Help....problems with hedge!

Hi

Please see the picture of our 'hedge' at the front of the house. We'd like to start afresh by clearing it out and wonder what you suggest to replace it with. As you can perhaps see from the picture there is a metal railing to the rear of the growth and a public playing field behind the railing. We'd like something of low maintenance and something that gives us good privacy. Can anyone please make any suggestions to a novice guardener!

Thanks for your help.

Regards

Asgar

 

Why do you want to "start afresh", it looks O.K. to me! What are you looking for, flowers, fruit, prickles, autumn colour or all of the above?

Privacy implies quick growing, which is diametrically opposed to low mainenance. I'd try and meld what you have with what you want.

Cheers, Tony.

 

We are really looking for an ever green hedge. We would keep what we have got but the thing is that it looks a bit of a mess

 

You could leave it in place and put a border in front of it with some shrubs which will give you some added interest, but which are not as high as the hedge such as Rhododendrons, Roses, Skimmia Japonica Rubella, Sarcococca Confusa, etc.

Alternatively, you could plant a few of the smaller Clematis next to it to climb up and through it to give you some colour in summer.

 

I suggest that you remove a few sections of the hedge and plant some natives like Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Blackberry and others along its' length this will encourage wild-life like birds and insects even hedghogs and other small rodants. your garden could be full of nature in a few years.

 

Asgar, a Hebe hedge is evergreen and has flowers throughout the summer that will attract wildlife. It should only need trimming once maybe twice a year.

 

If you think that it won't tidy up from clipping it carefully to a "smart shape" then it would be worth considering having it professionally "layed". That process will cut part way through the stems, and "lay" them over at about 45-degrees, and weave them together, such that they will grow back as a really dense hedge - which you then cut as a normal "formal shaped" hedge. The process is used in agriculture to convert "worn out" tired hedges into dense hedges that livestock cannot push through. I've seen people do it locally (i.e. around gardens, rather than fields) and the newly layed hedge looks very smart, and within a year its an amazingly thick lush hedge.

That won't make it evergreen though!

Problem with grubbing out the hedge and planting a new one is the wait until it has grown. To get something that is as dense as what you currently have will probably take 5 years, 3 minimum if you manage to get the plants established quickly (e.g. if we have another wet season like this year )

You can buy larger plants, to kick start it, but that jacks up the price. Hedging plants are generally a couple of quid each rising to £10 - £20 each if you want something 3' - 4' tall (that's the tip of the plant, that isn't a neatly trimmed hedge of that height).

If you want a fully-formed "instant hedge" that is 5' - 6' tall then you would have to pay £200 per metre for it ...

You could plant a climber on the railings - that might be the fastest solution. Clematis armandii is an everygreen climber (with nice white flowers in the Winter). Trachelospermum jasminoides would be another suitable climber (thread with photos) but may not be hardy where you are (putting your location in yourProfile would help )

In terms of evergreen hedges you could consider - in order with fastest growing first:

Leylandii <Spit!>. Very fast growing, and IF clipped EVERY year WITHOUT fail!! it will make a nice formal hedge. If you miss a year you cannot cut back into old wood, so cannot get it back under control. Grows up to 3' a year - and it will keep on doing that, even after it has got to the height you require. Prone to Cypress aphid which will kill it.

Thuja plicata atrovirens - I've planted a lot of this, over the years, and it makes a nice formal hedge. Not quite as fast as Leylandii, but it can usually regrow if it is cut back into old wood.

Holm Oak (evergreen Oak). Grows pretty quickly, makes a nice hedge that is a bit unusual - slightly grey-green in colour. Also grows very well near the sea (if you have the problem of salty sea air).

Holly - looks nice, berries in winter, don't plant it at the back of borders you have to hand weed because the leaves are prickly after they have fallen onto the bed!

Box - small leaves, ideal for shaping into Topiary if you fancy making an interesting "scene" along the top? !! Has been somewhat prone to Box blight in recent times.

Yew - probably too slow for you, makes a fantastic formal hedge though.

Either way, put all the effort into the planting trench that you can, it will pay back in spades in terms of how quickly the hedge establishes. Lay a leaky-hose so that you can water it effectively in the first few seasons. Keep it mulched to keep the moisture in and weeds out - and if you get any weeds take care of them early on so they don't steal water & food from the hedge