[Conor74]

...got the lawn planted last week, wouldn't mind getting the hedgerow up sooner rather than later.

Looking for a type of hedge that will fill out quickly enough up to a height of about 2 feet. Is privet easy to plant and maintain?

[neil_hosey]

privets ok. cheap, easy to plant but like every fast growing shrub it needs maintaining.

Because you want a VERY small hedge you might be better off going with something slow growing thats green all year round. Like a load of small buxus' but the dissadvantage there is that they will take time to grow. Also they are a bit expensive.

You can usually buy about 20 small, potless of allmost any kind of shrub used as a hedge. I would advice buxus or Box.

Also you should be careful cas there are a god few varieties of this ( some fastgrowing). English Box is what your after.

[Conor74]

Great thanks for that. Will check it out. Hadn't thought of the green all year bit.

[neil_hosey]

If you decide to go for a privet... make sure you get evergreen one. there are deciduous and semi-evergreen varieties aswell.

If your in and around dublin. Drop into Beech Vista Garden centre(finglas exit of the M50, if you want directions repost). They will sort it out for you. have a large selection of that stuff all year round. I used to work there!

Ask for Greg or Eric

[Conor74]

About as far away as one can get from Dublin - in South Kerry!

Was googling and came across a hedge called berberis. And laurel looks nice too. Think a visit to a garden centre called for...

[neil_hosey]

berberis is nice but not evergreen (the popular one i konw). There is also another berberis called Darwinii which is REALLY nice but again not evergreen.

The thing with berberis is that they have thorns. really bad ones and they hurt!! not a good idea. they grow to big aswell(over time). Laurel again is a very popular form of hedge but to keep it at 2 foot?? would be hard and wouldnt look that nice in my opinion. Laurel grow fast up to about 3-4 metres if left to their own devices.

Berberis is very similiar to gorse(loads of that in kerry) but the leaves are a nice red. depends what you want. like i said, go to a (decent) garden centre. But my moneys on box.

[Irish Gardener]

Originally Posted by Conor74

...got the lawn planted last week, wouldn't mind getting the hedgerow up sooner rather than later.

Looking for a type of hedge that will fill out quickly enough up to a height of about 2 feet. Is privet easy to plant and maintain?

Quite easy to plant and requires about two clippings a year to keep it formal.
If you require a looser informal shape, then pruning once a year will do.
It can also be cut back hard if it gets out of your control.

Have a look at some of your other hedging options here....
Hedging plants in Ireland (size, spacing, flowers and fruit)

and

How to plant a hedge in Ireland.

Edit: just saw you wish the hedge to grow to about 2ft, in that case Privet will not be suited.
Instead think about using Berberis darwinii "Nana", Escallonia "Red Elf", Pittosporum "Tom Thumb", Spirea nipponica, Ilex crenata and of course numerous varieties of box hedging.

[Conor74]

Originally Posted by neil_hosey

The thing with berberis is that they have thorns. really bad ones and they hurt!! not a good idea.

Strangely enough, thorns might be a good thing in this case. There is a 20 foot drop on the other side of the bank where we want to plant the hedge and we eventually want something that will be child proof, either by being thick enough or prickly enough.

Thanks for all the help anyway.

[tampopo]

Pyracantha is also prickly. But not too sure if it's suitable to be kept as low as 2'. I've only the one plant in a corner and never noticed if it's evergreen. I want it to grow and cover @sshole next door's shed. B'stard.

Privet is good but as IG said, not that suitable for only 2'.