Hedge options

Hi all,

New to gardening, but I'm looking to create a border in the front garden to mark out my territory as it were. I'm looking to plant a hedge which grows (or can be kept at) 2-3ft tall. The area is roughly south facing so get the sun most of the day. Being the N.W. England we get a fair amount of rain, but the area doesn't seem to be boggy unlike the back garden!

What would people recommend for the type of hedge for this scenario? Then what do I need to do to prepare the area and then plant?

The hedge will be a C- shape with a total length of ~7m. How may new born hedges would I need?

I am currently looking at either Buxus Sempervirens, planting established specimens around 20cm apart. Is this a realistic option?

Finally, I was considering planting the same hedge in some rectangular planters, so I have some small mobile hedges to put on paved areas. Is this doomed to failure? At the current time I have pansies in the planters which may be more appropriate.

Apologies for all of the questions and many thanks in advance.

Penfold

 

Hi and welcome to GC, Penfold Given the situation, I'd go for lavender. There are issues now with Box blight, a nasty fungal disease which wipes out swathes of box hedge. There's Lavendula 'Hidcote' which is dwarf with deep blue flowers or Lavendula angustifolia, the original old-fashioned pale mauve variety which makes a taller plant. A quick trim over with shears or a hedge-trimmer when the flowers have faded and no other maintenance required!
It would also work better in tubs, where most other plants would be a pain to keep watered. At a guess, three plants of 'Hidcote' per metre or two per metre of angustifolia would be about right. Not too much preparation required if you've got decent soil...they wouldn't want lots of feed, just the rootballs kept damp until the roots have got out into the soil.

 

Welcome to GC Penfold.

The shrub form of Potentilla makes a good hedge and needs very little pruning, I have it against my front garden wall and it grows to about 4ft maximum. It's also very hardy and copes well with drought and waterlogging. It is deciduous but flowers right through summer. Here's a link for you below.

https://www.google.com/search?q=pot..._DeCsTZOaeJgIAD&ved=0CF8QsAQ&biw=1600&bih=752

 

I'd avoid Box because of the risk of Box blight, as @noisette47 said, and also 'coz it is relatively expensive, and needs to be planted quite close - so you need more plants-per-metre. If you particularly fancy Box then Ilex crenata would be a suitable alternative (doesn't suffer from Box blight)

If you are planting a front-hedge that is short might it be that people will step-over it, or not be careful about bumping into it, and thus damaging it? If so you might want to go for something prickly - like Berberis.

Lavender makes a nice hedge, but tends not to be very long lived, and it is important to cut it right, after flowering (its not difficult, you just need to ask / be told how, but you cannot miss doing it one year, because the plants will become bedraggled if you do)

Wacky suggestion: Step over Apples - grow one/several varieties of Apple as a single-tier Espallier. Pretty flowers in Spring, and fruit in the Autumn

Yew will grow as a low hedge. It will always look very smart (You will probably need to plant a Yew cultivar better suited to being kept small, such as Taxus Hicksii

Euonymus fortunei "Emerald Gaiety" or "Emerald ‘n’ Gold" - or a mixture! Very colourful leaves.

There are also some dwarf Bamboos - which would be a bit different

Sounds OK. Best to choose a plant that will be happy being dry for extended periods - or rig up some automated watering for them perhaps?

 

What about lonicera nitida?? I planted mine from whips bought fairly cheaply early last year and their coming on nicely

 

Planted 3 per meter and had first major cut Easter weekend seem pretty easy to grow

 

Hi,

Sorry for not coming back sooner. I ended up getting and planting
Berberis Thunbergii Atropurpurea based on the advice above. Looks nice and definitely prickly. Has exactly the desired effect so thank you all for your help.

Thanks,
Penfold

 

good choice and it has flowers and berries for the birds/bees

 

Bit hard to see from this photo, but I planted that as a "skirting board" along a Yew hedge