advice on escallonia hedge replacement

pegasuspub

Hi can someone advise on a similar looking hedge to this that i can gradually replace random plants,the escallonia is the standard type with small red flowers,

i planted about 150 feet of hedging all round the garden about 15 years ago,
the last few years random plants in the hedge have been failing,some of the plants have random yellow leaves with black spots on them,i was told by my garden center to spray with signum and feed and mulch the hedge,i have been doing this for the last few years but am gradually loosing more of it, the leaves gradually discolour and get smaller and die and the plant gets very woody before failing,
i was hoping to replace some of the worst plants with a similar looking type, it would not have to flower but i prefer evergreen,
i am about 600 meters from the sea
thanks

Oldtree

pegasuspub wrote: »

Hi can someone advise on a similar looking hedge to this that i can gradually replace random plants,the escallonia is the standard type with small red flowers,

i planted about 150 feet of hedging all round the garden about 15 years ago,
the last few years random plants in the hedge have been failing,some of the plants have random yellow leaves with black spots on them,i was told by my garden center to spray with signum and feed and mulch the hedge,i have been doing this for the last few years but am gradually loosing more of it, the leaves gradually discolour and get smaller and die and the plant gets very woody before failing,
i was hoping to replace some of the worst plants with a similar looking type, it would not have to flower but i prefer evergreen,
i am about 600 meters from the sea
thanks

Is this your problem?

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=108

Griselina has larger leaves but is very hardy and would be very suitable on your site. Privet and fuscia would be my next choices.

Perhaps try a few of each this winter to see how they get on.

More frighting would be if you have noticed any mushrooms in the hedge line.

Have you noticed any hedges doing well close by?

lottpaul

You could try viburnum tinus or a mix of the smaller olearias -- paniculata, haastii etc - though some of those are very grey in colour and may not blend well with the escallonia. Some types of Eleagnus might be suitable too.

my3cents

I hate the plant with a vengeance because I think it has an unnatural green leaf colour but of those mentioned so far Griselinia makes the best hedge that you can cut back with impunity.

On the plus side in good soil you don't even need to buy plants. It roots from cuttings just pushed into the ground.

pegasuspub

thanks for your post oldtree,
yes that looks exactly like it,
looks like its nonreversible.
i will have a better read of the article.

Oldtree

pegasuspub wrote: »

thanks for your post oldtree,
yes that looks exactly like it,
looks like its nonreversible.
i will have a better read of the article.

That's a great pity. Still, I look at these kind of things as a planting opportunity

The best advice I can give you is to look around the area and see what is doing well and a hedge that you like. It's a harsh environment 600m from the sea, wind and salt being 2 major enemies. I would expect the soil to be a bit stony too.

We are coming up to bareroot season soon and if you are going to plant loads then it's a good time to buy before the end of November. As soon as the plants come in go look, you will have the pick of the crop. Put them into a healing in bed until you are ready to plant them on a dry day in the winter when the ground is not frozen.

Were you looking for a formal hedge or a wild/mixed hedge or a windbreak or privacy?

mp31

Oldtree wrote: »

We are coming up to bareroot season soon and if you are going to plant loads then it's a good time to buy before the end of November. As soon as the plants come in go look, you will have the pick of the crop. Put them into a healing in bed until you are ready to plant them on a dry day in the winter when the ground is not frozen.

I'm a complete newbie to this and looking to replace our hedges this year but all the local garden centres near to us only seem to have small hedging plants in plastic pots. (I'm in Maynooth)
Should I be going to some sort of commercial nursery? Can you please recommend a few places that have a good selection of bare root hedges.
Also, any advice on what sort of price I can expect to pay would be welcome.
TIA

Lumen

Bare root is much cheaper than potted. Should cost almost nothing, e.g.

http://www.futureforests.net/br_hedging.htm

Delphinium

It might be advisable to plant a mixed hedge next time. You are less likely to lose it all. Could you plant some native trees as a hedge? White thorn is excellent but not easy to manage due to thorns. Future Forests have a great website and are excellent for plants. Have a look at plants recommended for farm boundaries, you might get a few ideas.

Oldtree

mp31 wrote: »

I'm a complete newbie to this and looking to replace our hedges this year but all the local garden centres near to us only seem to have small hedging plants in plastic pots. (I'm in Maynooth)
Should I be going to some sort of commercial nursery? Can you please recommend a few places that have a good selection of bare root hedges.
Also, any advice on what sort of price I can expect to pay would be welcome.
TIA

Most nursery's and garden centers will get in bare root plants once the bareroot season starts. That would usually be by the end of October - start of November. The bigger a plant center you can get to probably the better a choice you will have. No need to worry about potted plants at this time.

Go choose your plants as early in the season as you can, rather than getting left with the dross later in the season. Look at the roots to judge health and quality. Look at the stem for damage.

You can then keep your plants in their bundles in a healing in bed at home until you are ready to start planting out.

What did you have in mind to plant and we can go from there?

A green plastic mesh windbreak is a must for a young hedge.

pegasuspub

thanks for all the advice and help.
went out for a walk to look for more escallonia in the area and there is another hedge near me that has black spots and yellow leaves on it similar to mine although not as bad as mine.
my site is more elevated and a bit more exposed.
as to what else to plant ...i dont really know.. i really liked the colour and flowers of the escallonia and it always seemed to attract lots of bees etc
the most affected hedge is in the front of the house ,i always kept this hedge low at about 3 to 4 feet as my other half liked to keep the view out at the water..the hedge was just to give a small bit of shelter and to define the edge of the lawn/site.
i did plant some laurel( porto) plants to one side of the garden , the plants were about 3 feet tall in pots when i got them,the first winter after planting them was very bad here and we had practically a constant storm in january with driving wind and rain for most days, as a result of this the laurel has only just held its own,it never really filled in but this year seems to look better than the last two years.
i have spent a fair bit of time pulling ivy that is growing on the ground under the hedge, pulling it is the only hope as i cant spray it with any weedkiller.
i prefer the evergreen type hedge,does not need to be very tall, i will have a look at the future forrests website.

my3cents

On other to think about as a low hedge near to and almost right up to the sea is Shrubby Honeysuckle, Poor Mans Box, Lonicera nitida. Hard to kill easy to grow will root very very easily from almost any type of cutting, but basically apart from the variegated forms its just green.