Would hydrangeas make a good hedge?
Any other suggestions for flowering hedge would be appreciated. Especially ones that are easy to work out when to prune so it flowers again the following year. Some varieties of berberis for example can’t be pruned in autumn because they don’t flower the following year. So I discovered
. I don’t like & won’t pruning anything in spring/ summer, bird nesting season.
Also while we’re on hedges
. Would you go with one variety of hedging plant or mixed?
I was thinking one variety. So it’d grow at same speed & pruning time would be the same. Is that good thinking ?
Neighbours have a hydrangea hedge - looks stunning when in flower. Do they need deadheading for pruning? Would that be a lot of work for a hedge?
I have a camellia hedge that turns into a fig hedge! I'm a fan of camellias, as you may have guessed. Evergreen, flowers through winter, bees love it . Different colours - from white to red with all shades of pink in between. Single and multi-petalled. Bit messy when the flowers fall. White flowers look worse than pink after frost..............may be something to think about if frost is a problem for you.
We have mixed hedges - cornus, birch, hazel, holly, maple, blackthorn (
) rose, beech, oak, ... and cut in late summer.
Plus a row of buddlejas which I'm hoping will be a hedge when they fill out.
Thanks veggie. I hadn’t considered camellia. I love them . I’ve not mastered the art of taking cuttings from them yet. Must try harder.
If I go with hydrangeas, I was planning on dead heading & pruning at same time. I guessed they don’t need pruning for them to continue flowering. As they last so long anyway. Is that right?
(22-03-2022, 11:12 PM)PyreneesPlot Wrote: [ -> ]We have mixed hedges - cornus, birch, hazel, holly, maple, blackthorn ( ) rose, beech, oak, ... and cut in late summer.
Plus a row of buddlejas which I'm hoping will be a hedge when they fill out.
What hight is your mixed hedge?
I was thinking buddleia. Because love them and have lots and can take cuttings easily. Wasn’t sure if it would make a hedge. Let me know how they do.
(22-03-2022, 11:22 PM)Small chilli Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks veggie. I hadn’t considered camellia. I love them . I’ve not mastered the art of taking cuttings from them yet. Must try harder.
If I go with hydrangeas, I was planning on dead heading & pruning at same time. I guessed they don’t need pruning for them to continue flowering. As they last so long anyway. Is that right?
I think the dead flower heads are left on the plant over winter to protect the next year's buds, then cut off in spring. I always forget to do mine and it looks very scruffy!!
I have some of the common buddleia. Not sure it would make a dense hedge. Grows like elder, flowering branches die off to be replaced by new shoots.
Mixed hedges here. Front (roadside) hedge is the original privet with interlopers of ash, oak, laurel and yew - all a bit boring.
Side hedge, front, is camellia and fig, cotoneaster, a couple of roses, fuchsia and a pink fluffy flower. On the other side is a Hebe, laurel and some dying privet.
Back garden is just a mishmash of anything, including edibles like jostaberry and worcesterberry.
(22-03-2022, 11:26 PM)Small chilli Wrote: [ -> ] (22-03-2022, 11:12 PM)PyreneesPlot Wrote: [ -> ]We have mixed hedges - cornus, birch, hazel, holly, maple, blackthorn ( ) rose, beech, oak, ... and cut in late summer.
Plus a row of buddlejas which I'm hoping will be a hedge when they fill out.
What hight is your mixed hedge?
I was thinking buddleia. Because love them and have lots and can take cuttings easily. Wasn’t sure if it would make a hedge. Let me know how they do.
The mixed hedges are cut back to about 1.60m and easily make a good 2m by late summer. Creates masses of useful shredding too for mulch!
I don't think the buddlejas will make a proper dense hedge just a good demarcation between two zones.
(22-03-2022, 11:48 PM)Veggie Wrote: [ -> ] (22-03-2022, 11:22 PM)Small chilli Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks veggie. I hadn’t considered camellia. I love them . I’ve not mastered the art of taking cuttings from them yet. Must try harder.
If I go with hydrangeas, I was planning on dead heading & pruning at same time. I guessed they don’t need pruning for them to continue flowering. As they last so long anyway. Is that right?
I think the dead flower heads are left on the plant over winter to protect the next year's buds, then cut off in spring. I always forget to do mine and it looks very scruffy!!
Oops! I’ve been doing it wrong for years then
. Thanks for that.
(22-03-2022, 11:57 PM)Veggie Wrote: [ -> ]I have some of the common buddleia. Not sure it would make a dense hedge. Grows like elder, flowering branches die off to be replaced by new shoots.
Mixed hedges here. Front (roadside) hedge is the original privet with interlopers of ash, oak, laurel and yew - all a bit boring.
Side hedge, front, is camellia and fig, cotoneaster, a couple of roses, fuchsia and a pink fluffy flower. On the other side is a Hebe, laurel and some dying privet.
Back garden is just a mishmash of anything, including edibles like jostaberry and worcesterberry.
When do you prune the fuchsia? That grows great up here. Again very easy to take cuttings and I’ve got a few already.
Edibles I was thinking a hedge of red & black currants. I’ve been given lots of those and I know when to prune them
(23-03-2022, 08:23 AM)PyreneesPlot Wrote: [ -> ] (22-03-2022, 11:26 PM)Small chilli Wrote: [ -> ] (22-03-2022, 11:12 PM)PyreneesPlot Wrote: [ -> ]We have mixed hedges - cornus, birch, hazel, holly, maple, blackthorn ( ) rose, beech, oak, ... and cut in late summer.
Plus a row of buddlejas which I'm hoping will be a hedge when they fill out.
What hight is your mixed hedge?
I was thinking buddleia. Because love them and have lots and can take cuttings easily. Wasn’t sure if it would make a hedge. Let me know how they do.
The mixed hedges are cut back to about 1.60m and easily make a good 2m by late summer. Creates masses of useful shredding too for mulch!
I don't think the buddlejas will make a proper dense hedge just a good demarcation between two zones.
I was thinking the buddleia wouldn’t make the best hedge. Then realised it doesn’t have to. It could going in front of the stock fence next to the road. More as a screen from nosy tourists rather than a proper hedge.
keep the ideas and suggestions coming. I’ve got at least 4 hedges planned + an edible one around my vegetable garden. I’m thinking hops growing on the fence for parts of that. Thanks to another one of veggies bright ideas
Hydrangeas are dead-headed/pruned in Spring. The stems don't become woody and hard like most shrubs, so pruning in autumn or winter can allow frost to get into the stems, which will kill them.