The Best Plants For Strict Hedges. Selection Of Plants For Hedges. Photo - Page 4 Of 7

4. Hornbeam and its alternatives

The most powerful green walls among deciduous crops are created by the hornbeam. It cannot boast of attractiveness during winter and early spring, because it completely sheds its crown, but in the rest of the year this garden giant creates amazingly spectacular green screens.

Medium-sized trees with a natural conical or spherical crown up to 10 m in height and in themselves are considered one of the best geometric trees. With their greyish smooth bark, oval leaves and good mold tolerance, hornbeams produce surprisingly effective and dense fences with a rich, vibrant green color. In autumn, they change color to light yellow.

High bosquettes are made of hornbeams - green walls of considerable height, exceeding human growth. It is considered to be one of the best perimeter green screen plants, especially around busy streets. Hornbeam reduces noise, retains its shape for a very long time, even when skipping cuttings.

Prerequisites for a hornbeam

The hornbeam needs to provide nutritious soil, fresh and of good quality, in no case acidic. It is considered a shade-tolerant crop, but it is better to use hornbeams for hedges in fairly bright places. Planting density - 50-70 cm.

Hornbeam pruning specifics

For hedges, it is preferable to plant 2-3 year old seedlings. Formation begins in the next spring after planting, at first strongly cutting the trees in height, and then 2-3 times per season shortening the shoots. The height can be unrestrained until the lower part of the crown is compacted, while forcing and shaping are carried out simultaneously. The hornbeam is pruned in late spring and late summer; it is not afraid of a more drastic pruning.

Alternative options

For the formation of the highest green walls (from 3 meters), you can use not a hornbeam, but a large-leaved or small-leaved linden, which also very easily tolerates pruning.

A great alternative is beech. Unlike the hornbeam, it retains autumn-brown foliage throughout the winter. They are powerful plants that are equally effective against noise for the tallest green walls. Beech trees are formed starting from the second year of cultivation by pruning with height control twice a year. For this culture, it is important to form horizontal skeletal shoots at a young age. The hedge often requires the creation of a second masking row, because the trunks of the beeches are powerful and the lower part of the hedge can be bare.

Elms, with their spreading and very dense crown and rather large leaves, are also suitable for strict hedges, but not narrow, but rather wide. In order to shape these plants, a sufficiently powerful and branched crown must be allowed to develop, so the seedlings are allowed to grow for several years, and only then they begin to cut.

For a continuation of the list of the best plants for strict hedges, see the next page

To go to the next part, use numbers or links "Previous" and "Next" Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next