Hedges more informal now

A holly hedge at the Crescent. Photo by Darrell Blackwelder, Cooperative Extension.

With today's high density housing, the use of screens and border plantings of trees and shrubs for privacy is becoming increasingly important.

Formal sheared hedges reminiscent of older homes have been replaced with informal mass plantings of trees and shrubs.

Decorative fencing ensures immediate privacy, combining shrubs and vines as a screening option. Housing developments employ large mounds of soil or berms to impede an unattractive view. It's an option some homeowners are now implementing for privacy and to add interest to home landscapes.

The use of red tip photinias was the standard hedge material in the early '70s. Unfortunately, gross over-planting and mass production of the shrub perpetuated the incidence of disease problems. Maintenance costs became prohibitive and homeowners quickly dropped the shrub as a landscape screening material.

Leyland cypress, highly touted in the '80s as the perfect screening material, is another victim of overplanting and pest problems. Rapid growth, the most favorable component of the plant, often produces weak, brittle wood, making it vulnerable to ice damage and high winds.

Intense overplanting has increased insect problems with bagworms and a plethora of fungal diseases. Its use in the landscape should be limited because of its limited lifespan.

Rapidly growing plant materials are often only a temporary solution to screening problems. Mass production and overplanting have taught nurserymen and landscape designers a valuable lesson in selection and use of plant materials.

Older, dependable plant materials as well as new proven trees and shrubs are becoming the landscape designer's choice as recommended screening materials. Holly and ligustrums are older shrubs that are making a comeback as hedge materials.

Deciduous trees and shrubs such as crepe myrtle and wiegelia provide a subtle screen without being too obvious. Sasanqua camellias can be dual-purpose shrubs, offering both bloom and lush foliage. Blooms and berries can provide a fresh alternative to an otherwise stark green wall.

Below is a partial list of trees and shrubs for screening materials. More materials and information can be found online at http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/ depts/hort/consumer/quickref/ shrubs/largeshrubs.html

Low screen 5-8 feet (evergreen)

Dwarf burfordi holly

Way myrtle

Glossy abelia

Hetzi holly

Aucuba japonica

Camellia sasanqua

Skipper laurel

Wax myrtle

Tall screen 12-15 feet (evergreen)

Nellie R. Stevens Holly

Greenleaf Holly

Burfordi Holly (standard)

Ligustrum japonica

Osmanthus

Trees as screens

Loblolly pine

Cherry laurel

Magnolia Little

Darrell Blackwelder is an Extension Agent in horticulture at the Rowan County Centerof the N.C. Cooperative Extension.Call 704-216-8970.

Web sites:

http://www.rowanmastergardener.com

http://rowan.ces.ncsu.edu

www.rowanextension.com