300m hedge help

how do you mix them? is it just alternating them in a row or sections side by side. the nursery people said "hawthorn's pretty rough"

whats the advantages of hawthorn over beech?
can this mixed hedge be cut into a formal square shape?
can any hedge be cut into a formal square shape? im thinking of a hedge maze, pruned to perfection, what would be best for that?

sorry for my complete lack of knowledge on this subject!

 

if it wont look as good then why is it a good idea ?

 

photinia red robin looks good as a hedge, hardy and evergreen but may be expensive for decent sized shrubs

 

Its a matter of preference. Mix it up randomly for a natural look, or do blocks of species for a contemporary look. I prefer the former, but that's just me.

I'm not sure what they meant by that. You certainly wouldn't want to climb through a hawthorn hedge in your best threads Could it be that the nursery didn't want you to buy hawthorn because it is the cheapest option?

Hawthorn is less fussy about the conditions its in. Beech has soil preferences, prefers full sun, and is not as tough against cold harsh wind. Hawthorn is not fussy. It grows in a wide range of soil conditions, will grow in full sun or part shade, and laughs in the face of winter gales.

Hawthorn, beech, holly, box and many others will clip very neatly. Some shrubs wont. If you see a shrub you like, the supplier should be able to tell you whether it will clip to a nice square or not.

No. An example of a nice hedge shrub that wont clip to a neat square would be laurel. Its nice, but its growth habit just doesn't lend itself to a formal square shape. Many species will though. If in doubt, ask the supplier before you buy.

Box is common for this, but takes a long time to mature. Privet is a faster option, but its awful (in my opinion), and at risk of being struck down with a bolt of lightning for blasphemy, leylandii is about the fastest option for this.

No worries. None of us really know, we just guess, and try to sound informative. If enough people believe us then it becomes the truth

 

that photinia red robin looks great, is that hedge in that picture clipped square? if not then can it be clipped square?

what they mean by "rough" was like after a night out, you might look rough, ie not good.

hawthorn wasnt much cheaper than beech.

what if i just mix hawthorn, blackthorn, beech, holly, box

would that be too crazy?

i really like colour full hedges and i really like dogwood, there is some of the purple and yellow planted in the park and it looks amazing. perhaps this should not be part of the hedge but maybe planted in front of the hedge and kept quite low?

 

Have a look at these:





This hedge belongs to a neighbour of my dad's. I love it. I don't know all the species that are in there, but I can recognise a few and they're not all native. It works well though, but it doesn't clip totally square.

There are several types of dogwood in it, buddleja, elderberry, various wild roses, and loads of other stuff I can't recognise and/or don't remember.

The point is, dogwood will work well among a mixed hedge. The lovely colours are only a feature in winter. They are quite lush and leafy the rest of the time.

Can't see any problem mixing hawthorn, blackthorn, beech, holly and box.

Hawthorn doesn't look horrible unless it's struggling. If its thriving, it can be very beautiful indeed. The young wood has very glossy bark and the leaves are lush. The flowers are mildly fragrant and very pretty, and in autumn it is decked out in bright red berries.

Left too long, hawthorn looks tired. The glossy young bark becomes gnarly, and the lush foliage becomes increasingly sparse. But here's the tremendous thing about hawthorn. You give it a brutal, aggressive haircut, and it just rejuvenates. Hawthorn hedges look dull when the owner gives it a twice per year light trim, which means in the winter when all the leaves have fallen you can clearly see the dull old wood under the surface. Newer practice has you giving it a much more brutal cut but less frequent. When you do that, its generally younger stuff that's visible, so it looks more lush.

 

thanks for the advice, im not keen on the hedge in the photos. maybe the photos dont tell the full story. i read on the internet somewhere that yew takes 10-15 years to become a 5 ft hedge, and the write was explaining that this wasnt slow!!!

does it really take that long?
how long would the other hedges we have been discussing take to get to 5 ft?

what are your thought on western red cedar? i saw this and i thought it was amazing

does western red cedar look really similar to yew or is there a big difference?
what about mixing western red cedar with yew?
thanks

 

I'm assuming that you will remain the leaseholder on the property itself and the grounds? If so will you be taking on the management yourself or using a specialist block management company? If the latter they will have landscapers/groundsmen on their books - get two or three of these providers on site and ask them [a] what they would plant, and if there are any local examples of this that you could look at. Take a few hours out in March to drive around and look at their suggestions to see what you'll be "marketing" next year.

A square hedge is high maintenance. Might you better off with a two metre'ish bed of mixed shrubs planted in a regular pattern. This will look good (right) for longer and be lower maintenance (cheaper) in the long run. I'll try to get a photo today of what I'm thinking of.

One other point to bear in mind - for about four months of the year people leave for and arrive home from work in the dark.............

 

there will be a management company but in scotland we sell everything freehold so it will be communal between the flat owners, there will be a factor management company to do the landscaping and repairs.

how often would a high maintenance hedge required to be trimmed and how long would it take one man to do?
could one man do it in one day every 2nd month? if so that would be 6 times per year and cost about £600 which isnt too bad.

 

So I assume that there will need to be a sales pack listing these charges?
Discuss your needs with the contractor who will be doing it is my advice. A squared hedge will probably need trimming every 4 weeks in the summer, but less in the winter.

 

so that would mean 2 gardeners x 3 days so till 6 days and still about £600 divided between 12 flats, not too bad.

i have been offered yew hedging at what seems to be a very reasonable price and its 4ft tall plants. i was led to believe that was either too expensive or not possible due to the lack of growth at the bottom of the plant, any comments on that?
the man at the nursery said i would need about 350-400 planting about 3ft apart and the are 4ft tall. does that sound feasible?

 

the landscaping charges will not be a massive part of the overall charges which include building maintenance and insurance. all charges will be detailed to prospective purchasers and i will do my best to keep the costs reasonable.