4' tall boxwood hedge - Green Velvet or Green Mountain?
Laura twixanddud - SE MI - 5b
9 years ago
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years agomad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Old Boxwood Hedge - Would like Assistance-pic heavy
Comments (6)Thanks Greenman28. I'll post more pics as I do stuff to it. Paul3636, I have mine in a large pot too... I'm going to leave it for a while and make sure it's recovered from its uprooting... but I'm thinking of separating all three. I think the tree on the far left of pic #3 would make a nice Literati style. What do you guys think? I used Photoshop to try to show you what I had in mind... Of course the top will need some more work than just bending down and shortening. I may just trim out some smaller branches to thin out the top so more light gets in and I get more back budding. Do you have pics of yours Paul? here's my idea for the right tree...See MoreShrub Advice; 5 - 9' tall, evergreen, green, red berries
Comments (8)Hi: I've not been impressed with the look of viburnums in online pics; might have to rethink them. I have thought about evergreen Rhododendrons and might use some. Our soil pH is fairly close to neutral, as I recall. I don't want to completely hide the fence; that type of fence needs patching up from time to time, and I'm pretty good-sized; trying to crawl through a dense hedge would be a but much. I don't mind seeing some fence here and there; the shrubs through break it up & distract the eye from it. We have a septic tank & leach field the side of which extends out maybe to that last Euonymus bush (and then runs across the yard, not long-ways); I don't want things that get way high, since I figure their rooting systems will be more elaborate. Since the fence is about 5'4" tall, a shrub or small tree needing be very tall, and since many shrubs are about as wide as tall, I'm leery of getting big stuff. Basically, I like planting shrubs 2 or 3 feet from the fence; I don't want to have to plant 5 or 6' out from the fence, and take up a lot of yard space. The shrub row will also look strange if some shrubs are 4 - 6' tall, and a couple are 20' holly trees, for example. Hence my preference for a pyramidal short holly, rather than a round bush (plus I like the pyramidal look better). The Emerald Green Arborvitae get 12 - 14' tall, they say, but are there for a reason; kind of like I'm holding my hand up to block the view of that dog kennel. Richard....See MoreWhen to prune new boxwood hedge?
Comments (16)Ok, two years ago planted a hedge of Green Gem boxwood. Planted them so they touched, they were already decent size at the time, maybe a little over 1 foot tall and wide. Big mistake. Huge. This year, they were not happy, had some browning either due to winter damage, retarded root growth, or lack of water. Take your pick, could be any reason, we neglected them last year due to other priorities. We also had them too close to the retaining wall, could have been root exposure. In any case, we were being impatient and planted them too close. We dug them up, a chore, but the burlap was still intact - the roots hadn't even established. We removed one from each row to allow more room for growth. We also added compost to the soil. Normally, I would not prune any plant at planting time, but these had so many dead branches because they were packed so tight, we had no choice. So, we trimmed them down to a low hedge. I would say, space them properly if you can, you will be rewarded in the long run. In my experience, in my zone, Boxwood have done fairly well for me as far as growth rate, and I have clay soil. I have some in shade, some in most full sun, and aside from my overpacked hedge, they've all done wonderfully. In other words, they will grow faster than you might expect. Ideally, in future years, it is appropriate to prune/hedge boxwood in mid june, no later than mid July to give them time to harden off before winter. Also boxwood like to go to sleep for the winter with wet feet - I run a soaker hose mid November - this is the last of the moisture they will receive. I protect mine from the sun with pine sprigs in the winter months, or burlap works fine, and I spray them with wilt pruf in November after watering to help the foliage retain moisture. I have Green Velvet - love it, nice mound shape. Green Gems are more compact, they have done well for me. I also have green mountain, takes to shearing/hedging well, but will also grow into a nice upright form if left to grow naturally. My Green Velvet, on the north face of my home reached a nice mature height going on the fourth year - BEAUTIFUL. I have planted two more, for a set of three. Love them. Water daily for the first two weeks after transplanting, then weekly until well established, for the first two years....See MoreGreen Velvet boxwood
Comments (6)jmark, The rule is a plant or shrub is safe in a pot 2 hardiness zones lower than being in the ground. So, your hardiness zone is 6. The boxwoods hardiness zone is down to 4. So, you are fine to either plant it in the ground if you want, or leave it outside in a pot. Either way, your fine. If you want to leave it outside, you can dig a little hole for each bottom of each pot, and stick it in the hole. You can also mulch it a bit if you want. They like sun, so I would keep it in a nice sunny place, and if you don't get rain or snow for 12-14 days in a row over the winter, water it. Good choice in shrub by the way, they are nice plants....See Morehortster
9 years agoLaura twixanddud - SE MI - 5b
9 years agohortster
9 years agoCat
8 years ago
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