Readyhedge is known for being a grower of high quality instant hedging but did you know that we also grow nearly 1000 pleached trees each year. Starting with a feathered tree our team of skilled staff train the trees onto a bamboo frame and then grow them on for at least one growing season before they are offered for sale.
The team grow over 10 different species in both evergreen and deciduous and with clear stem heights from 0-180cm.
So how do pleached trees work?
Pleached trees are an amazing addition to a garden and allow for screening to over 3 metres, especially when planted next to a fence or a wall. Having the clear stem allows for the beauty of a natural wall to be seen or the opportunity for decorative planting underneath. While pleached trees are most often used along a boundary to give extra privacy, they can also be used to great effect as free standing features and can be seen in some well known formal gardens in Britain, commonly forming avenues or framing linear water features.
It is hard to pick a favourite out of the trees that we grow at Readyhedge, but we feel the three below are the best deciduous and evergreen screening panels that we grow.
Readyhedge Top Three Deciduous Pleached Trees
Carpinus betulus (Hornbeam)
The Hornbeam is one of the most versatile hedging plants that you can find and as a pleached tree it is just as good. Happy growing in all soil types, this variety will perform reliably every year. With lovely fresh green leaves in the spring and retaining a proportion of its old leaves during the winter, it is a great all rounder. With at least a 150cm clear stem, when grown as an aerial screen you get to see the amazing buttresses of the stem, which are normally hidden when grown as hedging. Due to its ease of growth this is the perfect variety to choose for areas where aftercare may be limited.
Pyrus cal. Chanticleer (Ornamental Pear)
This is a very underrated tree. While it is deciduous, it is one of the last trees to lose its leaves on the nursery, regularly still having leaves in December before coming back into the leaf very early as well. It also has copious quantities of white flowers in the spring which are already fully out this year (early March), which are then followed by the leaves.
While it is a member of the Pear family it does not often set fruit and when it does they are very small and insignificant. The flowers in the spring are amazing but in the Autumn, it’s fiery colour is breathtaking and on a good year could nearly rival the Japanese maples for its colour.
Liquidamber Worplesdon (Sweet Gum)
Often confused with the Japanese Maples due to its five lobed leaves, it has a similar autumn colour. The leaves are large and lobed and come out a fresh green in the late spring and if crushed they give out a sweet menthol/eucalyptus scent. Having large leaves means that this type always seems to give you good coverage and privacy from a young age, which can make it a very good choice if you don’t want to wait for an established tree. To add to its beauty, the older branches and trunk can have a corky winged appearance.
Readyhedge Top Three Evergreen Pleached Trees
Prunus lau. Novita
A form of Cherry or Common Laurel, this large leaf evergreen is a great all purpose screening tree. Suitable for nearly all areas and soil types it will happily grow a good dense head. Regular pruning is required to keep it looking at its best as well as removing the white candle like flowers as they fade if you do not want it to produce fruit.
Prunus lus. Angustifolia (Portugal Laurel)
As a standard hedge the Portugal is a firm favourite due to its ability to be trimmed up into formal shapes and dense look. As a pleached tree it is no different and just as stunning. If a high class finish is required this is the go to tree.
Quercus ilex (Holm Oak)
An evergreen British native oak tree with a different grey green leaf, the Holm Oak is very slow to get going and to form a screen but when it does it is amazing. We grow a limited number of these and normally only get up to about a 120cm clear stem. They require some patience and imagination on behalf of a client but for those with the foresight they will be rewarded with a dense pleached tree that is capable of being trimmed up into a very formal finish if that is what is required
Whichever final look you want to achieve and garden space you’re working with, Readyhedge has a whole host of pleached tree options for you. It’s always worth getting in touch and speaking to the team, as we often have various options of some varieties that will not necessarily appear on the website and possibly not even the stock list.
Get in touch with the team here, we can’t wait to hear from you!