Evergreen Hedge

Jedward

hi there,

we have an area of open lawn to the front of our house, that we would like to enclose with a 4ft evergreen hedge.

i have included pictures to show the area in question, and marked out where we would like the hedge.

we would like the hedge to establish quickly and initially were considering Leylandii. However further reading has led us to Thuja Plicata Western Red Cedar as it is fast growing but not as fast as Leylandii! and perhaps doesn't come with the associated problems and negative perceptions of Leylandii. Also I understand that Thuja can be cut back to wood and will reestablish itself were Leylandii will not.

the aspect is North-East and is does get sun all day. The bottom half of the lawn (nearer the White car) is prone to holding water in the winter. I wouldn't say it gets water logged but it is wet. The soil is heavy clay.

 

please can anyone offer advise as to whether Thuja is a good choice or an alternative. Also how to plant the hedge in terms of soil preparation would be appreciated.

many thanks

John

 

 

 

 

madpenguin

Please NOT Leylandii.

It may be fast growing but is awful.

Try Beech,Griselenia and I think you still can't beat good old Privet!

Steve 309

Holly?

Fairygirl

If it's soggy ground I'd avoid Beech - it doesn't appreciate wet ankles. Hornbeam would be better. If you want evergreen, Privet is semi evergreen but would do well there, Holly would be very nice, and some of the less domineering Thujas like Smaragd . Don't forget Taxus - yew. Whatever you choose, prepare the ground well by clearing  grass and any weeds to create a proper border, and then dig in compost, well rotted manure and grit if the drainage is suspect. A sprinkling of Blood, fish and bone will benefit the new plants too, as well as a mulch once they're all in.

It will be expensive to do that whole boundary with pot grown plants, but this is the time of year for bare root hedging so take a look online at some of the specialist nurseries. Don't make the mistake of thinking that bigger is better. Smaller plants/whips  will establish better and grow more quickly in the long run. 

Dovefromabove

Holly would be fantastic there

robbie2red

Hi all! And Happy New Year to you!!

Sorry to bring an old post back up but I’ve been scanning through to find info on hedges.

We’re thinking of something the same as what a box hedge would do. So it’s a formal hedge, short, and we’d like to keep it clipped nice and smart. It’s to create some partitions in our garden. Our garden is quite wet. Almost forgot to mention I’d like something that is evergreen. It’s going to be in pretty much full sun too! 

I’ve heard bad things of box blight which has put me off box???

I’ve looked at Ilex Crenata and that’s looking like a good option at the moment, but do you have any other suggestions/pictures of your short, nicely trimmed hedge! 

We like the the idea of something that’s good for nature too so maybe something that has berries in the winter???

Thanks in advance! Hope you all enjoyed a nice Christmas!

Regards,

Rob

hogweed

The Beechgrove did a programme on small hedging - they were planted by Chris Beardshaw and he planted at least 6 different types to see how neat they grew and how well. You may still find the info leaflet on the website. 

KeenOnGreen

We had a similar scenario, and planted Privet in May 2014, bought online.  They were not bare root, but not large by any means.  By 2016 we had a reasonably thick, short hedge. By 2017 it was fully established and ready to shape. I'd recommend Privet, tough as old boots, and can be made to look very good with a bit of creative shaping.  We are heavy clay.

May 2014



May 2016


Sept 2018

JennyJ

That's a lovely hedge, @KeenOnGreen.

I'd suggest privet as well.  I know it's common, but with good reason - it's tolerant of a wide range of conditions, it can be kept quite short and narrow, it grows quite quickly, it will grow back from old wood if it needs cutting back hard, and young plants are cheap.  The only downside is that it's not fully evergreen - it will lose some leaves in a hard winter.

Fran IOM

@Steve 309 & @KeenOnGreen Lovely gardens to be proud of 

Busy-Lizzie

I was going to suggest Lonicera Nitida. Privet is good too but some people don't like the smell, not that I've ever minded it.