Pleached Trees & Garden Screening

Pleached trees are trees trained so their branches grow flat along a frame, on top of a clear, straight stem. Planted in a line, they make a leafy screen that sits above a fence or wall. That is the height where neighbours' windows usually look in, and the fence alone cannot hide it.

Because the screen is held up on stems, the ground underneath stays free. You can plant, edge or keep a hedge below, and the trees take up far less room than a tall hedge or a row of conifers.

What pleached tree planting involves

Choosing the trees

Some pleached trees lose their leaves in winter, such as hornbeam and lime. Others keep them all year, such as photinia, holm oak and cherry laurel. We talk through which suits your garden, how high the screen needs to sit and how wide each panel should be.

Setting out the line

Marking where each tree goes so the frames meet up into one continuous screen, and checking the spacing against the length of the boundary.

Planting and staking

Digging the planting pits, setting each tree at the right height and level, and staking and tying it so it stays upright while the roots establish.

Tidying up

Pots, soil and packaging cleared away, and the trees watered in.

Before we plant

• We ask what you want to hide from, and stand where you sit, so the screen goes at the height that actually matters.
• We check for underground services, drains and footings along the planting line.
• We agree the trees, the number and the height in writing before anything is ordered.