Thorny shrub instead of barbed wire?
behaviorkelton
12 years ago
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brandon7 TN_zone7
12 years agobehaviorkelton
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Shrub 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 MoreInstead of wagon wheels...
Comments (9)I think it would work, though I think he would need to attach the 4 poles somewhere lower down as well with another square. And judging how big roses get, I wonder if 18 inches would be a better size. If you want to avoid welding, I made a pillar using a bicycle wheel instead of a wagon wheel. If you don't have a gonza mountain biker in the family, you can get bent rims at any bike shop for free. I attached the rim to the 4 foot stump of a small tree that died. You could use 4 x 4 pressure treated or redwood, not cheap, sunk in Quikrete or however they spell it. I spray painted the wheel flat black using a particular spray paint primer a metal metal fabricator said to use for stuff outdoors. You'll never see the wheel or the post eventually. If you have access to hardwood forest, you could make rustic pillars from saplings about 4 inches in diameter (uggh, sounds like work)....See MoreNative Shrub for Dry Shade
Comments (14)Blueberries are a thought, esh ga; I do love the foliage. The last time I had highbush blueberries was a good many years ago (at least 10), before the deer got bad. As for lowbush blueberries, I planted 5 of them about 5 years ago, and I now have one plant left. The deer pulled the other 4 out of the ground with their constant munching (much like they do everytime I try to plant anything in the carex species -- next time I try to plant either of these, I think I'm going to make a chicken wire cage to cover them until they have a chance to establish a good root system.). In rethinking the issue, the deer may not be a big problem in this area because the planting bed is pretty deep. The deer usually content themselves with dining along the edges of the borders around the house. I've never known them to move beyond the first plants in a border to get to what's behind. That could change, of course, as they seem to get bolder every day. Loris, I just happened to discover UCONN's plant selector search engine yesterday while doing some research. I know it's a site I'll use often. Plugging in my light/soil requirements for this site yielded nannyberry and blackhaw viburnum as results. I have a blackhaw in my front border at the edge of the house, and I love it, but has only been there about 4 years and would already be too tall for the site I'm looking at now. From what I've read, nannyberry gets even bigger. The problem is that my son's only bedroom window is directly above my planting site, so the height of whatever I plant there needs to top out at 10 ft. at the most; 8 ft. would probably be better. I frequently refer to the MD Native Plant Society's plant lists, especially because I'm really trying to have all my new plantings consist of plants that are native to the Maryland piedmont, not just to Maryland in general. As for William Cullina's book, I have seen that book referenced so many times, that I finally decided to order my own copy. The book I use most now for natives is Donald J. Leopold's Native Plants of the Northeast, which is a very good reference, too. I'm now also considering a mapleleaf viburnum for the spot. Although it would only reach 5 ft. in height, according to Leopold's book, it prefers dry soil and shade. I'm going to keep looking and mulling over the possibilities for a few more weeks. Whatever I decide on, I'm hoping to get it at 50 percent off when the local nurseries start having their fall clearance sales....See MoreClimbing Roses as Shrubs
Comments (30)Pretty much any of the multiflora ramblers (Goldfinch, Aglaia, Ghislaine de Feligonde) are happy to be grown as free standing shrubs. Quite a few large climbers with stiff canes will manage too - Jasmina, Aloha, Meg, Nahema. and also several noisettes such as Aimee Vibert, Gloire de Dijon and Albertine can manage without support. I have also grown bourbons (Blairii No 2, Coupe de Hebe and Madame Pierre Oger without support. True, the luciae/wichurana roses such as Alberic Barbier and Leontine Gervaise will flop about a bit...but can manage perfectly well as ground covering roses and are brilliant at scrambling over banks, tree stumps and such. Finally, some of the species such as soulieana, helenae, moschata will. grow upright and will arch over. I grow mine on a wire frame between posts, lurching and lolling on old vegetable supports or just doing their own thing....but there is an enormous caveat. If you are keen on tidy controlled gardens, this is probably not highly recommended...but for a wilder, less formal, edge of woodland look, many of these large climbers can flail about in abandon. I should also state that it is idleness (in my case) which has prompted me into growing these roses without much in the way of help, and, as an extra bonus, I have also been quite encouraged that pruning, far from being essential, is actually a bit of a waste of time since excessive chopping just seems to encourage more vigorous growth than leaving well alone for several years then having a major haircut once a decade (the older wood also seems to help with support). Again though, this is a style not appropriate for small gardens or neat borders....See Morebrandon7 TN_zone7
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12 years agoGapeachintennessee
12 years agobrandon7 TN_zone7
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