looking for a recommendation for a hedge
I'm looking for recommendations on a tall hedge to be used for privacy and separation. Ideally the 100' long hedge would be reliably dense from top to bottom, like a cheynne privet. Here are the other needs...
- Zone 5 Colorado front range cold hardy
- Low watering requirements (watering during establishement and early years OK)
- Can sustain partial shade... there is one apple tree and pine that will shade the center and one end quite a bit, and trees overhead will shade during June. Other mature trees will shade later in the late fall (see below)
- minimum 8-9' tall, prefer:11-13+'... I know, it's a 'tall order'
- shapable or not terribly deep or round shaped (would like to keep space available in the yard for fruit trees and flower gardens)
- of course aesthetics/flowering/semi-evergreen are all nice, but lower priority to the above, as it's really a privacy fence.
Thanks!
Comments (12)
simplynatural
2 months agorossn
2 months agoRelated Discussions
Bamboo Recommendation for container
Comments (1)wellcome bamboo Here is a link that might be useful: Yamaha R15 & Yamaha R25 Motor Sport Racing dan Kencang...See Morehedge recommendation for privacy and blocking wind
Comments (10)Natives: Arctostaphylos densiflorus 'Howard McMinn' or similar larger growing Manzanitas, Ceanothus 'Concha' or C. 'Julia Phelps',(but both are attractive to deer), Heteromeles arbutifolia, Myrica californica, Romneya coulteri, dwarf cultivars of Fremontodendron. Non natives: Arbutus unedo, Feijoa sellowiana, Osmanthus illicifolia, Pittosporum tobira, Escallonia, etc. You could always look up suggestions for hedges in Sunset Western Garden Book as well. Not all of these are going to remain at 8 feet tall, and most will eventually require pruning. Things like Xylosma congestum, Dodonaea viscosa, Acacia longifolia, and Leptospermum scoparium would also be fast growing, dense hedges. If you wanted to be more adventurous, some of the South African Leucadendrons or Leucospermums or Proteas could also work well, and also give some great spring bloom. Aloe arborescens can also be used as a large screen, or Echium fastuosum....See Moreneed variety recommendations for blueberry hedge
Comments (1)Height = rabbiteye You need to decide whether you want fruit or foliage more first. "Attractive" and "striking" is meaningless if you want fruit....See MoreLooking for recommendations for privacy hedge in tight space on hill
Comments (3)Are you willing to prune annually to keep plants to the size you choose, either height or width? When you say you want height, are you thinking high enough so that someone can't see over it, or so that the 8 story apartment across the street can't see into the yard? It sounds like the area where the hedge will be is in full sun, not shaded at all. This is an advantage since it means you are more likely to have leaves densely clothing the hedge top to bottom. How is wind exposure? Think about whether you want all of one kind of plant, which looks more formal, but will be a problem if a pest or disease infests your hedge or even if a plant dies, trying to match the older plants; or if you want to have a mixed species hedge, using repetition of groups of plants. It looks less formal, but will be more resilient in the face of problems and may offer more variety in the way of food and habitat for birds. IME if you have a good quality foundation, the roots from a hedge won't be a problem. I am right on the edge of 5a/4b, and IME, if you want bamboo, you will want to be OK with one that might get killed back in particularly harsh winters, like the last one, though mine hasn't died back most years. Mine (one of the hardiest Fargesia, it gets only to about 6' here ) also doesn't do particularly well with staying upright with heavy wet snow, so you may lose some privacy in the winter. Others from farther south or with different varieties may have different experiences, but that is my experience a bit north of Concord, NH. Arborvitae is fine if you don't have deer. Depending on the species and cultivar you choose, they can range from 8' or 10' to 40' and have a color range that includes yellows, greens, and some lightly frosted or variegated. Some types are more likely to grow multiple stems, and those are more likely to split apart in heavy snow or ice, so if that is an issue for your yard, you may want to choose carefully. There are also some narrow hollies and junipers. Skyrocket juniper is a form of J. scopulorum which is from the western US, so is more prone to disease in humid areas. Sky Pencil holly is a form of Ilex crenata and looks a bit like a narrow boxwood - the leaves aren't prickly. There are narrow yews such as Hicks yews, but yews are particularly beloved by deer, so if you have deer, you don't want yews. I don't have any experience with the narrow forms of any of these plants, so perhaps others can add info about how they fare in the landscape. There are also some fastigate small to mid-sized trees such as Japanese and other maples (Acer), Sweet gum (Liquidambar), Hornbeam (Carpinus) as well as a number of fastigate/columnar evergreens such as varieties of pine, fir, and spruce. Many of the evergreens will grow to tree height, though not all. In general these will tend to be more expensive since most require grafting to achieve the narrow form....See Moresimplynatural
2 months agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 months ago
Sigrid
2 months agorossn
2 months agolast modified: 2 months agorossn
2 months agocecily 7A
2 months ago
indianagardengirl
2 months agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 months ago
mmmm12COzone5
last monthlast modified: last monthI suggest Korean Lilac. If you trim it to shape each year it gets very dense and can provide a screen barrier even in winter. It is very easy to keep narrower if you need. It is considered a slow grower which may or may not suit you. Lessens the amount of sprawl and height you have to take off. These will fit better under your trees.
We have successfully used Moonglow Junipers as a dense hedge. To keep the narrow enough you have to trim off the horizontal branches and leave the vertical ones once per year. We had a tree trimmer show us how to select branches to keep the junipers narrower and it has worked will through the years. The ones we haven't tried to shape get ungainly large after 20 years but the ones we try to keep narrow seem to be working out. However those are 5-10 yrs growth behind the initial plants. Pretty much anything you buy will get bigger and taller than advertised. Most plants have a mature plant H and W listed on the tag. I think I read that that is the 10 yr size. So at 20 years they are generally much bigger. That has been my experience with most things we have put in.
For example we put in Moonglow junipers 20 yrs ago.https://www.thetreefarm.com/juniper-moonglow
Says mature W is 10 ft and mature height is 20 ft. We spaced the bushes 10 ft apart and 5 ft off the fence. Many years ago they ran into each other and were over the 10 ft width. They need trimming off the fence each year and the taller parts we can't reach are probably at least 2-3 ft over the fence. In another area we put them behind a waterfall and near a gate we have consistently trimmed the horizontal branches that would block the gate or access to the back of the waterfall and these areas have stayed open. We have had to take one out for splitting at the base in a heavy snow and becoming a danger to the fence. We also have had to take some big branches off that have split near the base and sagged into the yard. But overall we have been delighted with how well they've done and a number of your neighbors have commented on what a nice screen it is and wish they had put something in like it. We did put in $20 small ones from Home Depot and they grew rapidly.
Pic. of Moonglow Junipers 10' apart, 5 ' off fence. No shaping or trimming. Probably 22-23 yrs old. Planted from $20 Home Depot gallon Moonglow Junipers.
Pic. of Same Junipers that have had branches trimmed due to splits from snow load.
Pic. of Moonglow Junipers, 6' apart. Being trimmed to keep them interfering with gate out of photo on left side. Maybe 17 yrs old. Planted from same 1 gallon $20 Home Depot Moonglow Junipers.
I have seen a number of nice hedges with regular lilac bushes. They grow pretty fast. I've also seen them pulled out for getting too big when they aren't give enough depth room since they start to crowd fences or sidewalk they were planted to close to. They do get dense enough to provide a privacy screen. This type of lilac will not be as dense and shape able as the Korean Lilac but it will gain height faster.
floraluk2