What makes a good screening tree?
Many people already have a fence surrounding their property, commonly around 6ft tall. Whilst this acts to separate land and show boundaries, if you have overlooking buildings and windows the fence alone may not offer you the screening you would like.
Stilted screening is therefore a great way to add some green interest to your garden and give strategically placed cover, using trees to offer extra privacy without compromising on look.
Here at Barcham, we offer a range of screening trees that are suitable for just that, and whilst they each offer slightly different qualities, they are all perfect for providing a defined, yet unobtrusive barrier between neighbours. Our most popular choices are:
Ligustrum japonicum (Privet tree)
Usually grown as a shrub, we have the Ligustrum japonicum as standard trees. Privet has dense dark green foliage and are technically semi-evergreen so can defoliate should the temperature drop to around -10c for a prolonged period of time.
Interest is brought to privet trees in the autumn in the form of small white flowers and it also thrives in most free-draining soil types. We also stock the Ligustrum lucidum Excelsum Superbum – Variegated tree privet which is notably a brightening choice for any garden with its part creamy yellow leaves.
Find out more about this privet tree here.
Photinia fraseri Red Robin
These leaves emerge a glorious red contrasting with the trees existing greenfoliage. Like the Ligustrum, clusters of tiny white flowers are born in late spring making the Photinia a real feature in a garden at this time of year.
Read more here
Prunus laurocerasus Novita and Prunus laurocerasus Causcasica (Laurel)
Laurel hedges are seen regularly throughout the UK however rarely as stilted hedging which our trees can be used for. We have two varieties of Laurel available, the Prunus laurocerasus Novita and Prunus Caucasica – both with large glossy green leaves for an all year round cover.
These trees all respond well to pruning undertaken at the right time of year to shape and encourage new growth. Mid-late spring is usually optimum time for best results.
We are often asked about the recommended planting distance for stilted screening trees from one another. The answer – it is entirely dependent on how instant you would like to formulate a screen and how much you are looking to spend to do so. 1m planting centres will offer a fairly instant privacy; 1.5m will leave small gaps between the trees which should fill out in 1-2 years from planting and so on.
More screening advice
Screening is a great way to add privacy to your garden without the need of an existing fence or wall. We have more guides listed below that can give you a better insight into picking your screening trees.
Still can't find what you are looking for? Give us a call on 01353 720950 or email us on info@barchamtrees.co.uk