As new homes offer smaller yards and privacy becomes an issue in some neighborhoods, questions about screening and hedging have been popping up like October mushrooms in the lawn. (Best to just ignore the mushrooms, they’ll go away.)
QI need an evergreen hedge that will grow tall but not too wide. Also the area gets only a half day of sun. What do you think of English laurel?
ANot much. English laurel not only grows into a high maintenance monster, but a cold winter can kill it back almost to the ground. A better choice would be the pyramidalis arborvitae or upright yew plants as both do well in the shade. If you have deer, go with the deer-proof yew. Add some color to the evergreen foliage by planting a purple clematis on the north or shaded side of your hedge and let this flowering vine embroider the evergreens with summer flowers. Purple clematis such as Jackmanii and Polish Spirit are the hardiest of the flowering clematis.
QI have tried growing a boxwood hedge around my garden beds, but some of the boxwood plants always seem to turn yellow and die. What do you suggest for a low, evergreen hedge instead of boxwood? I should note my husband likes to trim things.
AIn our climate boxwood can suffer from leaf blights, root rots and also has the distinctive smell of cat urine. A much less expensive alternative is to plant the low-growing or creeping evergreen euonymus fortunei and just keep it trimmed into a low hedge with a string trimmer. Emerald Gold and Emerald Gaiety euonymus not only do well in our climate but spread out quickly so that you need only a few plants spaced several feet apart to create a solid, evergreen hedge in just one or two years. Another option for a taller hedge is to use Japanese holly (Ilex crenata) which looks just like boxwood but with a darker green color and more robust growth. You can even get dwarf Japanese holly plants for smaller gardens. You can shear all of these evergreens several times a year or let them grow into more natural hedge shapes.
QI want instant screening from the neighbor’s patio, but our tiny backyard has no room for a wide hedge. What plant grows tall very fast but needs a bed only one foot wide?
ABetter go with a “fedge” or combination fence and hedge. A few panels of fencing will give you instant gratification and a tall and narrow juniper or cypress plant on either side of the fence panels will make your screening appear more friendly. Just look for evergreens that say “columnaris” if you want a natural columnar form that won’t require any pruning. You can also dress up your fence panels with a dwarf clematis or annual vines such as black-eyed-Susan, rochochiten or even sweet peas. Do not make the mistake of planting wisteria, ivy or a fast-growing clematis such as clematis Montana on your fence in your small yard. The growing enthusiasm of these fast vines need large estates or gigantic dead trees to cover.
Marianne Binetti is the author of “Easy Answers for Great Gardens” and eight other gardening books. She has a degree in horticulture from WSU and will answer questions from her website at www.binettigarden.com.
