In October of last year I planted a mixed hedge comprising the following:
Photinia - red robin
Ceanothus - blue
Lonicera - fragrant bush variety I hope
Viburnum fragrans
Illeagnus
Escallonia

I think that's all of them!
These I have planted in sufficient quantity to form a single varied 20m row
in front of and alongside our property bordering a footpath.
The mix of colours, leaf types, plant shapes, blossoming times etc appears
to work well, although it is a little early to be certain.

Too much rambling get to the point........

Oh yes.

When I was looking at the options for these, various sources recommended a
spacing of 2 feet, if a continuous hedge was the end result required.
I stuck with this (min spacing 20"), as I want a continuous hedge but with
the various different plants merging together.
I am now concerned that they will "fight" for space, or more particularly
nutrients.
Is this likely, or will these plants be happy to cohabit?

TIA

Phil

In article , TheScullster pscull@cu
tthespameuropacrown.com writes
In October of last year I planted a mixed hedge comprising the following:
Photinia - red robin
Ceanothus - blue
Lonicera - fragrant bush variety I hope
Viburnum fragrans
Illeagnus
Escallonia

I am now concerned that they will "fight" for space, or more particularly
nutrients.
Is this likely, or will these plants be happy to cohabit?

They may well cohabit but having been planted that close, *you* will not
have the benefit of seeing the foliage to best advantage
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (((((((
--
Jane Ransom in Lancaster.
I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg
but if you need to email me for any other reason, put ransoms
at jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see

Thanks Jane

As these plants border a public footpath I am looking for a bit more
screening than would normally be associated with some items in this
selection.
They look pretty good already.
I specifically sought out fragrant varieties of Lonicera and Viburnum as I
love getting a waft of these walking by other gardens!
Just hope the nursery hasn't fobbed me off with scent free look-a-likes.

Phil

On 11/6/04 13:45, in article ,
"TheScullster" wrote:

Thanks Jane

As these plants border a public footpath I am looking for a bit more
screening than would normally be associated with some items in this
selection.
They look pretty good already.
I specifically sought out fragrant varieties of Lonicera and Viburnum as I
love getting a waft of these walking by other gardens!
Just hope the nursery hasn't fobbed me off with scent free look-a-likes.

Phil


Do L. purpusii and V.tinus or V. Bodnantense ring a bell with you? If so,
they're fragrant. L. purpusii flowers in winter which is a real bonus. You
could also add Sarcococca which is *very* fragrant in winter but won't get
as tall as the others.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds after garden to email me)

On Thu, 10 Jun 2004 13:30:15 +0100, TheScullster wrote:

In October of last year I planted a mixed hedge comprising the following:
Photinia - red robin
Ceanothus - blue
Lonicera - fragrant bush variety I hope
Viburnum fragrans
Illeagnus
Escallonia

I think that's all of them!
These I have planted in sufficient quantity to form a single varied 20m row
in front of and alongside our property bordering a footpath.
The mix of colours, leaf types, plant shapes, blossoming times etc appears
to work well, although it is a little early to be certain.

What you've really got there is the makings of a hedgerow rather
than a clipped hedge. Photinia, some ceanothus, and perhaps the
escallonia are good hedging plants: they do well with regular
clipping. The winter-flowering loniceras and the viburnum don't
have, imho, the right growth habit to make a good clipped hedge.
(I reserve the right to be spectacularly wrong.)

Can't tell you about the illeagnus, as I'm not familiar with it.

The combination of photinia and ceanothus actually makes a very
beautiful clipped hedge: there's one here where they are planted
alternately in blocks about six feet wide; it's stunning this
time of year. You might not think the dark red of the young
growth on photinia would combine well with the soft blue of the
ceanothus, but it does. I love it.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
[change "atlantic" to "pacific" and
"invalid" to "net" to reply by email]