"David E. Ross" wrote in message
...
On 11/5/2013 1:51 PM, W wrote:
"David E. Ross" wrote in message
...
On 10/25/2013 7:50 PM, W wrote:
What is the minimum spacing you can use between plants in a hedge made
of
Photinia Red Robin? I want to be aggressive about this and I want to
maximize the density of the hedge. I am willing to have the health of
individual plants be sub optimal if that means the hedge overall will
be
denser.


'Red Robin' appears to be a variety within P. fraseri, about half the
size of the usual 'Birmingham'. Since 'Birmingham' can grow 10-15 feet
high and equally wide, that would make 'Red Robin' 5-7 feet high and
again equally wide. Thus, I would not plant them closer than 3 feet
apart.

If you want a really dense hedge, stagger them while maintaining a 3
foot spacing, as follows:
x x x x

x x x x
The rows are NOT 3 feet apart, and the shrubs are NOT 3 feet apart in
each row. Instead, the first plant in the second row is 3 diagonal
feet
from the first plant in the first row; and the second plant in the
first
row is 3 diagonal feet from the first plant in the scond row; etc.

If you stagger them with the rows closer together
x x x x
x x x x
the spacing in each row increases, requiring fewer shrubs for the
length
of hedge.

Since none of the Photinia look good if sheared, the informal
appearance
of a staggered hedge will complement the irregular growth of each
shrub.

I am starting to implement your idea here and it's a big win. Even
though
I will have to wait for additional height, the improvement in density is
enormous and finally gives the feeling of a real hedge, not just a line
of
see-through plants.

Does this idea work for Oleander as well?


This would work for any informal hedge.

However, we should not plant oleander where I live (southern
California). Some kind of blight has been killing oleanders from San
Diego to Santa Barbara. I live between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara,
and I already see oleanders dying in my community. One prediction is
that 90% of the oleanders now growing in southern California will be
dead within the next five years. See
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7480.html

I am very far north of that location, so hopefully my Oleanders have 10
years before that blight spreads.

--
W