Which Hedge

eamon11

Hi Folks,

my front wall is only 2 foot high and 200 feet long. The sides of the house are similar. I am not in such a hurry with the sides as the front. Its a busy road and we are very exposed. House on a hill and soil rocky.

I neeed hedges. I like the laurel and griselina as they are evergreen and thats what we need. Also because they are evergreen they will grow faster. But, is it really a good idea given the winters we are having?

Thje copper beech is ok but even though it holds the leaves in winter the cover/protection is not as good in winter. And it grows slower.

I considered the whitethorn quicks for speed and hardiness, but would this look ok as a hedge at the front of a house?

I am confused. All help or advice welcome.

Thanks a lot
Eamon

artieanna

I have a laurel hedge in for the past three years and I can say that the severe frost didn't do it a bit of harm. I also planted a few two years ago the main stem died on a couple and I though they were dead however they have put up new shoots from the base and are doing really well.

slowburner

Grisilinias around here were devastated by last year's frosts. Laurels are indestructable but why not plant Whitethorn? It is native and supports wildlife - it will need proper pruning to create a dense hedge though.

Weylin

eamon11 wrote: »

Hi Folks,

my front wall is only 2 foot high and 200 feet long. The sides of the house are similar. I am not in such a hurry with the sides as the front. Its a busy road and we are very exposed. House on a hill and soil rocky.

I neeed hedges. I like the laurel and griselina as they are evergreen and thats what we need. Also because they are evergreen they will grow faster. But, is it really a good idea given the winters we are having?

Thje copper beech is ok but even though it holds the leaves in winter the cover/protection is not as good in winter. And it grows slower.

I considered the whitethorn quicks for speed and hardiness, but would this look ok as a hedge at the front of a house?

I am confused. All help or advice welcome.

Thanks a lot
Eamon

do not plant any griselina,the hard frost will kill it. i lost over 60 feet of it last year,am still in shock :mad:.the few laurels i planted years ago are still perfect.:) whitethorn,etc are good but they are very spikey/thorny ,you will need gloves when trimming them.

Dan man

Berberis darwinii makes a great hedge.... very hardy, evergreen, beautiful orange flowers and deep purple berries; glossy dark-green foliage. Grows very quickly so you should have a decent sized hedge in good time and thickens well with pruning. Very hardy so hard winter should not bother this plant. It looks great all-year round with flowers in spring and berries in late summer/early autumn and it keeps its foliage throughout the year. Will make a tall hedge if you wish or you could cut it to the whatever height suits you. It does well in most soil types so that shouldn't be a problem either.
Here are a couple of pics pic:

Berberis darwinii flowers.jpg

Berberis darwinii berries.jpg

There are many varieties of berberis, each with vibrant colour foliage, berries and flowers, but Berberis darwinii is as good as any and is ultra hardy. Good luck with your choice of hedging anyway.

artieanna

I agree dan man berberis darwinii is a good choice, nice and soft for clipping. I have a couple just as shrubs. There is also the red berberis thunbergii lovely hardy shrub/hedge not evergreen and has very sharp thorns.

eamon11

many thanks to all of you for replying.Can berberis darwiniibe a good thick hedge?

rje66

things to consider
200ft hedge =appox 140 plants planted in a double to get thick hedge, berberis darwinii plant will cost appox €6.

planting a bare root plant(something like beech,hawthorn etc)will be considerably less.
Hedging season is just around the corner, most commercial nurseries will have a good range
rentes near enfield
tullys , swords
kellys near moate
flannerys near allenwood, kildare

off the top of my head
hope this helps

eamon11

thanks rje,

at 6 euro a pop I will not be planting those but rather bare root.


What about willow? Would that look ok? At the front of a house? I dont mind the height.

Acer campestre (field or maple hedge? Anyone ever plant this or have any ideas? I believe this is fast growing, but in winter what does it look like?

Thanks again.

looksee

I would not recommend willow. On rocky, hilly ground it is unlikely to be very happy, and if it is happy it will be a permanent battle to keep it under control. Lose-lose situation!

planetX

my fav is a mixed hedge of natives - hawthorn, field maple, elder, viburnum etc. I have a boundary of laurel and I hate it, it's hard work and ugly.

secman

I have a mixture of : Whitethorn, Field Maple, Holly, Guelder Rose, Crab Apple. It was planted from bare root stock, the aim is to get it the height of the stock fence behind it. Its a hedge that you have to put work into in the early years, especially if grown from bare root. I had difficulty with grass smothering it in the first year, difficult to keep grass at bay. the second year I scrubbed out all the grass and put in a layer of bark, 3 X 1 ton bags of it. But this gave the hedge a great chance to grow. To thicken this type of hedge it is necessary to prune hard each winter. After 5 growing seasons I now have a hedge 2 foot deep and about 2 foot high, having again pruned it hard last weekend. Hopefully in the next 2 years it will be stock fence height. As I said at the outset, this type of hedge takes work, but only once a year, if done correctly. The hedge is 80 meters long, every second post I planted a Silver Birch to add a bit of height and interest. All of the above plants do lose leaves over the winter but when fully thickened up it still provides cover and privacy, and security (whitethorn is thorny).

Yours

Secman

scatter

future forests have a great selection of hedging,visit their website and you will get some idea as they display prices and pictures.

Sonnenblumen

If you're looking for an inexpensive solution, what you can do is decide on which hedge you prefer and plant whips.

eamon11

thanks lads,

what are whips sonnenblum?

Sonnenblumen

eamon11 wrote: »

thanks lads,

what are whips sonnenblum?

Hedging Whips are typically < 1 yr old bare-root (no rootball) saplings, on sale Nov-Feb and sold in bundles. Whips are an excellent and very affordable method of planting a new hedge. All you need is patience.;)

Pinklady11

I would recommend Red Robins. I planted a load of them around my boundary this year. I went with them because they don't lose their leaves in winter and I've been told they're fairly hardy. Also the new leaves are a beautiful red colour (hence the name).

+1 for future forests, thats were I got mine. Great service.

JackPerry

Advice sought.
I planted a lot of Copper beech hedging in Feb 2009 and most of it is growing, some of it quicker than the rest. When should I cut it back to guarantee a thicker growth in the springtime?
Thanks in advance.

Renotr

I am thinking of planting copper beech hedging, and I'm wondering what's the best time to plant them, and what preparations I need to do before planting!

Thanks.

Theprogardener

When buying hedging in large quantities it is best to buy bare-rooted plants (plant from October to Feb/March) Whips are plants a year or so old, usually a single stem which resembles a whip in appearance. We buy in from Belgium about 10-15k for our own use on contracts. prunus laurocerasus novita 60-80cm €1.9 + vat. frost hardy and makes a good hedge, can take hard pruning should it get out of hand, good for windy sites. Feed regularly during the first growing season to help the plant become established.