hedging around chain fence

lavinpatrick3

Hi just had my wood panel fence blown down by the storms. Am thinking of replacing with a chain link fence & planting young cherry laurels next to it. The idea is to have a large hedge eventually but need the security of the fence while plants establish. Any advice or alternatives?

pansyface

With its natural height being around twenty feet or more, a cherry laurel hedge will certainly provide you with “big”. Whether you are up to keeping it in check, if twenty feet is not quite what you had in mind, only you know.😊

Fairygirl

Hi @lavinpatrick3. I'd agree with @pansyface that cherry laurel gets very big, and not just vertically, so you need a decent amount of room to accommodate it and get the best result from it.
There are plenty of alternatives, like Beech, Hornbeam and good ol' Privet, as well as Yew, Holly and Thuja. There are also things like Eleagnus, Berberis, Pyracantha and Mahonia. All will provide dense cover and will get to a good size, some more quickly than others.
It really comes down to your soil conditions and climate, and how much time you want to spend in maintenance 

lavinpatrick3

looking at a chain link of approx 6ft tall & would want the laurels to reach just over at @ 8ft & keep it at that height. Not in great rush for the screening as such. Not sure whether to go for the small pot grown ones @ 90 cm or 3-4 foot bare roots. Not a huge difference price wise if i get to the desired height a bit quicker. Do bare root ones fail very often?

pansyface

Before you go rushing off to the shops, spare a moment to read what Monty Don has to say about cherry laurel.