Fast growing tree or bamboo?

C

chabsey

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I'm looking to solve a problem with a sloped 100ft+ garden running from a house down to a small road. Currently there's a loose hedge of brambles running the length of this road-border. Although this is a quiet road (maybe 5 cars an hour) it means people in the cars can see in and people can see and hear the cars. Not a huge deal but something I'd like to remedy if possible.

It can get quite marshy if it rains a lot (this despite being on a slope) and ideally I'd like something that would help absorb some of this water. I know Willows grow fast and are thirsty trees but I'm not sure of how well they would obscure / mute sounds. Assuming willows are like normal trees I'd eventually have bare tree trunks for a few feet, before any canopy / coverage, or am I wrong?

Bamboo, we've already planted elsewhere and it basically forms a thick, year round visual and sound barrier which is great. I'm not sure it does well in damp soil though, and it costs quite a bit more than willow. I also don't know how quickly it would grow / spread in that location. Would it be much slower than willow?

Given that the height to produce an impact would only need to be 5-6ft and given that I'm looking for results ideally within a couple of years, what plant / tree would people recommend?
 
The "Alder" is your answer and they're a real native, they also love the ground you have. If you find out where they're growing, maybe ask the owner and you can dig up some small growths of them, just replant the small tree growth and in no time at all you'll have trees. When they get going, they can easily grow 3/4 ft plus a year, but they lose their leaves in the winter. When we lived in Ireland, the west, they were very plentiful. Some of the old handimen used them to make furniture.
 
Excellent thanks, out of interest do they have a reputation for invasive roots? Can't imagine it'll be a problem where it's located but just to be sure.
 
Range of Alder trees available from futureforests, though I would question the whole idea of sowing deciduous trees for cover and of sowing large trees anywhere near a house because of them eventually blocking light. An evergreen hedge would be my choice.
 
Thanks for the info, regarding a hedge alternative has anyone got any recommendations? Something fast growing (ideally growing upwards more than outwards as I'd like to not have to trim them back from the road regularly) and dense?

Thanks
 
Berberis Darwinii , makes a dense hedge,left to it,s own grows to 12 feet, lovely Spring flowers , fully frost hardy.Would need trimmed @road side every year.
Most evergreen trees are inclined to grow too tall and end up bare at the base.
Alder doesn,t have great roots and if they get tall ,just cut some down and they regrow .
 
Thanks for the quick reply, it looks nice but I'm not sure if that hedge is good for damp soil though, and the prickly aspect wouldn't be ideal.
 
Portuguese Laurel will grow in wet soil as will Cherry or Spotted laurel. They grow at a rate of about 18" to 2' per year . You might be able to source mature, root balled, hedging if you want an instant result but the bigger the plants the more you can expect to pay !
 
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