Need fast growing, evergreen, hedge in total shade! Help!
ditaroy
16 years ago
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laceyvail 6A, WV
16 years agoRelated Discussions
fast-growing partially shaded evergreen screen recommendations?
Comments (12)Thank you for these many kind thoughts. I do love the Chamaecypari nootkatensis pendula -- we put one in the front of our house -- but thought the cost of a bunch of these would be prohibitive. On the other hand, no solution will be inexpensive and at least the one we put in under similar conditions seems happy. The one hemlock I have planted has been attacked by the adelgid already, despite dormant oil sprays. Has anyone had experience with the adelgid-eating beetle, and doesn't that seem like a risky intervention? Easy to imagine bamboo escaping my control and then we'll be living on something like the set of Apocalypse Now. American holly is great, but have already had some leaf miner adventures with our two. Granted that was dealt with pretty easily. Some Thuja nigra in the front are doing well, in full sun. A mix of the trees you all have mentioned would be best, but have trouble visualizing a good "rhythm" of alternating species -- threes and fives? Some pointy, some pendula? Some colors especially successful when juxtaposed? If a particularly nice combination comes to mind that you have seen, please mention it. Grateful for your good thoughts and suggestions. Lynn...See MoreSuggestions for Fast Growing Tall Evergreen Hedge/Screen
Comments (16)Thanks everyone for the feedback!! I bit the bullet and just finished planting 3 Leyland Cypress. I know it will be a chore to keep them in check if I do hedge them and I have the enough garden space to allow the growth. Actually, I think this is the first time I have planted something this large. They will add some dimension to the garden which is a plus. I do have one more question: When I took them out of the pots and removed the ties and burlap, they were in heavy clay type soil and not a lot of roots. They were in 3.5 gallon containers. The growth is about 3 feet high and wide. I loosened and removed some to most of the soil. Is this normal to have so little roots?...See MoreFast Growing Evergreen Privacy Hedge
Comments (3)It depends some on your dog, but I wouldn't count on a hedge to keep a dog in. At the least it will need a wire mesh fence in the inside of the hedge to keep the dog contained until the plants grow together. Even a well grown, mature hedge may have some gaps near the base which a dog could slide through, so it may continue to need a wire fence for the first two or three feet. This request may be a bit of a problem: "shaped like a box (not spherical and not pyramidal)" since in order to maintain dense foliage near the bottom of a hedge, you will need to taper it some so that the upper parts of the hedge don't shade out the lower parts of the hedge. To maintain a boxy tapered shape rather than a more rounded shape will require pruning to give you flat sides. Do you have deer? If not, there are forms of Thuja occidentalis that will stay shorter and will grow together to make a good hedge. I don't personally have experience with how they take to pruning since I like my plants unpruned for the most part. I have 'Sunkist' (green-gold) which will be easy to maintain in the 6'-10' range for quite some time based on mine as they seem to have slowed considerably at about 5'. I bought plants in the fall of 2007 at about 3'. As individual plants they are a bit floppy in heavy snow/ice situations, but that may be less of an issue with a hedge. 'Techny' is dark green and grows to 10'-15', and I have seen photos of it pruned into a hedge. I planted mine at about 4' in the fall of 2007 and they are about 6' now. I imagine that you can find other selections of this native evergreen that are dwarf in size compared to the regular species (which grows to around 40'.) If you have deer issues they aren't a good choice, but in my heavily wooded rural area, they haven't been bothered. spring 2010 From evergreen shrubs spring 2014 From evergreen shrubs Another possible choice to look into is a really hardy Rhododendron, though they will have a more rounded form and IMO don't look great pruned into boxy shapes and will make a more gently flowing shaped hedge. They will have the added benefit of spring flowers if you don't prune them. In really cold weather they don't provide a lot of sight privacy since the leaves tend to curl up, but most folks don't require a lot of privacy when the temperatures are below 15 degrees. The link below will take you to a search page from the American Rhododendron Society which allows you to put in height preferences. On left side of photoPJM rhododendrons in 3/4 shade (so not as dense as full sun,) about 5' at 6 or 7 years in the ground from >1' when planted. From evergreen shrubs You could ask this question on the shrub forum or the conifer forum for other suggestions beyond what you get here. It also might be worth visiting local nurseries (not big box stores which often have poor or inaccurate info and plants that may not be hardy here) to see what they have in stock that would fit your requirements. They could most probably order more to complete your hedge as it will take a rather large number of plants. Here is a link that might be useful: Rhododendron Plant Search...See MoreEvergreen, fast growing, shade.. is this possible?
Comments (13)I apologize in advance for how long this answer is going to be. I hope it will be helpful. The truth is that the best way to have success is to put the RIGHT PLANT IN THE RIGHT PLACE. I have learned this the hard way over the decades. SOIL: First, consider your soil. You need to figure out if it is clay, sand, silt, loam or a mixture of these. Visiting the Soil and Compost Forum is a great place to learn how to test your soil and what you can do to "fix it" if it needs help. How deep is the soil? If you have a fairly thin layer of soil on top of a lot of rock, you will have a harder time getting plants to grow there. It won't be impossible because there are many plants that will grow in shallow soil, but it will be more challenging. Also, do you have any idea what the pH of your soil is? There are some plants that grow fastest in alkaline soil, some grow fastest in acid soil, and some--like red cedar--seem to grow anywhere. And, how well does your soil drain? For example, parts of my red clay soil will have puddles for DAYS after a heavy rain. Other areas drain much more quickly. If you have land that stays waterlogged you must use plants that can handle periodically wet soil. GROWING CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS Have you or will you amend the soil or will you leave it in its natural state? How often are you willing to irrigate? If you are in extremely challenging conditions (say, either very rocky, very sandy or vary clay-y soil) and want to keep irrigation to a minimum, you should go with trees or shrubs that are native to your part of the state as they have proven adaptable to the conditions there. If you choose to go to the trouble to amend your soil, which is best done by adding organic material like compost, peat moss, manure, shredded bark mulch, etc., then it would be better if you mulched your new shrub beds heavily so grass won't creep in and compete with your shrubs or trees. This will ensure faster growth of your hedge. Also, when deciding what to plant, consider whether you want a formal hedge that will require lots of pruning, etc. or if you want to grow shrubs or trees in their natural form. Knowing what you want will help you decide the spacing of your plants. For example, shrubs that will be kept in a tightly pruned formal hedge should probably be planted closer together than those that will grow in their natural form. Will you plant a monpculture of one type of tree or shrub or a mixed border of diffent types? The main problem with a monoculture is that if disease ever strikes it can move right along your row of plants and harm or kill every one of them. With a mixed planting, you will have more of a chance of long-term success. OK, now here are some plant suggstions: HOLLIES...there is a holly for every growing condition out there. They are very hardy, very disease resistant and grow fairly quickly. Most grow equally well in sun or shade. Some forms grow more quickly than others. Some of the best hollies for a screen/hedge are: Nellie R. Stevens, yaupon, Burford and willowleaf (needlepoint). These are all Japanese hollies. If you have acidic soil, other hollies might do well for you, such as the blue hollies, which usually require morning shade and afternoon sun in hot climates. American hollies like Savannah might do well for you also. The hollies should be planted 5 to 6 feet apart to allow them to reach their full natural height and width. PHOTINIAS: I lived in Texas most of my life and only moved to Oklahoma six years ago. In Texas the most common shrub hedge seems to be Red-Tipped Photinia. It grows quickly BUT has severe problems with Entomosporium leaf spot. This fungal disease can stunt the growth of Photinias and even kill them. That said, I have not seen Entomosporium leaf spot in any Photinias in Oklahoma but that doesn't mean it isn't here. Chinese Photinia is a older plant and seems more disease resistant, and it gets HUGE, but it very hard to find. Cedar Here in Oklahoma, Eastern Red Cedar grows in any kind of soil and with no irrigation. They are fast-growing. However, if you are in an EXTREMELY rural area, be careful about using them. They burn like crazy and, if you're in a rural or semi-rural area where grass fires are a persistent threat, they could be a hazard. Other possibilities for you are: Southern Wax Myrtle (if you want height get the tall one, not the dwarf one) Mine have from from 3-gallon size to about 12 feet in 3 years. They are sort of open and airy though and you might want something more dense. Cherry Laurel (invasive in some areas) ligustrums or privet if they are cold-hardy in your zone eleagnus (here they are bothered by spider mites, but are very fast-growing) Euonymus (but they must have good air circulation or will get powdery mildew) TREES Some trees make a good screen. However, many of them are not evergreen. Magnolias come to mind but aren't really fast-growing. The same is true of live oaks. Ashe junipers (Juniperus ashei) can grow right out of rock it seems, so if you have rocky soil or shallow soil on top of rock, it would probably do well for you, as would just about any juniper (Eastern Red Cedar is a juniper). With the right soil you could grow evergreen pines like Loblolly, Ponderosa, long-leaf, rocky mountain juniper, or Blue Douglas fir if your summers aren't too hot. And Blue Spruce may be an option for you if your summers aren't too hot. OTHER OPTIONS If your neighbor is easily bothered, a good hedge might not help enough. You know the saying "good fences make good neighbors"? Well, a wooden privacy fence might be your answer if such fences are allowed where you live. (Some homeowner's associations prohibit them). You also could put up a wire or chain-link fence and grow vines on it. However, (and there again this depends on your neighbor) some "neighbors" don't like it if "your" vines are on a common fence between their property and yours. I like the idea of native shrubs, but the ones I grow are not evergreen so probably wouldn't be what you want. Good luck. Got questions? Let me know. Dawn...See Morediggingthedirt
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9 years agoDave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
9 years ago
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