Is Leylandii really that awful?

[WildFlowerBees]

We live on the corner with no immediate neighbours either side but behind us we have town houses that overlook our garden. We’ve planted trees etc but the neighbour immediately behind us has a football child and it’s forever coming over. It breaks our bushes, snapped my rose tree etc etc.

Im thinking of creating more of a privacy feel with different hedging one that’s really bushy that a football won’t get through. I know Leylandii can be a pain but I can’t think of anything else that grows as quick.

it won’t block their sun and we’ll plant infront of the fence so it doesn’t impinge too much as grows.

is Leylanii really awful?

We have laurel (no idea what type). It grows fast and is unkillable.

Very bad for wildlife too. I wish it wasn't a thing at all!

Beech, and hornbeam - aren't evergreen, but do hold on to their leaves over winter. I find holly slow growing. I also have a pyracantha hedge - pretty flowers and berries and bloody spiny!

We’ve got some for a privacy hedge in the front of our garden. However we didn’t know once the undergrowth turns brown it will never grow back. As in you cannot hard prune it. Leave it unmanaged for a year and you cannot just prune it back and let it grow again. We’ve now got what looks like a half dead hedge in our front garden but don’t want to have to start again/will cost a fortune to get dug up and replaced with something else.

Different note, I got confused and thought you were referring to a buddleia bush. Reading the comments like ‘they really cause subsistence… they’re not that big/unruly’. Maybe it’s fate, stick to the buddleia ;)

I really like hornbeam beech and holly. Laurel might be the best bet for quick growing but I think it needs pruning fairly regularly. Would like our garden to feel a little more secluded.

It’s awful and a haven for spiders.

Nothing beats it for screening. I have it all along one side of my garden. The height does need to be reduced about every 4/5 years. I actually love it because it provides me with complete privacy on that side of the house.

They are really not at all suitable for any small/medium garden with neighbours close by. They will be great for a few years and then they will cost you a fortune to remove. My mum has 30/40 year only ones but has massive gardens all leading onto fields, no neighbours etc. they are fine there but still can cause bother. A few massive ones have come down in recent years with high winds and yet can be destructive. We have to get one cut down too which is going to cost a fortune 😫

Griselinia, escallonia or Olearia hedging all good options that will grow good and strong but not take over if maintained. I would be weary of Laurel too as it can get very big and woody, tree like.

Something you should factor in is that any hedge is going to use a lot of water and nutrients and cast shade. This might make it hard to grow other plants in your garden. A section of my garden is very hard to grow anything in, even grass, because of a holly hedge.

Our beech hedge is lovely in the winter. The leaves turn a beautiful russet and stay on until the new leaves appear in the spring.

I have several leylandii in giant pots. They have grown much, much more slowly than if they were in the ground. Think they were about 1m when I got them, after six years they're about 2m tall. I cut all the branches at the bottom.