Can anyone suggest a suitable tree that I can plant to create a 20 metre
'hedge' to screen my house from the street? Needs to be (a) visually dense
(b) have foliage low to the ground and (c) most importantly, grow quickly.
Preferable if it doesn't grow too high but I suppose I could always trim it
regularly. I live in Melbourne so a hardy native would be preferable
provided it meets the above criteria. Someone suggested Pitostrums would be
suitable (although my wife hates them - don't know why)

In article ,
"Claude" wrote:

Can anyone suggest a suitable tree that I can plant to create a 20 metre
'hedge' to screen my house from the street?

I take it you mean a 20-metre-*long* hedge? 20m *high* seems excessive!

Needs to be (a) visually dense
(b) have foliage low to the ground and (c) most importantly, grow quickly.

You would not be looking at a tree, but a shrub for this job.

Preferable if it doesn't grow too high but I suppose I could always trim it
regularly. I live in Melbourne so a hardy native would be preferable
provided it meets the above criteria. Someone suggested Pitostrums would be
suitable (although my wife hates them - don't know why)

Pittosporums have a rather strong fragrance and have become environmental
weeds in some places. They also grow much higher than hedge-height, which
means you are setting yourself up for years of pruning.

I would suggest something like a "Robyn Gordon" grevillea, ultimate height 2m
and (IIRC) width 3m. Very bushy, flowers most of the year, very hardy too.
I've planted Grevillea "Moonlight" as a hedge on the western edge of my front
garden to protect the garden from the sun. Once we get some decent rain, they
might actually grow...

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Jeez; if only those Ancient Greek storytellers had known about the astonishing
creature that is the *Usenet hydra*: you cut off one head, and *a stupider one*
grows back..." -- MJ, cam.misc

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Claude" wrote:

Can anyone suggest a suitable tree that I can plant to create a 20 metre
'hedge' to screen my house from the street?

I take it you mean a 20-metre-*long* hedge? 20m *high* seems excessive!

Needs to be (a) visually dense
(b) have foliage low to the ground and (c) most importantly, grow
quickly.

You would not be looking at a tree, but a shrub for this job.

Preferable if it doesn't grow too high but I suppose I could always trim
it
regularly. I live in Melbourne so a hardy native would be preferable
provided it meets the above criteria. Someone suggested Pitostrums
would be
suitable (although my wife hates them - don't know why)

Pittosporums have a rather strong fragrance and have become environmental
weeds in some places. They also grow much higher than hedge-height, which
means you are setting yourself up for years of pruning.

I would suggest something like a "Robyn Gordon" grevillea, ultimate height
2m
and (IIRC) width 3m. Very bushy, flowers most of the year, very hardy
too.
I've planted Grevillea "Moonlight" as a hedge on the western edge of my
front
garden to protect the garden from the sun. Once we get some decent rain,
they
might actually grow...

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Jeez; if only those Ancient Greek storytellers had known about the
astonishing
creature that is the *Usenet hydra*: you cut off one head, and *a stupider
one*
grows back..." -- MJ, cam.misc

Depending on where it's planted, you might want to check to see if you're
allergic to this plant first. It's actually listed as a poisonous plant in
the firstaid book I was given recently. I'm allergic to it myself, break out
in a rash that feels a lot like a burn & is incredibly itchy. Needless to
say I keep my two RGs that the previous owner of my house planted next to a
pathway WELL pruned.

On Sat, 11 Oct 2003 08:33:08 GMT, "Claude" wrote:

Can anyone suggest a suitable tree that I can plant to create a 20 metre
'hedge' to screen my house from the street? Needs to be (a) visually dense
(b) have foliage low to the ground and (c) most importantly, grow quickly.
Preferable if it doesn't grow too high but I suppose I could always trim it
regularly. I live in Melbourne so a hardy native would be preferable
provided it meets the above criteria. Someone suggested Pitostrums would be
suitable (although my wife hates them - don't know why)


You could try diosma, but I'm not sure how high you want the hedge!
These form a nice bushy shape, and love being pruned.

But one of the pink varieties we have has a foul smelling flower, but
there are many other choices!

"Claude" wrote in message
...
Can anyone suggest a suitable tree that I can plant to create a 20 metre
'hedge' to screen my house from the street? Needs to be (a) visually
dense
(b) have foliage low to the ground and (c) most importantly, grow quickly.
Preferable if it doesn't grow too high but I suppose I could always trim
it
regularly. I live in Melbourne so a hardy native would be preferable
provided it meets the above criteria. Someone suggested Pitostrums would
be
suitable (although my wife hates them - don't know why)

Problem with my suggestion is that I don't think it'll grow to 20 metres!
However, I love my wattle--within 2 years, it grew dense enough to screen my
house from the road. It grew dense and low because I kept snipping the top.
Forgot what it's called, but its got silver little leaves and yellow 'pom
pom' flowers, beautiful when it flowers, and silver foliage is cool. The
only thing about wattles is that I heard they're short lived, so you need to
plant something else to take its place (perhaps something slower growing but
more long-lived and ideal?). That being said, I know someone who has had the
same species wattle for 8 years.

"Claude" wrote in message
...
Can anyone suggest a suitable tree that I can plant to create a 20 metre
'hedge' to screen my house from the street? Needs to be (a) visually
dense
(b) have foliage low to the ground and (c) most importantly, grow quickly.
Preferable if it doesn't grow too high but I suppose I could always trim
it
regularly. I live in Melbourne so a hardy native would be preferable
provided it meets the above criteria. Someone suggested Pitostrums would
be
suitable (although my wife hates them - don't know why)

Problem with my suggestion is that I don't think it'll grow to 20 metres!
However, I love my wattle--within 2 years, it grew dense enough to screen my
house from the road. It grew dense and low because I kept snipping the top.
Forgot what it's called, but its got silver little leaves and yellow 'pom
pom' flowers, beautiful when it flowers, and silver foliage is cool. The
only thing about wattles is that I heard they're short lived, so you need to
plant something else to take its place (perhaps something slower growing but
more long-lived and ideal?). That being said, I know someone who has had the
same species wattle for 8 years.

"Claude" wrote in message
...
Can anyone suggest a suitable tree that I can plant to create a 20 metre
'hedge' to screen my house from the street? Needs to be (a) visually
dense
(b) have foliage low to the ground and (c) most importantly, grow quickly.
Preferable if it doesn't grow too high but I suppose I could always trim
it
regularly. I live in Melbourne so a hardy native would be preferable
provided it meets the above criteria. Someone suggested Pitostrums would
be
suitable (although my wife hates them - don't know why)

Problem with my suggestion is that I don't think it'll grow to 20 metres!
However, I love my wattle--within 2 years, it grew dense enough to screen my
house from the road. It grew dense and low because I kept snipping the top.
Forgot what it's called, but its got silver little leaves and yellow 'pom
pom' flowers, beautiful when it flowers, and silver foliage is cool. The
only thing about wattles is that I heard they're short lived, so you need to
plant something else to take its place (perhaps something slower growing but
more long-lived and ideal?). That being said, I know someone who has had the
same species wattle for 8 years.

"Claude" wrote in message
...
Can anyone suggest a suitable tree that I can plant to create a 20 metre
'hedge' to screen my house from the street? Needs to be (a) visually
dense
(b) have foliage low to the ground and (c) most importantly, grow quickly.
Preferable if it doesn't grow too high but I suppose I could always trim
it
regularly. I live in Melbourne so a hardy native would be preferable
provided it meets the above criteria. Someone suggested Pitostrums would
be
suitable (although my wife hates them - don't know why)

Problem with my suggestion is that I don't think it'll grow to 20 metres!
However, I love my wattle--within 2 years, it grew dense enough to screen my
house from the road. It grew dense and low because I kept snipping the top.
Forgot what it's called, but its got silver little leaves and yellow 'pom
pom' flowers, beautiful when it flowers, and silver foliage is cool. The
only thing about wattles is that I heard they're short lived, so you need to
plant something else to take its place (perhaps something slower growing but
more long-lived and ideal?). That being said, I know someone who has had the
same species wattle for 8 years.

"Claude" wrote in message
...
Can anyone suggest a suitable tree that I can plant to create a 20 metre
'hedge' to screen my house from the street? Needs to be (a) visually
dense
(b) have foliage low to the ground and (c) most importantly, grow quickly.
Preferable if it doesn't grow too high but I suppose I could always trim
it
regularly. I live in Melbourne so a hardy native would be preferable
provided it meets the above criteria. Someone suggested Pitostrums would
be
suitable (although my wife hates them - don't know why)

Problem with my suggestion is that I don't think it'll grow to 20 metres!
However, I love my wattle--within 2 years, it grew dense enough to screen my
house from the road. It grew dense and low because I kept snipping the top.
Forgot what it's called, but its got silver little leaves and yellow 'pom
pom' flowers, beautiful when it flowers, and silver foliage is cool. The
only thing about wattles is that I heard they're short lived, so you need to
plant something else to take its place (perhaps something slower growing but
more long-lived and ideal?). That being said, I know someone who has had the
same species wattle for 8 years.

Gabra wrote:

"Claude" wrote in message
...

Can anyone suggest a suitable tree that I can plant to create a 20 metre
'hedge' to screen my house from the street? Needs to be (a) visually

dense

(b) have foliage low to the ground and (c) most importantly, grow quickly.
Preferable if it doesn't grow too high but I suppose I could always trim

it

regularly. I live in Melbourne so a hardy native would be preferable
provided it meets the above criteria. Someone suggested Pitostrums would

be

suitable (although my wife hates them - don't know why)


Problem with my suggestion is that I don't think it'll grow to 20 metres!
However, I love my wattle--within 2 years, it grew dense enough to screen my
house from the road. It grew dense and low because I kept snipping the top.
Forgot what it's called, but its got silver little leaves and yellow 'pom
pom' flowers, beautiful when it flowers, and silver foliage is cool. The
only thing about wattles is that I heard they're short lived, so you need to
plant something else to take its place (perhaps something slower growing but
more long-lived and ideal?). That being said, I know someone who has had the
same species wattle for 8 years.


Wattles usually live about 8-10 years. Regular pruning is a good way to
keep it going for longer.

Jane

In article ,
"Wanda" wrote:

Depending on where it's planted, you might want to check to see if you're
allergic to this plant first. It's actually listed as a poisonous plant in
the firstaid book I was given recently. I'm allergic to it myself, break out
in a rash that feels a lot like a burn & is incredibly itchy. Needless to
say I keep my two RGs that the previous owner of my house planted next to a
pathway WELL pruned.

Oops, yes, I should have mentioned that they are allergenic. If you ant to
prune one, cover up -- it's contact with the plant that can cause the rash,
and some people only develop the allergy after years of exposure.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Jeez; if only those Ancient Greek storytellers had known about the astonishing
creature that is the *Usenet hydra*: you cut off one head, and *a stupider one*
grows back..." -- MJ, cam.misc