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Article: Watch-What-You-Eat-In-The-Garden
by William J. Hirst
This article is designed to help Bucks County Pa. residents select plants and shrubs for hedges. Not all plants that are suitable are listed here but most common and easy to raise ones are listed. Most of these are found at local nurseries
Hedges are one of the major components of your landscape. Hedges define the limits of your landscape and thus should be the starting point in your landscape design.
Before selecting plants for use in Bucks County Pa., you should carefully consider their landscape requirements and the characteristics of the plants. For example, deciduous plants drop their leaves in the fall and are effective screens mainly during the growing season. Evergreens provide good screening all year. Gardeners considering a sheared, formal hedge should realize that they may need to be pruned (sheared) several times a year to remain attractive. In comparison, an informal, natural hedge is relatively low maintenance. Select shrubs that grow to the desired height. Planting a tall-maturing shrub where a short, informal hedge is desired creates work. Many landscaping problems are prevented by selecting the correct planting material.
Our plants are well suited for many hedge plantings for use in Bucks County Pa . We sell many types of plants and shrubs which can work well as a natural privacy boarder. Bare-root material is the most economical type of nursery stock when planting a hedge. However, bare-root plants are rather small. For the beginner, bare root is the hardest type of plant to grow out. Container-grown and balled and bur-lapped plants are larger, but are more expensive. You will have better luck with potted and B&B stock...The added cost will be worth it. Most B&B and potted stock can be planted whenever the ground is not frozen as long as you have the knowledge to help the plants along.
Plant spacing is determined by the plant species and hedge type. Most plantings for use in Bucks County Pa will range from a spacing of a foot or two to a couple of feet. Many people will plant the shrubs and fail to prune them back hard. Pruning generally will make the shrubs more dense and compact.
The following is a list of shrubs suitable for hedges that we sell:
Amur maple
Acer ginnala 15 to 18 feet natural
Barberries
Berberis species 1 to 5 feet natural or sheared
Boxwood Species 2 to 4 feet natural or sheared
Red osier dogwood (D)
Cornus sericea 8 to 10 feet natural
Burning bush (D)
Euonymus alatus 6 to 15 feet natural
Junipers (E) 8 to 15 feet natural
Beauty bush (D)
Kolkwitzia amabilis 8 to 10 feet natural
Spirea VanHoutte (D) 6 to 8 feet natural
Lilacs (D) 4 to 15 feet natural
Yews (E)
Taxus species 2 to 10 feet natural or sheared
Arborvitae (E) 3 to 15+ feet natural or sheared
Arrowwood viburnum (D)
Viburnum dentatum 6 to 8 feet natural
American Cranberry (D) 8 to 12 feet natural
When you visit Highland Hill Farm at 5275 W Swamp Rd. (rt. 313) Fountainville Pa. we will be happy to show you these plants. You can also go to our web site http://www.seedlingsrus.com
Bill raises trees, plants,and shrubs on his farms, many located in Pennsylvania. He also has ranches out west for arrowhead collecting, fossil collecting and hunting for meteorites and big game.
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