fast growing hedge

[Frank]

Hi everyone,

Has anyone got any suggestions for a fast growing hedge, not the wonderful leylandi, but some thing bushy that will grow to about 1 mtr height, easy to keep and cheap[:D]!!!! Any helpful suggestions greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance

Kimberly 17

[Cassis]

Evergreen, I assume?

For an informal hedge then Lavender (larger varieties) and/or Rosemary make a wonderful scented hedge - up to about 1m high.  Both only need a yearly haircut after flowering.

Otherwise what about lonicera nitida - I've recommended this before.  Here's the old thread:

Quick Hedge

It will grow to a couple of metres unless trimmed twice a year, late spring and late autumn, but makes a very dense hedge like a small leaved privet which can be sculpted into shapes - I've made one into a series of undulating waves, about 1.75m high.

[cooperlola]

How about Photinia Red Robin

http://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=10661

Makes a very flashy hedge when there's new growth about.  I used to have just one of these in my garden and it grew well and didn't mind being butchered.  There's a nice example of a hedge of this just down the road from me - seems to do well here at least.

[Cassis]

I've never tried it, Coops, though I know it as a very handsome shrub.  Would it be restrictable (?) to about a metre high, do you think?  It's a great shrub.  The Viburnum Tinus on the same page is worth a look, as well.  They're both likely to be a bit more pricy than the lonicera etc. but if they suit for size and habit then they're well worth it for the extra interest their colour gives.

[Alane]

You might also try some of the rose varieties on this page -

http://www.hedging.co.uk/acatalog/Index_Hedging__Trees__Shrubs___Conifers_R_S_8.html

Some are remarkably cheap - we mixed repeat flowerers with the Rugosas at 30p each and they have done very well producing a reasonably good hedge in the second year. I now just trim it up with the hedge trimmer every other year.

[cooperlola]

[quote user="Cassis"]I've never tried it, Coops, though I know it as a very handsome shrub.  Would it be restrictable (?) to about a metre high, do you think?  It's a great shrub.  The Viburnum Tinus on the same page is worth a look, as well.  They're both likely to be a bit more pricy than the lonicera etc. but if they suit for size and habit then they're well worth it for the extra interest their colour gives.
[/quote]I would say so, yes; the hedge in question is probably about 4' high (in old money) - eyes right as you leave St Cosme!

[diotima]

If you don't mind trimming it to keep it to size, Viburnum Burkwoodii. It grows to about 8' high and wide, but I trim mine to 5' and it responds well, dense and bushy. You could keep it to 1 metre. The leaves are particularly pretty in spring, bright fresh green and glossy, and the scent is glorious. Semi-evergreen normally, but mine's in a sheltered spot and keeps its old leaves until the new ones push through.

[Frank]

Hi everyone

Thanks for your suggestions, will have a dig through the info I think it may well be the Viburnum[:D]

Kimberly

[Loiseau]

Eleagnus ebingii grew pretty quickly for us!

Evergreen, has tiny, strongly-scented flowers in late summer/early autumn.

We bought tiny sprigs (not expensive, from Jardiland), and within five years, or maybe less, they were a thick hedge as tall as a man.

Angela

[londoneye]

thats interesting because this is the hedge i have decided to plant - small godets about 8 cm high (i am being a bit cheap but i have a large area to cover).    Have you tried taking any cuttings from your hedge yet, and if so has it worked ok, because i dont have a huge garden budget (OH thinks you can plant out and landscape an acre for about a fiver !) and wanted something which i could take cuttings from myself and grow in other areas in due course.

[londoneye]

sorry loiseau, if you read this, forgot to ask also, how far apart (if you can recall) did you plant your sprigs, because i have read both 1.5 metres and 1 metre as planting distance on two different garden sites?

[Loiseau]

Gosh, can't really recall.  I think maybe 1metre apart, but frankly it is such a HUGE thick hedge now that I would say 1.5m would have been fine.

Angela

 

EDIT

Sorry, in my haste to reply to the last, I didn't notice the other Q above.

I am sure you could take cuttings, or grow from the seeds the plants produce, but you would have to wait a few years before you could do that from the tiny sprigs that you plant.  I remember my husband was very pleasantly surprised by how cheap the sprigs were to buy at Jardiland at the time, so the price wasn't an issue in the end.

[Cassis]

Eleagnus ebbingei cultivars (there are several) will grow up to 12ft high and the same across if left to their own devices.  Being evergreen you can propagate these varieties from greenwood cuttings in late spring (that's shoots of the currrent year's early growth, still green stemmed) or from semi-ripe cuttings in summer (that's shoots of the current year's growth which are JUST starting to turn woody and develop bark on their surface).  In each case you take short sideshoots from the main stem with a 'heel' (piece of the mainstem bark) attached, by pulling down on the sideshoot so it tears off the stem.  Trim the heel so it is tidy and dip the bottom end in rooting hormone.  Cuttings should be 3-4inches long - if longer, trim the tips.  Put them in pots of  compost mixed 50:50 with perlite (or grit) and place the pots in a propagator (a must for greenwood cuttings, which need a moist atmosphere) or in a cold frame or greehouse.    Water well and keep soil moist.  Spray fortnightly with fungicide.  Greenwood cuttings can be transplanted to a nursery bed for growing on in the open in autumn after hardening off or grown on in pots over the winter.  They will probably need another full growing season before being big enough to plant out in final positions - semi-ripe cuttings taken in summer definitely do.

I have also had limited success with semi-ripe dogwood cuttings in open ground in a nursery bed.  You may want to try it if you don't have propagator or greenhouse.  Easiest way to plant the cuttings in open nursery bed is to mix in a generous amount of grit and sand to open the soil structure (unless you already have sandy soil), make a slit

in the soil with your spade, arrange all the cuttings 10cm apart and

firm the soil gently back in place.  Don't over compact it. Water, spray with fungicide and cover with tunnel cloche.  This gives a lower success rate but is feasible.

EDIT - re planting distance, depends how quickly you want the hedge to fill out!

[Pierre ZFP]

I have no suggestions other than the excellent advice above but from very personal experiance can I radvise a few shrubs NOT to have:

Fire thorn  -  grows quick and dense but vicious thorns that went right through my thick leather gloves.  After you cut it, it is muder to pick up.  Thorns can even puncture car tyres (it made a mess of the wheel of my wheelbarrow and my bike!)

Berberis  -  comments as for fire thorn only worse, thorns about 2 cms long or more and so sharp!  Looks quite nice but deadly.  OK if you want to deter intruders!

Snowberry - What's wrong with that you say? no thorns, attractive foliage and white berries in winter - true but it spreads like mad, I am in a constant mechanical and chemical battle to contain it.

 

Just had a thought, what about holly? Nice shiney evergreen leaves, red berries, dead easy to propergate and although it has spikey leaves you cut it in summer when they're soft and they burn great on the bonfire!

[Cassis]

I love holly, too.  How about a mixed hedge?

[londoneye]

thanks both.   i did try cuttings last year snipped off from a bush at my local lake, which is where i 'discovered' this particular hedging.   All seemed to be going well but when i took them out of pots (after a rather optimistic month or so !) and planted them, they died.    It seems i probably should have left them in pots longer, so i will try that next time.   many thanks for both your responses.

[AnOther]

I'm contemplating a hedge and found this site useful for information and price comparison although not sure how valid this might be in France.

http://www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/acatalog/