Best for privacy hedge: privet or arborvitae?
Emilee
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
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PRODig Doug's Designs
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoRelated Discussions
Wondering about privet hedge
Comments (22)Dear esh-ga and brandon7, It is delightful to start the New Year with a horticultural row, isn't it? There is at least one exotic, invasive plant that I loathe as much as the detested Leyland Cypress, and that is any member of the _Pyrus calleryana_ clan. I would say that Floridata's commentary on _Elaeagnus pungens_ is far more complimentary than condemnatory, based on the following excerpt, which makes the plant sound ideal for dirtdigging101's purposes in Hicory, NC: Culture Thorny elaeagnus is fast growing, easy to care for and tolerant of a wide variety of conditions. It is featured in both Peter Loewer's Tough Plants for Tough Places and Scott Ogden's Gardening Success with Difficult Soils. Light: Part to full sun. Moisture: Water when dry for best growth, but silverthorn is able to withstand drought even in light sandy soil. Constantly wet, soggy soil will kill. Hardiness: USDA Zones 7-9. Propagation: Propagated by softwood or hardwood cuttings and by seed. This silverthorn 'Fruitlandii' wasn't pruned for two years and has engulfed a nearby dogword with its tentacle stems. Usage Silverthorn responds well to pruning and makes an excellent evergreen hedge and barrier. It is often planted along highways and is useful in controlling soil erosion. This adaptable plant is tolerant of salt spray and so is a good choice for coastal locations. In cooler climates, silverthorn is grown in containers and moved indoors when winter approaches. Features The sweet fragrance of the flowers, reminiscent of gardenia, will delight in the autumn and winter garden (it reminds me of the perfume the old ladies wore to church when I was a kid). Silverthorn is very easy to grow and is bothered by few pests. Best of all it is a very fast grower - perfect for quickly creating a green background at the edge of your property. Place it on an expanse of lawn to create a great mound of wildlife habitat. The dense tangle of stems provide perfect sites for nests and the small red fruits will feed hungry songbirds during the winter. Be warned, however, silverthorn is not a good shrub for small areas as it will require constant pruning to keep in bounds - select one of the dwarf cultivars for tight spaces. brandon7, my judgment of your observations about _Myrica cerifera_ (The Southern Wax Myrtle) is that your _ex cathedra_ comments are based on what you've read in some textbook because they reflect no practical experience with this fine, though invasive, Southeastern native shrub. I've grown the Southern Wax Myrtle on our Zone 7b farm in northwestern South Carolina since I was a young kid in the 1960's. That's about forty-seven years of direct observation of this species. Through those years, our wax myrtles have experienced a number of near zero winter nights and even more winter nights in the high single-digits with no die-back of their stems or twigs and no burned foliage. From observation, I, therefore, contend that _Myrica cerifera_ is fully hardy in Zone 7. It re-seeds like mad, and you will have this native plant coming up all over the place. However, I don't find that to be a problem. Frequently, the volunteer wax myrtle seedlings appear in random places in our landscape where they can simply be left alone to flourish as Mother Nature distributed them. If, however, they've sprouted where I don't want them to be, the seedlings can be easily pulled up and discarded, or transplanted, or given away to other gardeners, or whatever. My point here is simply that this native plant is a first-rate invasive--as talented at invading as any exotic species. In South Carolina, _Myrica cerifera_ has been advancing inland from our barrier, coastal islands for decades. William Tecumseh Sherman is remembered, in part, for his destructive March to the Sea. _Myrica cerifera_ is, on the other hand, noted for its relentless March from the Sea to the Interior. "War is hell."...See MoreNarrow, tall hedge for screening - no pines or arborvitae
Comments (7)There is really no need to be alarmist about using bamboo, either clumping or running forms. If bamboo is properly contained with a barrier made for that purpose, it is just as manageable and no more of a nightmare than any other plant. That does not mean you can just plant and forget it.....nor should you do that with just about anything else planted in your garden. Everything takes a certain amount of routine maintenance. FWIW, commercial bamboo barrier is not made of copper but of heavyweight plastic sheeting at least 60 mil thick. Joints are overlapped by a generous amount (6+ inches) and sealed using manufactured metal joint fasteners or a tape made for that purpose. You can certainly use sheet metal or similar (heck of a lot cheaper than copper(?)) as long as you address the joint closure properly. Running bamboo escaping a barrier system just speaks to improper installation of the barrier and lack of routine maintenance. And clumping bamboo is just that - a well-behaved, clumping, tall ornamental grass. No running, no taking over and no need for physical containment. FWIW, we grow and sell a lot of bamboo, both running and clumping, in my area and I use it extensively in my landscape designs. It makes an excellent, narrow yet tall evergreen privacy screen. Absolutely no problems have turned up if the right bamboo was chosen, the proper barrier system used and correctly installed and adequate maintenance provided....See MoreBoxwood or alternatives for formal, privacy hedges
Comments (8)welcome .. a pic would sure help ... i lived a nightmare of having to deal with mom and dads 65 feet of privets.. shearing them twice a year from the age i was old enough to use the electric shears ... and you are considering 3 times that length ... let me be clear.. you should think long and hard about the work involved in your dream hedge.. or the cost of hiring out the job twice a year forever ... every plant has an annual growth rate.. usually it is suggested that faster growing things.. develop problems faster ... and then peak and ebb faster ... its a fools errand to make decisions on what is fastest ... you also fail to mention the potential width of the space.... how much room do you have .... other than 140 feet long?? and there is nothing you can do .. to make things grow faster .... if snow is going to happen .. and there is plowing involved.. it is going to be problematic ... though i can understand the 'look' you are going for.. IMHO.. its a bit of a newbie dream ... reality can be a whole different universe .. short of a staff of gardeners to do the labor .... more facts .. and pix .. please ... ken...See MorePrivacy Hedges in Urban Backyard
Comments (24)This is what you want Sky Pencil to look like when mature. Simply beautiful! Stunning. It has branches that stop at all levels; they don't all go to the top. For this reason it's a little wider in its middles than at the bottom and top. This is not what you want, widest and splayed on top, narrow on bottom. That splayin starts with shearing the tops like this, which encourages branching and widening where the cuts have been made. You can see in this image the new growth crowding at the flat tops of these plants. Worst case scenario. The plant on the right needed to be tied together, or pruned, or something. Not sure why it looks so awful while the other beside it looks ok-ish. If someone here has maintained Sky Pencils over time and knows how to get them to look like the first two images, please tell us how you did it. I'm seeing the usual internet sites saying never prune it....See More- PRO
Dig Doug's Designs
6 years ago Emilee
6 years ago
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago- PRO
Dig Doug's Designs
6 years ago Emilee
6 years agoI am about 2 hours southwest of D.C. Here are some photos of my property. Perhaps a type of shrub to go with the old-and-haunted vibe I have going on?
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
6 years ago
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