Recommendations please

[jb21]

we are looking to buy a fully grown tree to block out some neighbours.

We want it max 10ft but wide and thick with green all year - any colour in summer a bonus too

thanks!

 

[Marck]

Greetings, welcome to the Forums.

At ten feet this is a very small tree or a good-size shrub. To actually keep it around ten feet, annual pruning will be required. When pruning, consider making thinning cuts that will replace any overly tall branches with new limbs each year. This will give the tree/shrub a more natural silhouette than hedging. If you want something with summer flowers, pruning should mostly be done in the Fall.

Is the planting site full to part sun? if so, consider English Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) or for more showy flowers, perhaps Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem'. The blooms are spectacular, but flowering must be considered when deciding when and how to prune.
Of course, there are other options: evergreen privets (Ligustrum), hollies (Ilex), conifers. etc.

If the site is a shadier spot, consider a Rhododendron or Camellia. Flowers will mostly be in Spring, but beautiful all the same.

 

[jb21]

thank you for your response. I am ideally looking for a tree as opposed to shrubs if possible..

 

[DirtMechanic]

Magnolia. Great flowers, and many are evergreen. Not that tall in many cases, but some will spread with rhizomes and can be as wide as you wish.

 

[Marck]

Yes, I understand. You want a ten foot tall plant shaped like a lollipop. That is what I meant about pruning. The difference between such a small, evergreen tree and a shrub is mostly pruning and training. All the plants mentioned in my previous post could be trained and pruned to be a shrub, a multi-trunk tree, or a single-trunk tree. Such trained single-trunk trees are often called 'standards'.

When you go shopping for your tree. Look for plants that have been trained to have a single trunk.
For it to come already ten feet tall from ground level, you may need to buy a boxed tree, though sometimes 15 or 20 gallon potted trees are that tall.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Yes, I understand. You want a ten foot tall plant shaped like a lollipop. That is what I meant about pruning. The difference between such a small, evergreen tree and a shrub is mostly pruning and training. All the plants mentioned in my previous post could be trained and pruned to be a shrub, a multi-trunk tree, or a single-trunk tree. Such trained single-trunk trees are often called 'standards'.

When you go shopping for your tree. Look for plants that have been trained to have a single trunk.
For it to come already ten feet tall from ground level, you may need to buy a boxed tree, though sometimes 15 or 20 gallon potted trees are that tall.

Did Horton hear a who?