Hedge suggestions please.

[Colin]

Hi,

Immediate neighbours; one side we have a wonderful lady the other side a family who would be at home in a squat and who are very well known to police for burglary; car theft; drugs and beatings etc. Bron and I have tried to be friendly towards them for the last 30 years but have now given up.

The pictures below shows the new garden hut and new fence I've recently erected; ideally I'd now like to add a short hedge to join the wooden fence panel directly behind the hut but I don't want another Leylandii which will go ballistic and require constant trimming. This short hedge run is only about 20' long and I want to prevent this bad neighbour gawping at Bron making Bron feel uneasy. I don't want to extend the wooden fence because of the terrific winds.

Something that will quickly grow to not more than 7' tall and not spread out too much being evergreen to suit soil where Leylandii and Laurels grow like mad and the soil is very well drained. A nearby Willow and Oak offer shade but there is always a prevailing wind up the valley.

I've ordered and paid for 3 Pieris Forest Flame bushes but think I'll be better planting these elsewhere.

Any suggestions are most welcome.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Rajesh Sethi]

How about Ixora!

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Many thanks Rajesh for suggesting Ixora; much appreciated .

As I browsed Ixora for the first time I thought this looks perfect but unfortunately it appears totally unsuited to our colder climate and is regarded here in the UK as an indoor plant?

Uses of Ixora

• Ixora in the wild are often used as hedging and can endure some salt spray on the wind.
• Ixora are available to grow as bonsai and flower when quite short.
• As sun lovers Ixora need plenty of light and protection all year round so they only make exotic conservatory plants in the UK.

What a shame though because Ixora has so much going for it. I've only done a quick check so don't know if one of these will be classed as "hardy" but I think it unlikely.

Tomorrow our temperature is forecast between 3C and 10C and we aren't even into winter yet.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Sheal]

Any hedge plant that grows fast tends to put on quite a height as well Colin. Hebe's would work in your climate and will only need trimming once every year or two. They aren't rampant growers and if you can find plants at a reasonable height when buying, say 2-3ft, you will have a reasonable sized hedge within a few years.

This hedge (about 90ft long) I grew from cuttings for my neighbour. They were planted out at 2ft high and putting on height at about 9 inches a year.

 

[alp]

Totally agree with @Sheal. Hebe is not so bland as other choices and I have seen one hedge smothered with beautiful flowers like this in summer. I myself would think about it.

Sheal, do you have the name to your variety please? Actually, I know where to get some cuttings. What a brilliant idea! That mauve attracts wildlife as well.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

What a brilliant idea Sheal and what a beautiful hedge; thank you. We already have Hebes so know they grow well here in fact one I planted about 25 years ago is rather a monster now and has turned woody. I didn't know Hebes could be trimmed but then I know little of such matters although I'm learning.

If only people would rub along well together many hedges/fences could be dispensed with.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[alp]

Another possible choice is a Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Irene Paterson'

It lightens the area and not so boring as Red Robin.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks alp for your excellent suggestion.

I've just been looking at these and find Thompson & Morgan supply 3 in single 2L pots for £37.99 the three. I not these need protecting from cold drying wind of which we suffer a lot of. Their size is perfect and the south/west aspect is bang on for us but they are slow growing?

The Hebe is quicker growing and I've been browsing to find there are hundreds of different Hebe's to choose from.

I received an email from J Parker's this morning which surprisingly gave a third choice I hadn't considered but as yet I'm unsure if it's evergreen;

Rosa Rugosa Pink; grows to 2m high with a spread of 1.2m and it can be trimmed. 20 bare rooted two year old 40-60cm at only £19.99. This is quick growing.

I'll check out all three options and no doubt there are lots more but this is an excellent start; thanks so much for your help.

Before posting I thought I'd do a quick check on the Rosa Rugosa and unfortunately these are unsuitable for our location so I'm back to two choices so far.

Home : Hedging, Trees, Shrubs & Conifers :
Hedging, Trees, Shrubs & Conifers R-S :[/paste:font]
ROSE, RUGOSA
Rosa rugosa
Suitable for any normal soil and position and the following
Ultimate Height 7ft (2.1m) Exposed/Windy

Hedge Height 4-7ft (1.2-2.1m) Damp Shade

Av. Growth/Year* 1-1.5ft (30-45cm) Dry Shade

Wet Sites

Native

Coastal Areas

Evergreen

Chalky Soil

Av. Growth/Year* = Average growth per year in first 10-20 years,
Enlarge picture


Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Robert Cummings]

Choisya ternata common name mexican orange blossom evergreen nice flowers not too vigorous no thorns lovely smell when leaves are crushed can easily be trimmed grows well in most soils in the uk

 

[Verdun]

Hiya Colin
Berberis Darwinii......evergreen, prickly so your neighbours will not get too close, easily pruned to any shape, grows quickly, beautiful yellow/orange flowers in spring and followed with blue berries that the birds love

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks Robert for suggesting Choisya; I've had a selection of six shrubs on order at J Parker's and one of these is included; it's a lovely looking shrub and certainly very tempting. Would it reach 2M tall?

Thanks Verdun; I've been looking at Berberis today and can buy Berberis Thunbergii at 20 for £22.99 but it has a slow growth rate and reaches about 1.25M tall? 2M tall would be ideal.

I've also been looking at Pyracantha 3 for £13.98 these reach 2.4M tall but can be trimmed.

I'm taking all your suggestions seriously and if not used for this particular application we have a big garden to fill so the information is most useful indeed. I've been spending a lot of time on the web looking at assorted hedging options; I'm not in a panic because anything I buy might not be delivered until Oct.

Many thanks once again everyone for your welcome suggestions.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Daren]

there are a few hardy Fuchsia variety's that would only need a pruning each winter to keep there form I have seen them & think they make great Hedges.......have a look at this website for more info.....https://www.victoriananursery.co.uk/Hedging_Fuchsia_Plants/

 

[Sheal]

Sorry @alp I don't know the name of the Hebe, I do know it's one of the more common ones though. Part of the hedge was there when my neighbours and I moved in to our homes a week apart. The hedge blooms from Spring right through to October/November time.

What a brilliant idea Sheal and what a beautiful hedge; thank you. We already have Hebes so know they grow well here in fact one I planted about 25 years ago is rather a monster now and has turned woody. I didn't know Hebes could be trimmed but then I know little of such matters although I'm learning.

Thank you @Colin. Providing there is new growth somewhere on the stems you can be quite harsh when pruning them, they soon bounce back. With a new hedge just take off some of the top growth when it gets straggly, that will help it bush out lower down.

It may be just as well you've abandoned the idea of Rugosa's they put up a lot of suckers.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Many thanks Darren for suggesting Fuchsias. I'd have never even considered these because I always regarded them more as a show plant so I'm learning all the time; I'll have a good look at Fuchsias to check what's available and if any are suitable for my needs.

Thanks Sheal for the Hebe information which is most useful. I've been browsing Hebe's online and there are many different types and colours to choose from also they aren't expensive even bought potted at around £14.99 for three.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?rlz.....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..4.1.119....0.-qCTq6xzAiU

I just searched for Hebe Mauve and above is a very good selection; I'm hopelessly colour blind so I'm pleased alp mentioned mauve otherwise I wouldn't have had a clue as to the Hebe colours name. It's nice not being perfect because I know I'll never be bored.

Strange isn't it Sheal how we can fancy planting something being totally unaware of future problems; if I had planted lots of Rugosa then they could have eventually become a pest becoming invasive. Thanks for the tip.

The way the outside temperature has plummeted over the last couple of nights I might need a thermic lance or dynamite to scratch the soil surface in order to plant anything?

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Verdun]

Hiya Colin, you need to look at the salicifolia varieties of hebe, the largest type. Most hebes are quite small . Salicifolia ...in white, pink, blue, etc......will easily and quickly make 2 metres. Here salicifolia Alba is 10' plus.
The berberis? Darwinii will make 2 metres plus easily