Hedging and hedges – hedges for problem places

You want to plant a hedge, but conditions are less than ideal? Don’t worry, there is a heading solution for every problem.

If the place you want to set a hedge is heavily shady, consider these three Victorian favourites:

Buxus (box), Aucuba japonica (spotted laurel) or Symphoricarpos (snowberry) which has pure white berries in summer

Your garden is on heavy clay? Don’t panic, plants that cope really well with heavy clay soils and the consequent waterlogging include our native Berberis and Cotoneasters, both of which have excellent autumn appearance, the Escallonia, the Euonymus japonicus, the plain hollies aka Ilex (the variegated kind cope less well with wet root) and the pretty Potentilla fruticosa. If you want flowers on your hedge you can go for the Ribes sanguineum flowering currant (but not everybody likes the smell of this one!) or the Spiraeas and Viburnums.

For chalky or limestone soils consider the Lonicera nitida or evergreen honeysuckle with its small silvery green or variegated leaves, the Berberis darwinii or the Viburnum opulus which is called the guelder rose and has lovely red berries after the white flowers. You can also try Chaenomeles japonica the Japanese quince which has peach coloured flowers on bare stems in early spring.

For really wet soils try - Alnus cordata, commonly known as Italian alder, the Salix or willow and if you have an acid soil it’s a nice surprise to find that one hedging plant that loves wet acidic ground is the Rhododendron luteum.

Seaside gardens - are struck by salt laden winds but two plants that love these conditions are the Tamarix (tamarisk) and the Rosa rugosa.

Hedge gardening rosa rugosa photograph by tetu, used under a creative commons attribution licence.

 

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