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Low evergreen hedge for zone 6a

katemartha (z5/6 nj)

last year

Hi there, I’m looking for some recommendations for a low (maybe 2.5-3’ in height) evergreen hedge. I’m in NJ in Zone 6a, and the area for planting gets full sun and has good drainage.

Is there anything that would fit the bill that might be low maintenance or require no to little pruning?

Also of note - I’d like to avoid boxwood out of precaution for blight…

Thanks for your suggestions!

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Comments (16)

Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
last year
last modified: last year
Ilex glabra, Ilex crenata 'Hoogendorn', Prunus laurocerasus 'Otto Luyken', Yew, Euonymus fortunei, Osmanthus heterophyllus, Spreading Japanese Plum Yew. Can azaleas take full sun in your location? How about Pieris or Kalmia? Not all zones are alike. You'll have to double check hardiness on those. Also, you don't mention if deer is a problem.
JoJo (Nevada 9A)
last year
Perfecto Mundo double pink azaleas. 3' max and reblooming.
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I have little to no personal experience with growing or eating most of these, but here are some plants to look at: Arbutus unedo. 'Compacta' gets to about 6' but the straight species is taller. Edible(?) fruit. Mahonia spp While the most common garden type I've seen is low-growing, there are others, perhaps less commonly found in commerce, that grow much taller. Edible fruit Clumping bamboo - Bamboos come in a range of sizes and hardiness, so you can most likely find one that works, but be sure to look only at clumping, not running bamboos which are difficult to contain. Edible shoots Many common needled evergreens can be used to make teas: spruce/Picea, hemlock/Tsuga, fir/Abies, and pine/Pinus. They are nutrient rich and so make sense as a survival food, but I honestly can't say that I've felt any inclination to try them. You might want to add information on where you are since 7b in the southeast US is quite different than 7b in the southwest US. For example, the taller Mahonia I've seen were growing in Utah, and I know that at one point at least one was offered by a New Mexico nursery, but I don't know if it would be happy in the SE US. Other growing info would be useful as well; is this for sun or shade or part sun? Are you willing to prune on a regular basis? Do you want evergreen for privacy or the winter green color? If for privacy, there are some densely twiggy deciduous large shrubs/small trees that might work for you such as hazel (edible nuts if you can beat the rodents to them) though they will need pruning.
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I've been growing Camelia sinensis, 'tea plant' in Atlanta(7b) for 4 years. They've made it through the winter unprotected. They are slow growing but would make a beautiful hedge. I've seen rabbiteye blueberries trimmed as a loose hedge. They are mostly deciduous, but somewhat hold on to their leaves, slow growing, and the birds will always win. I don't know anything about 'goumi berries', but they are related to the eleagnus species that is grown along the interstate. I don't know if they are invasive or not. I would check. maybe hazlenut, it is deciduous but it might make a cool tree hedge. Or a Belgian fence, a type of apple tree espalier. Since I'm 'off the tracks' you could also do a low double wire muscadine fence - deciduous, but a green wall all summer. Apples are hard, but muscadine and blueberries are bomb proof. Needless to say, I wish I had a long length of sun.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
Japanese holly - Ilex crenata - is an obvious boxwood replacement. For those not overly familiar with either plant, it would be difficult to tell the two apart.
katemartha (z5/6 nj)
Original Author
last year
Thank you both!

Dave, we do have deer in the area so deer-resistant would be a nice bonus, though they really aren’t too much of a nuisance on this property. I had looked into ilex glabra but saw a few posts about it getting a big “leggy” after a few years, which I’d like to avoid - do you feel they do get leggy?

JoJo, what an interesting idea, I must say I’ve honestly never thought to use azalea as a hedge but the idea of using something that also blooms would quite pretty! Do you have to prune the azalea consistently or do you think it would like nice in its natural form as a hedge? I like the idea of something loose rather than very structured.

Thanks again!
JoJo (Nevada 9A)
last year
last modified: last year
kdrago,

I used to garden in the Mid-Atlantic, and it seemed like every house there came with an azalea hedge. You'd think it was mandatory... 😉

Some folks prune them (to go with colonial-style homes), but I really prefer the unpruned, looser version. This particular variety forms a neat, rounded shrub anyway. You could perhaps give them a haircut every few years to keep the size in check and rejuvenate them.

I couldn't find any hedge pics, but this will give you an idea:
Jurassic Park
last year
I have the both the low spreading Japanese Plum Yew and the more vertically growing one, neither is as deer unfriendly as advertised and I think the OP's zone is probably slightly too cold for them anyway (6b is friendlier to them). I gotta agree my Inkberry do look leggy after several years, but may be due to other issues (increased shade). Gotta say though, I have several dwarf English Boxwood shrubs...., never have had issues with them in NJ/Zone 7b. Japanese Holly is a nice species, but it will grow taller than your specifications, if happy. There are other hollies, Blue Hollies for example for 6a, but these too will wanna grow taller than three feet. I also like Osmanthus heterphyllus goshikli (False Holly), but not sure of their hardiness to zone 6a, but deer will definitely HATE them
diggerdee zone 6 CT
last year
I just planted an ilex glabra Strongbox. I didn't plant it as a hedge - only one, lol - but it's supposed to get 2-3 feet tall and as wide. Might be worth a look.

FWIW, I've never really had azaleas stay evergreen for me. I only had one or two in the past - have been thinking of adding some again - but they usually lost most leaves, with a few yellow ones hanging on.

Good luck!

:)

Dee
Jurassic Park
last year
Azaleas are deer food in my hood.
PRO
Dig Doug's Designs
last year
Soft Touch Holly, Rose Creek Abelia, Strong Box Inkberry...
Christopher CNC
last year
If you are in to spiky and color, Yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard' ticks off a number of your wants of the plant. Unusual as a short hedge perhaps.
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
last year
If conifers are a possibility look at Thuja occidentalis 'Tom Thumb'- I have several groups of these and they really are care free and easy. Deer haven't bothered them at all here.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
anything that would fit the bill that might be low maintenance or require no to little pruning?

==>>> as to something that is no maintenance.. no.. there is nothing.. imo ... shrubs dont stop growing at some magical height.. nor grow so uniform that some might not need to be tamed a bit ...

and to what low maintenance means ... im not sure ... imo.. a well grown shrub needs at a min.. yearly maintenance ... unless it is grown in the middle of the lawn and allowed to be itself over the decades ..

if you are lining a walkway.. or some such.. they will all need to be pruned ... and i dont mean sheared.. i mean pruned for aesthetic reasons ...

and that might mean one weekend a year.. you will need to prune and clean it all up .. lol .. often the cleanup is the bigger jobs ...

learning how to prune is nbd ... no healthy plant dies from pruning.. so if you mess it up.. you fix it next year ...

your best ideas would come.. if you included a pic of the area.. and a more precise definition of what you want to accomplish ..

and a big city name never hurts ... zone alone usually doesnt help as much ... i would think inland NJ is a bit different than coastal NJ ... but i dont know.. ive never been there ....

ken
katemartha (z5/6 nj)
Original Author
last year
Thanks everyone! You’ve all certainly given me much to think about…

Conifers are certainly a possibility! This will be in the front yard, so something that will stay green throughout winter would be idea. The more I consider all the options, I think for this area I’d prefer something with a “loose”, soft habit as opposed to the formal straight edges that a boxwood might. An unpruned azalea hedge might have been just perfect but my azaleas do lose their leaves in winter up here (Very northwest area of NJ)…
katemartha (z5/6 nj)
Original Author
last year
Anybody have any thoughts on Himalayan sweet box? Sarcocca hookeriana var. humilis - it seems quite looser in terms of form, and I could be okay with the height of 1-2 ft. I also like the idea of some winter fragrance. Not sure if it would form a dense enough “hedge” or if it would be able to bear the summer sun at all as I know it prefers partial shade…
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
Sarcococca is sun intolerant...shade only. And it is also susceptible to boxwood blight.
PRO
Dig Doug's Designs
last year
You might also consider Ilex opaca 'Maryland.

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