I'm in southern NH, zone 5, and I have a little forsythia hedge along
one of my back corners, under a bunch of deciduous trees. They're nice
plants, I like them a lot, but their growth habit is kind of exuberant.
I'm now in the position of having to hack a path through so I can get to
the back for pruning. The way to prune forsythias, I'm told, if you
want a natural-looking shape, is to draw an imaginary line and snip
anything which extends beyond that. But then the shoots from that
branch just grow into the forbidden territory next year, and cutting
them would lead to the same problem again, so I'm getting kind of tired
of it.

Not that I have the time and money to rip them all out and replace them,
but, supposing I did, what would be a good replacement? I'm looking for
something shade tolerant that would grow to about 6 feet tall,
preferably with some fullness all along the height of the plant.
Flowers would be nice, too. Nothing that needs lots of pruning year
after year after year.

Although not a candidate for formal hedging, take a look at Kerria japonica.
A charming shrub.

Dave

"Chelsea Christenson" wrote in message
...
I'm in southern NH, zone 5, and I have a little forsythia hedge along
one of my back corners, under a bunch of deciduous trees. They're nice
plants, I like them a lot, but their growth habit is kind of exuberant.
I'm now in the position of having to hack a path through so I can get to
the back for pruning. The way to prune forsythias, I'm told, if you
want a natural-looking shape, is to draw an imaginary line and snip
anything which extends beyond that. But then the shoots from that
branch just grow into the forbidden territory next year, and cutting
them would lead to the same problem again, so I'm getting kind of tired
of it.

Not that I have the time and money to rip them all out and replace them,
but, supposing I did, what would be a good replacement? I'm looking for
something shade tolerant that would grow to about 6 feet tall,
preferably with some fullness all along the height of the plant.
Flowers would be nice, too. Nothing that needs lots of pruning year
after year after year.

On Thu, 19 Jun 2003 15:02:41 -0400, Chelsea Christenson
wrote:

Not that I have the time and money to rip them all out and replace them,
but, supposing I did, what would be a good replacement? I'm looking for
something shade tolerant that would grow to about 6 feet tall,
preferably with some fullness all along the height of the plant.
Flowers would be nice, too. Nothing that needs lots of pruning year
after year after year.

VIBURNUMS Arrowwood and maple leaf viburnums grow native around
here in mountainous northwest NJ (zone 5 microclimate), and have
extremely nice flowers. The birds use the berries as forage. The
burkwood virburnum (viburnum burkwoodi) will have nice flowers that
smell wonderful (most viburnum flowers are beautiful but don't have
much aroma). Viburnums in general are a common stock at nurseries
around here, and are native to north america.

http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/plant...sp_spring.html

Viburnum trilobum, 'wentworth' cultivar (highbush cranberry) will have
showy flowers in spring, lustrous foliage and bright red berries in
fall. The berries can be eaten or substituted for cranberries,
although they are very tart until after a couple frosts. Although it
was difficult to find a local nursery which stocked highbush
cranberry, it was worth the search.

Dan

Take a look he

http://www.nh.nrcs.usda.gov/features...on/native.html


On Thu, 19 Jun 2003 15:02:41 -0400, Chelsea Christenson
wrote:

I'm in southern NH, zone 5, and I have a little forsythia hedge along
one of my back corners, under a bunch of deciduous trees. They're nice
plants, I like them a lot, but their growth habit is kind of exuberant.
I'm now in the position of having to hack a path through so I can get to
the back for pruning. The way to prune forsythias, I'm told, if you
want a natural-looking shape, is to draw an imaginary line and snip
anything which extends beyond that. But then the shoots from that
branch just grow into the forbidden territory next year, and cutting
them would lead to the same problem again, so I'm getting kind of tired
of it.

Not that I have the time and money to rip them all out and replace them,
but, supposing I did, what would be a good replacement? I'm looking for
something shade tolerant that would grow to about 6 feet tall,
preferably with some fullness all along the height of the plant.
Flowers would be nice, too. Nothing that needs lots of pruning year
after year after year.

I'm looking for something shade tolerant that would grow to about 6
feet tall, preferably with some fullness all along the height of the plant.
Flowers would be nice, too. Nothing that needs lots of pruning year
after year after year.

Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of Sharon) comes to mind.

You'll get lots of seedlings rhough... this could be good, or bad.

I'm in the process of planting a hedge of them in the strip between
the sidewalk and street.


--
be safe.
flip
^___^ Count to three. Make a wish. Close your eyes.
\^.^/ Wait. Scratch that, reverse it.
==u== - apologies to Roald Dahl

I wondered how you could make a hedge from "Rose of Sharon", then thought

Here we go again..........

"Rose of Sharon"

In the US its Hibiscus syriacus
In the UK its Hypericum Calycinum
--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

I wondered how you could make a hedge from "Rose of Sharon", then thought

Here we go again..........

"Rose of Sharon"

In the US its Hibiscus syriacus
In the UK its Hypericum Calycinum
--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk


I cut mine back hard after they bloom every year....They are kept under 4 foot
tall, the shrubs are bushy and bloom like mad in August... They would make a
lovely border... They grow fast, and are easily propagated.
Colleen
zone 5 Connecticut

wrote:
Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of Sharon) comes to mind.

"David Hill" writes:
I wondered how you could make a hedge from "Rose of Sharon", then thought
[...]
In the US its Hibiscus syriacus
In the UK its Hypericum Calycinum

Interesting... I gave botanical name to try to avoid confusion. what is
the common name of Hibiscus syriacus in the UK?

I suppose you could make a *little* hedge out of Hypericum
Calycinum.... perhaps for a 1:15 scale dollhouse....



--
be safe.
flip
^___^ Count to three. Make a wish. Close your eyes.
\^.^/ Wait. Scratch that, reverse it.
==u== - apologies to Roald Dahl