Shrub selection for dense hedge
Leah Steele
8 years ago
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wisconsitom
8 years agoLeah Steele
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Best red rose for a nice dense hedge
Comments (4)Joan, I hope your porch doesn't face north--meaning there is considerable shade in that area. Roses are sunlovers. But you may already know that. The only red shrub I know that would give true red and that lush full look you want is Braveheart--which I absolutely love. However,it might need occasional spraying for blackspot, although, as a whole, it has good disease-resistance. Since red is a terribly difficult color to catch accurately with a camera, let me assure you that Braveheart is a red red--in fact, a somewhat dark rich red. No purple or orange or cherry pink overtones. The blooms are big, full, and long-lasting, and the re-bloom is good. My one problem with it is that some canes put out so many big blooms that the whole cane starts sinking towards the ground, but I just find a convenient twig in the yard with a v-notch at one end and prop it under the really heavy-blooming canes. The twigs can hardly be seen at all because of the full green foliage. Kate Here is a link that might be useful: Braveheart at helpmefind...See MoreNeed advice on very fast-growing, dense privacy hedge
Comments (18)Pierce, just be aware that you will need a male holly for every 5-7 female plants to get berries. Because you will be planting tightly, you might be able to stretch it to one per 10 females. Most of the male forms I know of are shorter growing than the females, in general. You could get around this by using 1-gallon males and planting in the same hole as the females/'Nellie R.Stevens' as you space them out - they can grow up and be available, but are 'hidden' among the mass of the females. I know 15 gal. 'Nellie R. Stevens' are available, but can't speak as to price. While the 'Nellie R. Stevens' are a good hedge plant, if you wanted to mix in another type of tree, the Thuja 'Emerald Green' (a.k.a. 'Emerald Beauty' or 'Smaragd') is another good hedging plant, growing fairly fast to 12-15', and about 3-5' wide. You can fairly easily find 5 gallon plants, at about 4-6' tall - and pay more for them than 1 gal. - so they might be good where you want immediate height. While running bamboos will provide a solid screen once they are established, they will also RUN!! I have pulled out runners that are up to 8' long, and about 6" deep, in the spring. As long as you mow faithfully, you can keep them in check. However, even asphalt won't stop them from coming up - cement MIGHT! You can buy barriers, but you need to make a 3' deep trench for the barrier to be effective, and even then, you will probably have to watch for escapees over the top. Clumping bamboos are much better behaved, and will expand, but stay where you plant them....See Moreemerald green arborvitaes, dense shade, replacment shrub.
Comments (8)I forgot to mention that we are in central Pennsylvania, about an hour directly north of Harrisburg. We have had what seems like a fairly average summer, possibly a little dryer than normal. When we have a dry spell I do go out and water the shrubs. Here are few more pictures taken last night. The original that I posted was from right after the shrubs were planted. Close up of the dying arb. - http://i.imgbox.com/2OyAmbIA.jpg rear of the arbs., note the tree coverage. - http://i.imgbox.com/3TPLIqjB.jpg Two more pictures showing the tree coverage and shrubs. http://i.imgbox.com/tFiUHZgv.jpg http://i.imgbox.com/iXUjxdB0.jpg You will notice only one very browned arb, the two directly next to this one have been replaced in the last 4-6 weeks as they were in the same state. Lowes offered a 1 year warranty so I was credited for the purchased amount. My thought about bugs is that it is unlikely as the three shrubs I have had the problem with are all right next to each other. I could be wrong in this assumption. About applying a mulch, noted and I plan to take care of this immediately. I am happy with the layout of my yard/fence line and I do not require a additional shed as we have a sizable shed/single horse barn already for storage. I did not put fertilizer in the holes when planting. The ground in that area is extremely hard and compacted (compared to just a few feet over). Would it be beneficial to till up all of the ground in the general area down to maybe 12" or so? Will this help with my problem at all? When I replace the dying arb, should I break up the compacted soil (clay) that the root ball comes from the store in? Thank you again for all of your help....See MoreLow, Dense Hedge Row Recommendation
Comments (6)Lots of garden plants are poisonous, which may be why mother nature has given children a built-in aversion to eating anything green. I'd like to see some statistics on this, but I'd put money on it being a non-issue; it certainly wasn't a problem with my kids, or my dogs and cats over the years. I'd stay away from plants that generate a lot of pollen or that can cause skin reactions (ivy, rue) but other than that, unless you're going to tie them up outside and withhold meals, I'd really bet they'd be fine around ANY garden plants you choose. This may not be a problem in your zone, but some spirea is a pest here on Cape Cod (zone 7) because it reseeds so freely - and the seedlings are darn hard to eradicate....See More
allen456
8 years ago
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoLeah Steele
8 years agofloral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
8 years agoLeah Steele
8 years ago
Logan L. Johnson
8 years agofloral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
8 years agowisconsitom
8 years ago
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