I'm looking for suggestions, besides box, which will form nice round shapes, be quite neat and evergreen please. Full sun, soil tendancy towards clay but can be improved.
I use Hebes MrsG. Some varieties are naturally rounded, so you get the ball shape without any effort. Ideal
Add some grit or gravel to the clay for drainage and it'll be fine. I have some in pots which are Vernicosa. The bonus of flowers for the bees as well. They're a bit pale for me (lilac) but not really white either, but I can forgive them as they give such good structure all year round. Buxifolia is also ideal - as the name suggests, the foliage is almost identical to box. There are smaller ones too - Emerald something or other (Globe possibly?) which has smaller, finer foliage.
Last edited: 16 August 2017 18:24:19
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
Pittosporums. Lots of different foliage colour and form, and they respond well to being pruned. They grow faster than Box, so may need more pruning, plus they may not be fully hardy if you live in colder parts of the UK. Some of my favourite varieties, Greenstar, Wrinkled Blue, Tandara Gold.
Alternatively, try Euonymus. I find the leaves of most are too big for finer topiary shapes, but we have a lovely small one call Green Spire, and it has a columnar habit, and is very similar to Box.
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fidgetbonesDerbyshire but with a Nottinghamshire postcode. Posts: 16,470
Yew. It stands a lot of cutting and is often used for topiary.
Depending on the size of the balls, Euonymus Fortunei will respond very well to pruning to any shape. But the shape needs to be just over a foot to make it work. They are not too fussy with soil either.
Thank you, I missed the last few posts, sorry not to respond earlier. pittosporum will be good, I'll lookk. out for the varieties mentioned. Will look at yew but not sure, and euonymus probably is too big a leaf for what I'm after.
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I use Hebes MrsG. Some varieties are naturally rounded, so you get the ball shape without any effort. Ideal
Add some grit or gravel to the clay for drainage and it'll be fine. I have some in pots which are Vernicosa. The bonus of flowers for the bees as well. They're a bit pale for me (lilac) but not really white either, but I can forgive them as they give such good structure all year round. Buxifolia is also ideal - as the name suggests, the foliage is almost identical to box. There are smaller ones too - Emerald something or other (Globe possibly?) which has smaller, finer foliage.
Last edited: 16 August 2017 18:24:19
Thanks FG, I'd forgotten about hebes. Will look up buxifolia. I like the purple plant to the left, is it ligularia?
Pittosporums. Lots of different foliage colour and form, and they respond well to being pruned. They grow faster than Box, so may need more pruning, plus they may not be fully hardy if you live in colder parts of the UK. Some of my favourite varieties, Greenstar, Wrinkled Blue, Tandara Gold.
Alternatively, try Euonymus. I find the leaves of most are too big for finer topiary shapes, but we have a lovely small one call Green Spire, and it has a columnar habit, and is very similar to Box.
Yew. It stands a lot of cutting and is often used for topiary.
emerald green globe looks lovely.
Hebe rakaiensis looks nice too, very similar.
Depending on the size of the balls, Euonymus Fortunei will respond very well to pruning to any shape. But the shape needs to be just over a foot to make it work. They are not too fussy with soil either.
Thank you, I missed the last few posts, sorry not to respond earlier. pittosporum will be good, I'll lookk. out for the varieties mentioned. Will look at yew but not sure, and euonymus probably is too big a leaf for what I'm after.
There was an article in the telegraph recently:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/how-to-grow/box-blight-not-end-british-love-topiary-hedges/
Last edited: 24 August 2017 12:11:39