what to grow through conifer hedge

One plant that is different is Dicentra scandens - its a climbing bleeding heart that is golden yellow. I had one near a hedge - the intention was that it climbed up a single conifer. Anyway it had other ideas,looped over to the Leylandii hedge and romped off down it. Will grow to 15 feet. It has the advantages that it dies down to a dormant tuber in winter so you could cut the hedge early with cutting the Dicentra. Also it looks unusual and mine always gets the comment"What on earth is that gorgeous thing?". The leaves are delicate so it won't kill off the hedge underneath. I have also found that the stems are very brittle and they die off if broken. In hedge its ideal. I transferred mine to a trellis and the wind whistling through breaks them.
Downside - you probably won't get them from a garden centre. They won't like the fact that they cannot display on a windy display area. I have grown mine from seed, which is easy. I got my seed from Plant World seeds in Devon. http://www.plant-world-seeds.com/

 

Lets see if I can post a picture of the Dicentra. Its a bit of a long round about way of doing it. Here it is growing through a Hypericum.

 

This is how you should cut a leylandii hedge. i decided to give the one near the greenhouse a severe trim, the summer before last.

 

agree with the D. scandens, Geoff, a lovely plant, and I'd not thought of it. Perfect choice!

Don't agree re the cutting of the leylandii though - not if you're leaving bits of dead conifer on display....

 

I am wondering if you don't realise how hard i cut them. The one at the front was cut down to a height of about 6 inches and then i went down the whole hedge at the same height. This was followed by what can only be described as "major root pruning". :D
The recycling plant then complained that the root boles were too big to go through the chippers...well why didn't they put up a notice about it then?
I now have some nice trellis where the leylandii was with clematis, sweet peas, later some roses,....and of course the Dicentra.
Am now seriously considering pruning the boundary hedge using the chain saw :D ....that would be replaced with beech.

 

P.S. I have noticed some disturbing posts in this topic concerning some filthy foreign invaders. :( We prefer to refer them as arboreal rats. They might chew leylandii bark, damage your roof etc. We true squirrels stick to nibbling our nuts.

 

:D :D
The dicentra is lovely Geoff, never seen one before. Would it be ok in a pot as the soil is typically pants under the hedge?? I like the idea of it dying back in Winter so I can cut the hedge. Which, as you can possibly see on the pic, involves me kneeling on a scaffold plank on the roof of the Summerhouse :rolleyes: While the eye-candy gardener laughs hysterically :D

 

waiting with interest for that pic, Windy! Can we get Macleaf to go round and take the pic, I wonder?

 

im on my way

 

oh i forgot if shes hasnt any mince pies,then its doubtful :D :D :D :D

 

Mac only loves me for my pie :eek: :D :D

 

dont forget im to trim your bush tommorow :D :D

 

Mac :eek: |You are sooooo naughty I may have to spank you :D :D

 

hell fire ,cant wait :D :D :D

 

Not sure about the pot. It produces a big long root, a bit like a dahlia tuber but heading down vertically. I think they take some killing as well. When I "root pruned" the hedge I went looking for the Dicentra nearby(must have been 1 foot away) and tried to dig towards where I thought it was. Well sods law was that my spade went right through it. It ended up in 4 pieces. Experience had told me the top would survive but I planted all 4 bits in those long pots they use for clematis. They all grew and down at the Country Markets stall (used to be WI) the customers thought they were fantastic. Sold them for �£2 each - good bargain for something they can't get in the local nurseries. Started me off selling other things down there like Meconopsis and such.
I would just plant it to one side in well composted soil so it gets some moisture.