By Tilly3006
Lancashire,
United Kingdom 
we have what we call our woodland area at the top of the garden and since we moved in, 4 years ago, the area has been somewhat neglected. This year we plan to tackle it and have already ordered snowdops in the green and bluebells to plant under the trees, and i also have my eye on some lovely gereniums as well. For christmas we were given an arch with a gate attached that will make a fantastic entrance to this area. We would like to plant a hedge either side of this gate to create a 'room' effect. We are thinking of laurels. Could we plant this and then immediatley trim the tops to the size we want - a low growing hedge is required - to encourage them to bush and nit together, or would they need to establish themselves first? We want something that will grow quickly and be evergreen.
22 Jan, 2011
Answers
Sounds nice. To make any non conifer hedge grow thick and bushy and to be able to keep it to the height you want, you do need to prune it when planted back to decent side growths.
22 Jan, 2011
Snap
22 Jan, 2011
Thanks both of you. Bamboo we hadnt got as far as choosing exactly which laurel. We had considered buxus but thought it was too slow growing. I'm too impatient. Back to the drawing board then...... :)
22 Jan, 2011
What height do you want your hedge, Tilly? Would you consider a mixed hedge? For example, you could have several different Berberis, buying 2 foot bushes. Or copper beech looks good and isn't too slow.
22 Jan, 2011
Actually Yew is quite quick growing and easy to bush out and keep to size.
22 Jan, 2011
I always use Lonicera nitida, Doesn't mind location or light levels. Grows quicker than most things. We made a hedge of cuttings 12" and it was 5' within 3 years. The same with the maze. 9" rooted cuttings and now it's 3' in 2 years. And it's easier to manage than some larger leaved hedging shrubs.
23 Jan, 2011
thanks everyone for your tips. I'll look into Lonicera, 2nd hand, not one i had previously considered. Had thought yew was slow growing OB, but will take another look. Sheila, i'm looking at the hedge being about 3ft tall in total. As with the other recommendations i'll check out the berberis. many thanks to you all again.
23 Jan, 2011
I'd go with the Lonicera then as that is the only one easily kept to that height.
23 Jan, 2011
First, what kind of Laurel? Do you mean Aucuba japonica, or Prunus laurocerasus? The first gets 8 feet by 8 feet, and the second 25 feet by about 12 feet. If you want a low hedge, you would probably be better to choose something like Buxus or Lonicera nitida - both these have small leaves and can be cut with shears or a hedge trimmer, whereas either of the Laurels really need to be cut with secateurs to avoid half leaves, their leaves being much, much larger.
Secondly, when planting a hedge, it is usual to immediately remove two thirds of the top growth (for container plants) or a half if the plants are bare root. The plants should not then be pruned again during their first year - cutting back in this way at planting time means the production of shoots from the base, encouraging a hedge with leaf right down to the ground, with no bare base later.
22 Jan, 2011