kjjaw wrote:

We would like to plant a hedge next to the road on our property. It
doesn't need to be a very big hedge. It is under a pine tree, so the
soil is quite acidic with lots of pine needles. Next to/On top of a
granite wall, so better not to have large roots that would disrupt this.
The climate is mild (Channel Islands), but we are on a hill and it can
be very exposed/windy. Other parts of the wall have a Fuschia hedge,
which does well, but is further away from the tree and very thin in
winter. We would prefer to have something that is either green all year,
or has a lot more density (so the backyard is a little more sheltered
nd private). Be great if the hedge can establish itself within a couple
of years or so. The climate here means things do tend to grow quickly.

Any recommendations/ideas? We have a big bay that seems to be ok in
these conditions and I considered making a bay hedge, but that might be
quite a slow grower?

Kaspar

Canadian hemlock makes a wonderful dense evergreen hedge. They are
shallow rooted but grown as a hedge they won't uproot in heavy winds.
They have one major drawback or I'd be planting many, Deer consider
Canadian hemlock the equivalent of potato chips. Where I lived
previously I had a majestic Canadian hemlock hedge running 120' across
my back border and 6' tall but I had no deer, here deer would decimate
it.
http://landscaping.about.com/od/ever...lock_trees.htm
http://search.aol.com/aol/image?q=ca...ord_rollove r

As an aside, pyracantha is one of my favorite specimen plants to
aspalier on a fence/wall but I don't suggest using it as a hedge where
anyone, especially children, may inadvertantly walk/run into it (even
a pet dog), its thorns are deadly... before planting a pyracantha
hedge I strongly suggest consulting your attorney.
http://search.aol.com/aol/image?q=py...ord_rollove r