Privacy Hedge

[Tradewinds]

I am thinking about replacing a wisteria trellis with a hedge. The ideal hedge would be 6 to 7 feet tall, approximately two feet thick, and not prone to disease or pests.

I like the looks of holly hedges but am not sure if all of them have berries, which may be poisonous or something with which the birds might make a mess. I am located in gardening zone 5B and the area gets full sun.

I look forward to any suggestions the group may have to offer, thank you.

 

[happyflowerlady]

If you want one with flowers, I really like the looks of the Rose of Sharon hedge. It is fairly fast growing, has beautiful blossoms, and will get about the height that you are looking for. I had one before, and hey were easy to care for, and made it through the winter just fine, so I think they would also work for you in Missouri.

 

[Millenia]

We have a lot of hollies and I've never noticed the berries making a mess. There are a lot of different types of hollies, some are prickly and some are not. I think crepe myrtles grow in your area. I've seen them as hedges. We have privet that grows wild here. Definitely immune to most diseases and gets really tall. Will privet grow in your area? Never mind. I just checked and they don't. What about boxwoods? There's one called Wintergreen boxwood. It stays green in winter, even in your area. I love wisteria, by the way. It grows wild down here. We have entire areas cloaked in purple in the spring. I've never tried to grow it, though. I think it would be more like kudzu and try to take over.

 

[robertgehl]

Hi Tradewinds. Where do you live? In the Phoenix area, Oleanders are a very common privacy hedge. They are extremely drought tolerant and grow very fast and very thick. The drawback is the leaves can be toxic to people and animals and they attract all sorts of critters who like to nest in their roots.

 

[claudine]

Here, where I live, many people grow forsythia as a hedge. My parents used to grow it in our garden too, I still remember how beautiful it was. Forsythia is rather thick, especially if you prune it reularly.
Here is how it looks in bloom:

 

[Jewell]

I have an English ivy hedge that rings my property. It is from 3 to 7 feet tall. Planted it years ago, but have added wire to some parts of the yard for additional height. You can train it to whatever height a wire fence is. Most other plants for hedges will want to be much thicker than two feet. Mine has taken temps as low as 10F. I hedge it once a year so it is only about 6" wide. All you see is bare stems, and in two weeks the green is back. Of all the hedging plants I have tried it is still my favorite. Don't know if it in your locality. I'll try to add a couple of photos so you can get an idea. The first is about 6' and the last two are about 3' tall

They are photos I took in the spring for other reasons.

 

[claudine]

Jewell, your English ivy hedge is absolutely gorgeous, I love it! It looks very romantic and mysterious. It's a great idea to grow it like this!
I also love little daffodils

 

[justusforus]

Hi Tradewinds. Where do you live? In the Phoenix area, Oleanders are a very common privacy hedge. They are extremely drought tolerant and grow very fast and very thick. The drawback is the leaves can be toxic to people and animals and they attract all sorts of critters who like to nest in their roots.

I agree. There are a lot of oleanders in southern California, but they are toxic to horses and other livestock. They can be so beautiful with a variety of colors and do create a hedge, but you have to keep the toxicity issue in mind.

 

[rz3300]

Well I actually got a good laugh from this, as it brings back a good memory for me. At one of our previous houses, before I really settled down and got my act together, we had what you might call a privacy bush in our front yard that really hid us from the rest of the world. We called it the "spite bush" and it has just always made me chuckle, in that "man we're idiots" kind of way. Thanks for the quick laugh, and thanks for sharing.