Fruit tree hedge bad idea

When we moved here the land behind us was paddocks that was being developed into housing.  What was paddocks filled with sheep is now rather ugly and brand new housing that seem to change owners almost annually.  

People can see into our windows at night, and over summer the heat of the day radiates as if it is a hot plate.  We decided to plant a hedge to screen it off so we could have windows open at night without people being able to see in our windows, and to hopefully block some of the heat.  

We decided to plant fruit trees for the hedge.  Why plant a tree and get nothing from it?  We knew fruit trees would lose leaves over winter, but figured we mostly had curtains closed over winter so that should not be too much of a problem.  We planted two different apples, a peach, and a nectarine because these grow well in this climate and I like their fruit. 

Our trees are established now, and over summer they do a great job of screening off the shanty town behind us.  In spring they are covered in blossom and look incredible.  It blocks a surprising amount of heat over summer.  

It is good to share what works for me, it is also good to share what does not work for me so people can learn from my mistakes.  Even with all the benefits, I regret planting this hedge. 

View from fence towards house, windows nicely protected

View from house - can't see the houses back there

If I had a chance I would never have planted a deciduous fruit tree hedge.  If you are thinking of planting a fruit tree hedge, I would advise against it.  

Over winter there are no leaves.  We knew this and figured that would be fine because curtains are closed at night.  We were wrong, it isn't fine.  During the day we sit on our deck and eat lunch in the sun, and we can see the houses behind us.  Sunny winter days we have curtains open, and the street behind can see in unimpeded.  

Pruning a hedge is very different to pruning to get fruit.  I currently prune part way between the two methods, we get less fruit and have a less dense hedge.  To be honest, pruning this hedge is a pain.  

Pruning fruit trees for fruit is simple, pruning a hedge for privacy is simple, pruning this mess to be both hedge and produce fruit is harder and takes a lot more time than it should.  Admittedly we do get fruit from this, but not very much.

Deciduous fruit trees were a poor choice for a hedge.

Fruit tree hedge from the side

Someone suggested we should have planted a citrus hedge as they are evergreen and provide fruit.  This was considered, but decided against as most citrus don't survive well here without protection.  We have a meyer lemon next to the house, it is well protected and gets heat from the brick wall at night.  They would not cope well out in my yard like this with no protection.  That being said, they might work well in warmer climates.  

Someone suggested feijoa.  I think that would take far too long to reach a decent height as they grow slow here.  I planted a feijoa tree at the same time as these apples and stone fruit.  The feijoa is only about 5 feet tall.  A house down the road had a feijoa hedge near their fence, it was never dense, and never grew more than chest tall.  I have seen really tall feijoa at other places.  Feijoa survive and fruit well here, but perhaps the conditions are too harsh here for them to reach their height potential.  Or maybe the larger feijoa I have seen were just older.  There is a feijoa hedge in a park near where I work, it is old and looks ok as a hedge, but it is too short and produces next to no fruit each year.  It seems like feijoa are not suitable as a tall hedge in my climate.  

Another person suggested Chilean guava (Myrtus ugni) as a hedge.  I can't imagine a hedge of these, they are too short.  I planted one around the same time as the fruit trees, it is only a bit over knee high, maybe waist high.  Some years it grows well, others it dies back and gets smaller.  I have never seen one over a meter tall.  I looked online and it is says they only grow 1 meter to 2 meters.  If you want a short edible hedge then I think rosemary would be a better choice.   

Things like olives are slower growing and are a bit too scraggly to work well as a hedge unless they are well cared for.  Loquat are also slow growing, and not dense enough to hedge well here without a lot of work.  

These plants may work well as hedges in other climates, but they wouldn't work well as hedges in my garden.

Short edible hedges of things like rosemary or lavender would work, but anything taller seems to be more work and less effective than a non-edible hedge.  

If you want to plant a tall hedge and live in an area of cool winters, then fruiting trees may not be your best option.  Perhaps learning from my mistake would be wise.  If you really want to plant a deciduous fruiting hedge, go for it.  Perhaps you will work out a better way to prune, or perhaps you will make better choices of fruiting plants.