The Lemon Fool

Hi,

Any suggestions for a large plant / shrub / bush / tree etc which is evergreen, shade tolerent and grows approx 2-3 mtres high by a similar width (although i can plant multiple ones if need be so width not so much of an issue). I was thinking a rhododendron although not sure how well that would cope with a good portion of the day in the shade.

Rhodies have no problem with shade, as they are woodland plants, but they might grow too slowly to the size you want. A Laurel would be much faster, but you'd need to be pruning it every year.

Red Robin (Photinia)

An evergreen shrub which, if not pruned, reaches a height of 4m / 13ft with a similar spread. Red Robin grows at a rate of about 30cm / 1ft per year when established.

Andy46 wrote:Hi,

Any suggestions for a large plant / shrub / bush / tree etc which is evergreen, shade tolerent and grows approx 2-3 mtres high by a similar width (although i can plant multiple ones if need be so width not so much of an issue). I was thinking a rhododendron although not sure how well that would cope with a good portion of the day in the shade.

1. Laurel
2. Blue Ceanothus
3. Pyracantha

AiY

My north facing back garden has Fatsia Japonica https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/7147/fats ... ca/details

I think a Ceanothus would need more light to grow fast enough. I've one in reasonable sun, and its pretty slow there.

The O/Ps desire for 3m might be awkward, as that's too high to prune easily, and all our suggestions for things that would grow quickly to that probably won't stop there.

Do you want the bush to be dense and fast growing in order to hide something? Or just to look attractive throughout the year?

Examples from the shady parts of my garden are laurels with yellow spotted leaves (more interesting than the plain types), Pieris Japonica (there are many varieties, not just Forest Flame), and Camelias are particularly good as they don’t like morning sun when flowering.

Also there are some evergreen Viburnums such as burkwoodiae. Camelias, Rhododendrons need at least a slightly acid soil.

I have a 30 metre Camellia hedge, they were planted one metre apart.
They have grown to approx. 2 metres high, and need light pruning
on the top as I do not want them any higher.
They have a profuse large red flowers every Spring. Other colours are
available, but a strong colour is needed, as the leaves are dark green.
They never see the sun, however, they must have an acid soil to prosper.

They replaced laurel ( no flowers ), which was very fast growing and high maintenance.

HNY

Flint

Viburnums are pretty good and grow fast, but they don't generally exceed 3 metres and can be hacked pretty mercilessly as required. They come in evergreen and deciduous forms, though, so choose the right one. My top choice.

Agreed that laurels are the easiest option, but they'll definitely need chopping once/twice a year. Rhodies, in our experience, will grow surprisingly fast and can be invasive. But then, we have wet soil. (So does Wales, where they have become a pest. )

My wife is particularly fond of an evergreen elaeagnus, which has variegated leaves and is very reliable and easy-care. Copes well with partial shade but doesn't thrive in deep shade. Grows about two feet per year.

BJ

Obviously a Bay Tree....

I'd second a Fatsia Japonica, grows quixkly but is easily pruned, for winter colour may I suggest a Mahonia, our is in full bloom at the moment and grows well in a shady corner.

R6

..

i have made extensive use of griselinia - in west wales .

quite fast growing and dense.

not invasive .

nice bright green.

easy to clip.

takes readily from cuttings .

ive also interspersed it with beech in some hedges which looks decorative .

Andy46 wrote:Any suggestions for a large plant / shrub / bush / tree etc which is evergreen....

Beech is an interesting suggestion from jackdaww. While it's obviously not evergreen, when clipped it retains its leaves through winter.

Trim your beech hedge each August to keep it to the size you want. This late summer trimming allows the hedge to retain its recent flush of new leaves over the winter in a brown, autumnal state, providing year-round screening.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/popular/b ... wing-guide

The OP doesn't say whether they want it to be dense or not, for screening.

Don't plant a mahonia anywhere you plan to hand weed. Those leaves are really spiny and take forever to decay. I had mine up this year, as the pain was too much.

JohnB wrote:The OP doesn't say whether they want it to be dense or not, for screening.

Don't plant a mahonia anywhere you plan to hand weed. Those leaves are really spiny and take forever to decay. I had mine up this year, as the pain was too much.

Dense for screening, low maintenance. I have a long garden which slopes downwards more and more as it gets to the end. At the end is a 6ft retaining wall, beyond that is a road with a house at the other side. I had 3 full grown? sycamore trees in the middle of my strip of land which i wanted to get rid of so that the top third of my garden (which is the only bit i really use, the rest is just overgrown) would get more sunlight but the council only allowed me to get rid of 1. This has now left a gap meaning i can see straight through the bedroom windows of the house below. As there are still two trees there is a lot of shade in the area where i'm looking at planting something to block the view. I'll have a look at the suggestions mentioned in this thread. Thanks

Andy46 wrote:I had 3 full grown? sycamore trees in the middle of my strip of land which i wanted to get rid of so that the top third of my garden (which is the only bit i really use, the rest is just overgrown) would get more sunlight but the council only allowed me to get rid of 1.

That's unlucky. When we had the tree conservation officer in to advise on our ageing birch, he tutted about the sycamores in next door's garden. Nasty non-native invasive species, he said, tell them to get rid of them all as soon as possible, and no need to ask me first.

(Mind you, he said something similar about a sizeable ash, which nowadays would be considered a precious commodity. You can't win.)

So what happened with the birch? We'd called him in to OK a lopping operation that we had planned. But he said it's 80 years old and it's probably rotted out from within. Chop it down before if falls and kills somebody. All I ask is that you replace it with a dwarf variety that won't block your light.

What a sensible chap. We had the birch felled, and it turned out that it was hollow all the way down to the ground. There was nothing but the bark holding it together. We replaced with a smaller variety, and we've lived in peace with it ever since.

BJ

Yew.
Laurel (not the spotted variety)
Fatshedera - needs support.

V8

Hi,

Thanks for the advice. I've ordered Laurel and Red Robin to stick in the space.