Plant selection and configuration differs only slightly depending on your application:
• Decorative hedge | It may be formally clipped or designed to grow naturally. Add flowering shrubs like azaleas, loropetalum, flowering quince, roses, viburnum and weigela to increase interest and color. Design a decorative hedge for purposes.
• Security or privacy hedge | The need for dense growth is a given. Plant thorny barberry, pyracantha and roses along with prickly holly to deter intruders. Evaluate plants based on height for a privacy screen.
• Windbreak hedge | A windbreak filters and slows wind, thereby forming a warmer microclimate for delicate plants on its leeward side. When arranged properly selected cedars, hollies, junipers and yews, wax myrtle, eleagnus, palmetto, pittosporum and rosemary are examples of superior plants for coastal spots.
• Mixed hedge | Shrubs may be evergreen or deciduous, coniferous or broadleaf. Depending on hedge length, include three to five plant species. Incorporate a flowering shrub and perhaps a vine.
Use a mixed hedge to develop a wildlife habitat. Native and well adapted plants like wax myrtles, hollies and yews provide dense cover and nesting spots for birds. Plant a flowering shrub like abelia that attracts bees and butterflies. Add pyracantha – bees and butterflies love the flowers and birds eat the berries.
Tips for planning a hedge:
• Consider growth rate and mature size of the plants you select. Limit your plant selection to three to five species. Not all species must be planted the same year. People usually want a fast-growing hedge, but keep in mind that the faster a plant grows, the more frequent pruning it will need.
• Yaupon or Burford hollies can be planted to form an almost instant low hedge. It will take a few years for the foliage of the plants to meld with one another but the hedge effect is immediate.
• Eleagnus is a fast-growing intensely fragrant evergreen shrub. It is an excellent hedge and barrier plant that takes well to pruning. It is tough, adaptable to various conditions and easy to grow. Foliage is white-gray. Its intensely fragrant yellow flowers attract bees and it offers up late season fruit for the birds.
• Ligustrum (privit) is a commonly used fast-growing hedge plant. A word of warning: Although ligustrum is available in local garden centers, it is on the Invasive Plant Pest Species of S.C. list. With that in mind, it is your choice to use it or not.
• Boxwood is a slow to moderate grower and worth the wait if you are a fan of classic formal garden design. It takes well to shaping and pruning. Depending on variety (about 160 species and cultivars) it grows from 1 to 20 feet tall making it a good subject for a long-lived low or tall hedge.
• In a mixed hedge, avoid lining plants up like a row of soldiers. Use a staggered double row of plants rather than single line. Or use a three row arrangement with tall shrubs (or small trees) in the back, medium shrubs in the middle and low growing shrubs in the front. If your hedge will be viewed from both sides, plant the tall shrub row in the middle and the lower shrubs on either side.
• As you plan a hedge keep plant diversity and structural layers in mind.
Fall is the time to plant and fall is on the horizon, but now is the time to plan what to add your garden. If you need to fix a problem in your yard, a hedge might be the solution.
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