, as there would be no height restriction.

I could put temporary screening there whilst I grow whatever it ends up being but I run the risk of a neighbour complaining and having to tear down the artificial stuff.

No worries about them falling, their roots are really deep, those stumps are not going anywhere anytime soon!

On grand

OK even

How about getting the stumps reduced to the correct height and then attaching the screening?

I could reduce the height but I was hoping to block the view of their upstairs windows and I cut them at the height that did, which just so happened to be 3.5m.

I wouldn't think anyone could complain if you just put some plastic netting up and grew some quick climbing plants. I'd go for Clemetis Armandii - evergreen and grows like fury! However the problem would be to find something willing to grow in the extremely poor soil near the stumps (apart from ivy, that is).

Maybe bung some growbags down and plant some sweetpeas as a temporary fix?

I have just looked and I really love the look of the Clematis Armandii you mentioned! It is exactly what I was looking for so thank you very much!

I think I am going to nail some wire to the stumps and get a few of the clematis plants and see if I can get it to grow up the wire.

I am not a keen gardener and this is really my first foray into hopefully developing some sort of green thumb.

Before you buy anything, have a really good dig out around the stumps. Just to make sure you can go deep enough for planting. Remember that vigorous plants normally have extensive root systems.

That’s a good point that I hadn’t thought about. I shall definitely do this before I spend £££ on the climbers. Thank you!

Here's a shot of mine looking down from the upstairs bedroom window a few minutes ago. It flowers anytime from late Feb onwards and has lots of bees on it today.
(Probably the pic will take a few minutes for Mumsnet to approve)

@Speckson

That’s beautiful! Such a pretty colour… How long did it take to grow like that and how much upkeep is it?

I found some on Primrose that are in a 7.5l pot so they are probably already a bit established (even if they are quite expensive). I am thinking it’s worth splashing out on a more grownup plant to cut down the time it will take to get to the height I want.

I disguised a dead tree stump, it was roughly 3m high. I wound some chicken wire round it, and stapled it in. Then I grew a couple of fast growing passion flowers round it. In 2 years I couldn’t see the tree stump, and was having to clip the climber every few months. Now it just looks like a narrow hedge, and it blocks a broken bit of fence very nicely.

Well, the clematis has been there donkey's years now so I don't know how old it is- maybe 30 years? We've lived here for over 40 and it was planted a few years later when we redid our patio. DH mutters about it and gives it a good haircut every year to stop it engulfing the gutters and the living room windows. I'd say the new shoots grow 3 to 4 feet a year, those reddish stems and leaves are all new this spring.
A friend bought one recently and it stretched over a garden arch, quite bushy, after a couple of years.

I never feed it. The roots are under the patio - I was told that they like cool roots... We have heavy clay soil but the friend mentioned above has loam so I suppose it's not fussy?

@shipinfullsail

I am glad I am not the only person who has had the conundrum of tall tree stumps! Beginning t think I had done something crazy but clearly other people have had the same ideas. Haha

I will have a look at passion flowers too. I have 15 of these 3.5m stumps to cover….

@Speckson

I think I am going to pull the trigger on the Clematis, the fact that it doesn’t seem to be fussy, lives ages and grows so fast is perfect for me. it’s down the bottom of our garden so it can go as nuts as it wants, the bigger, the better!

Thank you so much

I think it sounds a lovely idea OP. it's not a fence so I don't think anyone could complain and if so it's easy to deal with.

It’s only an issue if someone complains so sound your neighbours out first.

Thanks everyone. I am going to plant the climbers, it will take a while for them to reach the top of the stumps anyways so I guess I will just grow them and add more wire upwards as they grow.

If anyone complains. (I don’t think they will tbf), I can always cut a bit off the top.

If they are Leylandii stumps they can rot remarkably quickly and potentially become a falling hazard especially with a climber attached that will act like a sail in strong winds.