Recommended Hedging

I want to plant a row of hedging but have no idea what to plant, i have been looking round at various sites but not getting the info i need, so perhaps some expert advice might be better.
I don't want to upset the neighbors with anything that grows too high.
Ideally I want them to grow upto about 2m. Has anybody got any suggestions?
Also not cost too much or need too much maintenance.

Bit of wish list i know.

I had seen some Beech & hawthorn plants at my local garden centre 10 plants for £10, would these be OK or would they grow out of control?

 

www.hedging.co.uk link for Christmas box sarococca hedging thought you would like to see this link JWK

 

If you are on heavy soil Hornbeam might be a better bet than Beech (but is pretty similar in other respects)

I don't think hawthorn is good for a "tidy" hedge (others may disagree). Looks great for a country hedge, but I persoanlly don't think it clips "tight" if you are looking for a smartylu maintained hedge.

If you want something evergreen, but bland, then Privet, Thuja plicata atroviren or Yew would be my choices. Avoid Leylandii - they grow 3 feet a year, but they will keep on doing that even once they get to 2M and if you forget to cut them one year you will have a shaggy mess - you cannot cut back into old wood as it will not regenerate.

Do you want something that flowers? Or Fruits even??

£1 / plant from a garden centre sounds cheap to me. I'd be worried that they might not establish quickly (e.g. they have stuck 10 bare rooted plants into a single pot, and they've been abandoned in that state for some months now ...) but there again you may have found yourself a bargain.

If you are impatient then look for taller plants. I planted Copper Beech this autumn and they were about £4-5 each, and about 4' high.

If you are planting Beech, or something like it, then I recommend considering a double row - if you have the space. It will grow a lot thicker.

I would put some leaky hose, for watering in the summer, when you plant it, and then some mulching fabric to keep the weed down. Weeding a hedge is a pain, but if you only have a short run I expect you'll also have time to look after it.

Make 100% sure that you do not plant the hedging plants too deep - especially if you buy bare-rooted plants.

best to get them in before the end of February if at all possible.

 

"i have been looking round at various sites but not getting the info i need"

For planting info etc. this may be worth a look
http://store.ashridgetrees.co.uk/Information/Hedge-Planting-Instructions-Care

 

JWk I bought mine from crocus online great healthy plants .

 

Hi Pl456 welcome to the forum.

Buy young hedging that you like the look of when it is in it's mature state because very few hedging other than Leylandii is going to grow really quick.

One idea you can try is to install cheap wire netting, plant your little hedge plants but also plant a quick climber too something like Clematis Montana should do the trick so while you are playing the 'waiting game' (for your hedge to mature) you will be rewarded with a rampant green growth throughout summer and of course a shower of flowers around May.

Once the hedging is to your liking you can always remove the climber.Hel.xxx.

 

Thanks eveyone, a fair amount reponse. So many to answer.

Privacy is the main purpose for the hedge, beech deosnt sound to bad.

The £10 for ten plants, they are all in one pot (either every garden centre does this or you shop at the same one as me). Should I be avoiding this?

Some good links / advice for planting / pruning

Thanks again.

 

"or you shop at the same one as me"

I've seen Raspberry canes in my local Wyevale sold like that ...

"Should I be avoiding this?"

I assume that they don't all die, otherwise the garden centres wouldn't sell them like that! I just wouldn't choose to buy them like that ... but my reasons may entirely irrational!

Hedge plants can be container grown - and thus planted at any time (with suitable after care in Summer), or grown for sale as bare-root plants for planting Nov-Feb, and to my way of thinking that's the best sort of plant to get a hedge established.

A garden centre can't sell bare rooted plants, because they can't live for very long out of the ground ... and indeed if you bought some bare rooted plants and weren't able to plant them immediately you would just heel them in - which is what the garden centre is doing stuffing them in a pot.

I suppose my view is that heeling them in means they get transplanted twice, particularly if there is a long-ish gap and the roots have had time to start regenerating (which could easily be the case in the garden centre), so on that basis I would try to avoid it. No denying the convenience of walking into your local garden centre and coming away with all the plants you need - and the price is good too (assuming they aren't tiny).

If you have got a reasonable length of hedge to plant I would buy them from a reputable bare-root hedge specialist nursery, and then you will get them in tip-top condition, lifted the day they are despatched to you, and assuming you can plant them promptly I reckon that will give the best result. (Don't plant them if the ground is frozen).

For a "privacy hedge" you either want evergreen, or a double row of Beech - I think a single row Beech will be a bit skinny in the winter - but it may be splitting hairs unless you are expecting privacy-equivalent of a brick wall!

 

You are being rippd-off at 10 plants for £10.

Search for a forest nursery in your area and you will probably find a hedging pack at about £35 for 50 plants of a size 60/80. If you wanted a hundred this would cost you about £50 - this would cover about 20 metres.

It all depends though on what you want and how long the hedge will be. You should be able to get 50 hazel (60/90) for about £30. You can decide on your own mix.

Pyracantha is a real pig to cut back. Infact, anything with large thorns I would avoid unless you are getting in someone else to maintain it!

 

I think a quid each for 10-off is OK for Beech at 60/80 - you'll get them down to 80p, or maybe 70p, if you buy 100 or more. Dunno how many the OP wants though ... plus there may be a carriage cost for small quantities from a remote nursery.

Having said that I'd want plants that were taller to establish the hedge more quickly - somewhere between 1m and 2m and they are more likely to be £2 - £4 each, a bit less for quantity.

If you just want Hawthorn or somesuch then they will be cheap-as-chips ...

 

At that price, why on earth do so many people still want to plant Leylandii??

 

"why on earth do so many people still want to plant Leylandii??"

Hehehehe ... that's easy. "It grows three feet a year" = "I'll have a 6 foot hedge in two years"

which slightly ignores having a 60 foot hedge in 20 years, which is what I've inherited with my property.

 

Yes, unfortunately my next door neighbour had the same thoughts. Fortunately he's considerate (or knows the law) and is keeping it strictly within 6 feet.

I'm sure I saw him out there with a tape measure and spirit level...