OT/Horticulture gurus...input appreciated...

[T-TownDawgg]

We want some privacy shrubs/hedges. A lot of them. Will be on 3 sides in the backyard. Zone 8 hardiness. We'd like it to be in the 6-12 feet hight range(ish). Prefer fast growing, evergreen a must. Alabama clay soil. Adamantly refuse to trim; got sick of that crap long time ago, and we have the room to let them go wild. Have done some research on Red tops and Elaeagnus, but ruled them out. We like but are not married to these:

Winterberry Holly (with some Apollos)
Robin red Holly
Variegated privet (??)
Skip laurel
Camellia

Would like to plant the one side we want done first, and make cuttings for the other two over the next few years. If you see holes in this plan, fire away. The expertise of the Pack rarely disappoints. Many thanks in advance.

 

[Digging dog]

Need to know how much depth you have to work with also is it Sun or shade.
Shooting from the hip I’ll say
Chindo Viburnum ( fits height but slower growing)
Oakland holly & Nellie r Stevens (tall dense holly. Better in Sun).
Emerald arborvitae if you need a “skinnier” screen.
Ligustrum hedge (old faithful & can buy the height)
If you can spare the room; Arizona cypress, green giant arborvitae, Cryptomeria japonica, little gem magnolia.
Google is your friend on these.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

Sorry, knew I'd forget stuff. With all the variations/hybrids out now I can't keep up. Seems everywhere I go someone speaks of success with a variation I ruled out but am ignorant about. My knowledge has become outdated.

It's full sun. Depth is not a problem. Lot is sloped, so it drains well, but all clay. Will be digging with a 3pt hitch auger and will use plenty of soil conditioner.

 

[ShrubDog]

The first thing to do is figure out your budget because some of these plants are more expensive than others especially if we are talking 15-30 gallons.

Winterberry Holly is not an evergreen so you can scratch it off your list. Camellia is nice as a sporadic/accent planting, not sure about a screen. This privet can work well as a screen but I am not familiar with this variety to comment. If it has fruit your porch will be covered in bird droppings. Red Robin holly is a nice plant, to make a screen I would recommend having more than one row of them, not going to be cheap. Skip Laurel is a good choice on your list.

Others to look at - wax myrtle, podocarpus, photinia, viburnum, arborvitae. Its hard to recommend anything without seeing the site but you have many choices. It comes down to what you want it to look like and how much are you willing to spend.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

Going for the wild hedge look. It not quite 200 ft on the one side, so depending on spacing(5-6ft?), looking at somewhere around 35-40 plants. We are prepared to spend 1-2K, which is way cheaper than a fence. Would go with more mature plants, but with that quantity we will get 2-4 gallon size plant and will just have to be patient. I like the wax myrtle.
Does the photinia still have disease issues?

 

[ShrubDog]

I am not up to date on the disease issues, digging dog may be more up to date on those things. 3 gallons is the minimum size you want in this situation. Your spacing on center may not be the same depending on species. Going up gallon size can give the screen more of an instant fill, but then you may be overplanting or spending more money. We aren’t going to put a 15gallon waxy 3’ o.c.. The supplier/google/tag will have the spacing recommendations. If you want more of an immediate impact you can go with larger like a 7, 15 and 30gal. If you do a double row you can use two different sizes and even mix in some other species for a more natural look.

To create a more ‘natural’ feel the hedge doesn’t have to be planted in a straight line, like a property line. Make that thing bend and curve, move the eye level vertical with different level plants. Have your main screen then say every 25’ put some lower stuff in front of it, and elsewhere some camellias. Don’t be afraid to use 3 species.

 

[Mr Todd French]

All good answers here. What I will add is what I tell people when I get this question. Be careful when you buy and plant “fast growers”. If they grow fast to get you to the desired height what will you do then? Pay someone to trim them not trim them yourself. Sounds like you don’t want to do that. So you’re better off spending more on some large slow growers now then the cost of maintence over the next how ever many years.
Also make sure they are full at the bottom not leggy like some trees will get. Oak leaf hollies, little gems, cleyera, and even loropetalum make good screen/privacy hedge. Make it in stages. Plant the height plants first in the back then come back later with a middle planting then a lower planting.

Also if you want to buy 35-40 15 or 30 gal hollies or any other plant PM me. I’d be happy to sell them to you.

 

[Digging dog]

Going for the wild hedge look. It not quite 200 ft on the one side, so depending on spacing(5-6ft?), looking at somewhere around 35-40 plants. We are prepared to spend 1-2K, which is way cheaper than a fence. Would go with more mature plants, but with that quantity we will get 2-4 gallon size plant and will just have to be patient. I like the wax myrtle.
Does the photinia still have disease issues?

Stay away from photinia. They still are susceptible to an irreversible disease. A given clue will be the fact that if you are even able to find them at all, it will be at a box store or Walmart. I can almost guarantee you that none of your local Garden centers will carry this plant for the known fact.
Also I might add that there are a few bamboos that will help with the screening.
BE SURE TO CHOOSE A CLUMPING TYPE if you go this route. Alphonso Karr is a great variety.

 

[Shmuley]

Ligustrum would be my vote. Smell great too.