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Oklahoma Gardening

fast privacy hedge

15 years ago

For Kathi:

I have discovered "Chokecherries" which grow quickly, will grow almost anywhere (native type naturalized plant) and are only 5 for $12.95 at Gurney online who right now has a two for one sale so you get 10 for $12.95. They are actually pretty attractive bushy privacy hedge and get to be 20-30 feet. (I'd be happy with 6ft!) I ordered 'two sets' (ten plants) got 11 plants. They were just little 'sticks' with an impressive root system. They budded almost immediately. I ordered 20 more to do the rest of the fenceline. (I'm in the country - its a very long fence). I planted mine about 4-5 feet apart, but I think you could space them 6-8 feet apart and still get a hedge. Since they are 30 ft at 5 years - I expect them to grow about 4 feet a year. My new thing is "edible landscape" for the wildlife. The cherries are supposed to be very tasty but very sour, good for jellies and jams and syrups - loved by wildlife.

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Comments (6)

spademilllane
15 years ago
Blessing:

Do you have any photos of what chokecherry "shrubs" look like in a hedge, or have you seen hedges made of these?

I was intrigued by your idea and looked on google for hedges but didn't really find any that where chokecherry...
tulsabrian
15 years ago
We used choke cherries in tree rows where I grew up in North Dakota. They were never pruned in any way and they do become a thick, busy type of tree. The berries are very tart ... not something you want to eat off the tree ... but they do make a fantastic jam or syrup. Most of those in our tree row were between 15 and 20 feet in height.
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How dense do you want it. For fast dense privacy, you can't beat plain boring Ligustrum japonicum. It's common because it's reliable. It makes a nice dark background for more interesting plants. Prunus caroliniana is pretty dense but you need to tip-prune it to get it really dense. It's pretty fast. They get really tall after a couple of decades. Most of the Pitts tenuifoliums are not super dense. Monrovia has a new introduction called 'Tasman Ruffles' I think that is supposed to be much more dense. Pitts are pretty fast, but not as fast as Ligustrum if watered. They can be a little fussy, and aphids, scale can be a problem. Beautiful, though.
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What kind of sunlight does the area you would plant in get? How tall do you need the hedge to get for you to have the privacy you need? My first though, and many might not like the idea, would be to use lilacs. We had them bordering one side of our yard at our first house and it was the most beautiful thing...and smelled great every May. Common lilacs seem to grow pretty fast but there are other varieties that keep a better shape. Kristy :)
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Memorr, we had exactly the same situation 3 years ago. Now, our backyard is completely private. We created what we refer to as a 'living fence' with mixed borders. The depth of the border and the mix of trees and shrubs varies all around the yard. At one narrow area of the border (about 12' feet deep)we have Cryptomeria japonica (Japanese cedar) with fast growing Hydrangea paniculata 'Quickfire' in between. The Quickfires filled in the space while the cryptomerias were growing in. In another area we staggered Nellie R. Stevens hollies (Ilex x 'Nellie R. Stevens'). This portion is probably also 12' deep (it's raining or I would go out and measure). In front of a row of Viburnum awabuki 'Chindo' (we haven't had a problem with fungus here but it may be different in Florida) we have a 'grove' of 5 Natchez crepe myrtles (Lagerstroemia 'Natchez'). Two other privacy screens were created using Ligustrum japonicum which we keep pruned into a tight hedge. It took 2 years for them to row together. We keep them about 6 1/2 feet high. We need to prune several times a year. In front of one of these hedges, which is close to our patio, we have a row of 'Natchez' crepe myrtles again and a low hedge in front of those.. This made our patio feel very private immediately. The other hedge is an island in the yard in front of which we planted roses and other shrubs. It blocks a view to our neighbors' yard and added to the overall feeling of privacy while the outside 'fence' was growing in. We have been so happy with the results. We did have a landscaper plant the large trees - hollies, cryptomeria, crepe myrtles - because, like you, we didn't want to wait to get results. So, they were all at least 10' tall when they went in. They also planted the ligustrum hedges using shrubs that were about 4' tall. Best money we ever spent! We planted everything else. I will be happy to post some pictures if you're interested. Best of luck to you!
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oldbusy1
15 years ago
Those things grow wild here and i'd like to get rid of them. In the fall when the leaves turn and fall, they are toxic to cattle.Plus the birds like to eat the berries,which means they will scatter the seed and you will have them where you dont want them.
ilene_in_neok
15 years ago
Here's a link with a picture. I ordered some from this place. I like the idea of edible landscaping as well. I have a lot of privet bushes between me and my worst neighbor. I'm thinking about replacing them, gradually, with something edible. I also got a couple each of American Cranberry, Arrowwood Viburnum and False Indigo.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chokecherry
lifesblessings
Original Author
15 years ago
spade ilene's link has a great picture! I like the idea of ordering to help those with disabilities... but if you need a lot of them it appears that the "handling fee and shipping" would add up... would have to do that math: cheap gurney with shipping, or the free site with shipping and handling per ever two chokecherries... If you only needed two the "free site" would be good, if you needed a privacy hedge I think Gurney's might be better because I got 20 for a total of $34.85 with shipping... as far as then naturalizing = I always consider that a plus, since I am trying to do edible landscape for a wildlife habitat on five acres... I mow where I want to go. And again, its like the Mimosa (Silk Tree) = some of us adore them and can never have too many, some abhor them as weeds. Our likes are just different, so it creates different perceptions. It it helps wildlife and I can live with it, its ok with me.
Ilene MANY THANKS for the link to the disability sit, very nice, I will try to support them in some way in the future... and the chokecherry picture was terrific. I am confused that they say 8-10 feet and my research says 25-30, but hey - who cares if its over 6 feet and bushy! Hope everyone's plants did well through the snow and today's sunshine brings lots of joy to your garden and you heart.
ilene_in_neok
15 years ago
I think there's a way to e-mail them, maybe they'd give you a price for several.

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