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What tree should I plant to create a formal hedge??
I want to plant a foral hedge around my property. I have approx
30m of boundary that I want to start with, and then continue on at a later date. At the front of my property i would like a screen about 3metres high and about 4metres high at the back. I'm leaning towards conifers, maybe lieghton green or monterey cypress. i'm concerned these wont like to be pruned that short as i know they can grow to 15 - 20 metres.
any thoughts?
It really depends on where you are and what grows well in your area. You may need to take to a local nursery or an agricultural extension agent to get some ideas. Cypress is not such a good choice unless you get incredible amounts of water. It will have problems (as will hemlocks, junipers, cedars, and pines) if it is crowed and shaded - like a hedge always is. The bottom limbs will die; mites, scales and other pest will be a constant problem and will diseases. I've removed a lot of these.
Japanese privet will make a dense hedge very fast and seems to grow almost everywhere. It can easily get 5 to 10 meters tall, and can be pruned back to your target height to 3 or 4 meters with no problem with hedge trimmers and looping shears. This will be an annual or semi-annual event though. Once it is established, it is impossible to get rid of (goats like it though!). Be sure before you plant it. I was an arborist (to old to climb now) and every few years we had a massive privet privacy hedge to prune around a 2ha property in a country club in Charlottesville VA. It was so tall, we needed a bucket truck to reach the top. Better check with local nursery first. It could be illegal in some places. I'd characterize it as an invasive species to be avoided, but for what you are describing. it may be perfect. Just "control" it.
Other possibilities include Russian Olives, forsythia, mock orange, and some of the honeysuckles (stay away from Japanese honeysuckle). These may not be as invasion as privet and may not grow as fast. Some won't make it to 3 meters tall very easily, but some will. Russian Olive is kind of nice with flowers. It is evergreen. Forsythia has great flowers but is not evergreen. It would look great mixed in once in a while (systematically or in front of the Russian olive and privet would be great.
In the US, we have "Red Tips" (Pheotinia - my spelling is horrible - pronounced 'fo-tin-ee-a' if that helps - a Latin genus?). They are more prized for foliage contrast (green older growth, maroon new growth), but can be planted in a hedge. They also have more insect and disease problems. Make sure they are appropriate for your climate, or it will be a constant battle to keep them alive.
Most of these can make such a dense hedge, dogs won't even try to get through it and many are semi-evergreen. Privet and olive have very few insect and disease problems although they will require periodic dead-wooding. Once established, you can cut privet and forsythia to the ground (maybe olive too) and it will grow back at to a height of almost a meter in 1 year (depending on your climate).
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