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Griselinia Littoralis

aidanhoadaidanhoad Posts: 171
in Plants
Hi all,

I am looking for an evergreen shrub that is fast growing and hardy (to withstand strong and cold sea air wind)... and also able to be kept in a neat formed hedgeline with clipping...

After much research I think I may have found a winner in Griselinia littoralis - HOWEVER - different websites are giving me different information as to just how hardy this particular tree is. Can anyone provide any clarification for me please?

Thank you!

Aidan. :)
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Posts

  • Cambridgerose12Cambridgerose12 Posts: 1,120
    Usually within the UK, seaside areas are more temperate than inland. This does not mean warmer, it merely means that the extremes of climate inland are not experienced on the coast, even as far north as Scotland. So, if you are in 'sea air' then you shouldn't have a hardiness issue with Griselina, which is indeed why it's so often used for hedging at the seaside. It can take a couple of degrees of frost, and that's probably all you need.
  • Mrs-B3-Southampton,-HantsMrs-B3-Southampton,-Hants Posts: 574
    Mine is on the corner of the house facing south and west. the house is a corner plot with a low wall. It gets the prevailing wind and rain in full force. Been there for 30 yrs or so. Happy to be hard pruned. Would recommend it.
    Did you know there is a variagated type as well?
    Southampton 
  • aidanhoadaidanhoad Posts: 171
    Thank you both for your comments - seems like a winner to me...
  • WibbleWibble Posts: 89
    I have it as a hedge (here when I moved in). I’m in NI. Wind comes down hard from the hills above. Cut it back extremely hard last year and it’s come back very vigorously, fast. Very popular hedging round here, have never heard of one not surviving the winter. 

     I find it does need a fair few trims of the soft growth throughout the year as it tends to get leggy very quickly - needs trimmed to get decent dense growth to make a solid hedge. 
  • aidanhoadaidanhoad Posts: 171
    Thank you @Wibble - do you have a picture of yours you could post? I would love to see it in reality rather than pictures of it advertised by a seller... (probably unrealistic)...!

    Thank you :)
  • Cambridgerose12Cambridgerose12 Posts: 1,120
    My sister grows it, so I don’t have a photo of it but I can tell you that it’s very nice to look at. It has a very yellowish overall effect because the stems are golden and ever so slightly fuzzy, and the leaves are fairly rounded, quite shiny and moss green. 

    Another option for you would be Pittosporum—either Pittosporum tenuifolium, or Pittosporum tobira. I love the latter, particularly its variegated form, and you see it often in sea air situations.
  • robairdmacraignilrobairdmacraignil Posts: 722
    My parents had a griselinia hedge that was mostly killed by a couple of years of severe winters a few years back but they are living some way inland. If you are near the coast it is unlikely to get cold enough to kill an established hedge of it but inland I would not trust it myself. When the girlfriend got her planning permission to build here in the south of Ireland about 7years back the permission came with the direction that leylandii and griselinia should not be used in the landscaping. I don't think this could have been enforced but read someone suggesting that this directions from county councils here was due to findings that griselinia being a non native species to Ireland did not provide as much benefit to wildlife as other potential hedge plant choices. Both these plants were also planted very frequently in recently developed house gardens.

    I'd think ebbing's silverberry might be a better option.
    https://www.youtube.com/user/sustainableveg/videos
  • ErgatesErgates Posts: 2,196
    We put this hedge in more than 10 years ago. Very vigorous, responds well to trimming. As mentioned early, need to pull out side shoots to prune to keep them bushy. We are in a valley in East Devon. The hedge is on the north side of the garden and often in the shade of the house.

    Sorry, this has posted upside down! Never happened before, and I have no idea how to correct it. Can anyone help or advise?

  • aidanhoadaidanhoad Posts: 171
    Thank you @Ergates - that’s exactly what I’m hoping to achieve. It looks perfect!

    Afraid I can’t help with the photo being upside down! 
  • WibbleWibble Posts: 89
    @aidanhoad will try to post some pics -the forum isn't letting me select a photo from my phone ATM. Anyone able to offer tech advice?!


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