What would be the best options for a screening hedge type plant that grows to about 3m and doesn’t require a lot of maintenance?

And can stand blistering Summers and snow in Winter….

;)

I have no idea what part of the country you’re in Poik.

In my part of the world:

Clumping bamboos. Make sure they ARE clumping and not invasive.
Tiger grass (Thysanolaena maxima) can be quite effective.
I use bananas. The plants, not the fruit.

I also use Gingers. It takes a while, but once they’re established, they’re excellent screens.

poikilotherm said:

What would be the best options for a screening hedge type plant that grows to about 3m and doesn’t require a lot of maintenance?

OK. Off the top of my head without looking anything up. Depending on your soil type and elevation and I’ve got a fair idea of your conditions. You’ll be looking at Westringea (theres at least two species that will suit), Grevillea rosmarinifolia, there will be at least one of several Melaleucas that will suit. There are always Syzygium.

I can list more if you want. There are plenty of Callistemon and Banksia to choose from there will be other Grevillea but you want low maintenance, Maybe Callistemon phonecious or C. rigidus, Banksia ericifolia is an attractive possible but I have no data in my head about it handling big snap freezes.

Westringea only require light tip pruning but it needs to be reasonably regular to stop them getting woody. Flowers are mauve or white with mauve.

Calothamnus(various species) are excellent Flowers mainly red to pink. Grevillea rosmarinifolia can be pruned to a 3m box cube and kept that way easily flowers a pinky red. We all know how good Syzygium are and there are some that tolerate heavy frosts quite well. Maybe Melaleuca decussata? I love Callistemon phonecious. Its flowers are the firey-est red that contrasts well with the bluegray foliage, tough as nails and virtually nil maintenance. Of the Banksia I find that ericifolia is probably the better for hedging. In hedges it is best to look at finer leaved plants or those that can hold their leaves in shade. Because some part of the hedge is shaded all the time. There are several Leptospermum that also fit the bill. Have a look at Baeckia as well.

Still trawling through memory. I like Melaleuca ericifolia and M. elliptica. M.erubescens is good but probably too low.

Again, I haven’t stood in your yard and looked at the conditions of soil and aspect, drainage and othe factors that matter a lot about what you plant where.

There are a huge number of low maintenance natives to choose from. No need to plant water hungry weeds.

and no. I didn’t look any of that up. It all came off the top of my head. What do you expect at 4 AM?

roughbarked said:

and no. I didn’t look any of that up. It all came off the top of my head. What do you expect at 4 AM?

:D

Thanks, will look into those.

At about 860m elevation, get freezing conditions in Winter which includes a couple of days of snow (on occasion), many many frosts and in Summer the temps can get to around 37, ave is about 26.

poikilotherm said:

Thanks, will look into those.

At about 860m elevation, get freezing conditions in Winter which includes a couple of days of snow (on occasion), many many frosts and in Summer the temps can get to around 37, ave is about 26.

What ever you do, please try to avoid the English box hedge or the privet or cottoneaster type hedges. I know I shouldn’t go all evangelist about native plants but it is true that Australia and New Zealand are now infested with introduced weeds because we planted them. http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2015/08/20/4296253.htm

poik, my favourite is red bottle brushes (Callistemon). I’ve done a long informal hedge at Casterton with them. It’s now about 10 or more years old and probably around 8ft tall.

In the beginning it looked like this:

And then a few years ago it had improved to this:

Early on, and when not in flower:

You do need to be willing to prune all the old flower heads off for the first 5 or 6 years at least to get them nice and bushy. Now I just hack along with the hedge pruners when they get too close to the fence and I can’t get the mower along there without a fight. Actually, looking at those pictures, I really need to do another photo now that they have spread to the fence too.

Went with a mix of Callistemon and Banksia. Pics later.

That should be excellent. Can I suggest you prune the Callistemon to keep them to just above fence height and bushy. And let the Banksia go higher? I think that could give a very interesting effect.

buffy said:

That should be excellent. Can I suggest you prune the Callistemon to keep them to just above fence height and bushy. And let the Banksia go higher? I think that could give a very interesting effect.

That was the plan actually :) . Two layers of plant for bird life and looks, hopefully.

poikilotherm said:

buffy said:

That should be excellent. Can I suggest you prune the Callistemon to keep them to just above fence height and bushy. And let the Banksia go higher? I think that could give a very interesting effect.

That was the plan actually :) . Two layers of plant for bird life and looks, hopefully.

Should be very effective. The Callistemon will bring bees too. Well, mine do. There are times you don’t go too close, or mow along the fenceline. But it’s great because it’s relatively close to the veggie garden.

I just did a wander to decide what to do first up in the morning in the garden before the mower noise time of 9.00am. And I found the Grevillea robusta (silky oak) has matured into a beautiful shapely tree and is in full, glorious flower. I’ve taken photos, but can’t do the upload over here. I’ll have to get back to you with them tomorrow when I go home.

buffy said:

poikilotherm said:

buffy said:

That should be excellent. Can I suggest you prune the Callistemon to keep them to just above fence height and bushy. And let the Banksia go higher? I think that could give a very interesting effect.

That was the plan actually :) . Two layers of plant for bird life and looks, hopefully.

Should be very effective. The Callistemon will bring bees too. Well, mine do. There are times you don’t go too close, or mow along the fenceline. But it’s great because it’s relatively close to the veggie garden.

I just did a wander to decide what to do first up in the morning in the garden before the mower noise time of 9.00am. And I found the Grevillea robusta (silky oak) has matured into a beautiful shapely tree and is in full, glorious flower. I’ve taken photos, but can’t do the upload over here. I’ll have to get back to you with them tomorrow when I go home.

Excellent. It was a kind of accident going with those, lilly pillies won’t tolerate the frosts here and were our first idea, then we almost relented and went with a row of exotics but bunnings to the resuce – had some advanced natives which was good. Thinking maybe a smaller shrub like geraldton wax in front but will see how things go first.

The Callistemons (depending on which one it is) do get quite a bit of girth if you are diligent with the pruning off of dead flowers for the first few years. I doubt you will need anything else, but you will need a bit of patience.

I don’t like lillypillies. Make big mess. The Callistemons just make a lovely red carpet of ‘petals’ that you don’t need to clean up. I have a red carpet at the moment.

poikilotherm said:

buffy said:

poikilotherm said:

That was the plan actually :) . Two layers of plant for bird life and looks, hopefully.

Should be very effective. The Callistemon will bring bees too. Well, mine do. There are times you don’t go too close, or mow along the fenceline. But it’s great because it’s relatively close to the veggie garden.

I just did a wander to decide what to do first up in the morning in the garden before the mower noise time of 9.00am. And I found the Grevillea robusta (silky oak) has matured into a beautiful shapely tree and is in full, glorious flower. I’ve taken photos, but can’t do the upload over here. I’ll have to get back to you with them tomorrow when I go home.

Excellent. It was a kind of accident going with those, lilly pillies won’t tolerate the frosts here and were our first idea, then we almost relented and went with a row of exotics but bunnings to the resuce – had some advanced natives which was good. Thinking maybe a smaller shrub like geraldton wax in front but will see how things go first.

Geraldton Wax is one that has certain preferences and if those exist where you are it will do well but otherwise many of the Leptospermums will fill that same bill as well or better.

Keep the Callistemons pruned is good advice because the flower better, will have less dead wood and be more bushy.

Can you inform us of which species of Banksia and Callistemon you chose?

Hannah Ray is the name on the tag, and I think the Banksia was a Serrata or some such. Just looked at the tags for ones that would get high enough and bushy enough for the area.

Probably a good thing lillypillys don’t grow here then.

Here is my beautiful silky oak (Grevillea robusta) now maturing from scraggy ugly to lush understorey tree.

Nice.

Just added some fruit trees down one side of the fence, hope they survive – fig, blood plum and ‘unknown citrus’ (which may not do so well here).

Also added and electric fence to keep the hounds away from the new plants…they get a bit pricey when big.

poikilotherm said:

Nice.

Just added some fruit trees down one side of the fence, hope they survive – fig, blood plum and ‘unknown citrus’ (which may not do so well here).

Also added and electric fence to keep the hounds away from the new plants…they get a bit pricey when big.

They grow faster when planted small. An advanced plant will sit there and not do much for five years. a six inch seedling will be taller than the advanced plants in five years. It will also be more hardy against drought and frost.

This silky was planted at a few inches tall. It is now approaching 20 metres tall and has a trunk girth of more than 3 metres.

The Grevillea robusta here has also raised a dozen or more young sparrowhawks. Here’s one stretching its wings in preparation for the first flight.

roughbarked said:

poikilotherm said:

Nice.

Just added some fruit trees down one side of the fence, hope they survive – fig, blood plum and ‘unknown citrus’ (which may not do so well here).

Also added and electric fence to keep the hounds away from the new plants…they get a bit pricey when big.

They grow faster when planted small. An advanced plant will sit there and not do much for five years. a six inch seedling will be taller than the advanced plants in five years. It will also be more hardy against drought and frost.

This silky was planted at a few inches tall. It is now approaching 20 metres tall and has a trunk girth of more than 3 metres.

!https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8060/8191597993_d1474ce6e5_c.jpg

Or do you just perceive they grow faster when small?

e.g. growth curve is steep from 10cm to 1m then slows from 1m to 2m and slows again from 2m to 3m?

numbers plucked from thing as an example.

poikilotherm said:

roughbarked said:

poikilotherm said:

Nice.

Just added some fruit trees down one side of the fence, hope they survive – fig, blood plum and ‘unknown citrus’ (which may not do so well here).

Also added and electric fence to keep the hounds away from the new plants…they get a bit pricey when big.

They grow faster when planted small. An advanced plant will sit there and not do much for five years. a six inch seedling will be taller than the advanced plants in five years. It will also be more hardy against drought and frost.

This silky was planted at a few inches tall. It is now approaching 20 metres tall and has a trunk girth of more than 3 metres.

!https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8060/8191597993_d1474ce6e5_c.jpg

Or do you just perceive they grow faster when small?

e.g. growth curve is steep from 10cm to 1m then slows from 1m to 2m and slows again from 2m to 3m?

numbers plucked from thing as an example.

Heh. No I’ve proved it many thousands of times. Natives are more responsive if their roots are least disturbed. Advanced trees have problems that tubestock never get.

roughbarked said:

poikilotherm said:

roughbarked said:

They grow faster when planted small. An advanced plant will sit there and not do much for five years. a six inch seedling will be taller than the advanced plants in five years. It will also be more hardy against drought and frost.

This silky was planted at a few inches tall. It is now approaching 20 metres tall and has a trunk girth of more than 3 metres.

!https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8060/8191597993_d1474ce6e5_c.jpg

Or do you just perceive they grow faster when small?

e.g. growth curve is steep from 10cm to 1m then slows from 1m to 2m and slows again from 2m to 3m?

numbers plucked from thing as an example.

Heh. No I’ve proved it many thousands of times. Natives are more responsive if their roots are least disturbed. Advanced trees have problems that tubestock never get.

Ah, did you record the rates? What was the curve like?

poikilotherm said:

roughbarked said:

poikilotherm said:

Or do you just perceive they grow faster when small?

e.g. growth curve is steep from 10cm to 1m then slows from 1m to 2m and slows again from 2m to 3m?

numbers plucked from thing as an example.

Heh. No I’ve proved it many thousands of times. Natives are more responsive if their roots are least disturbed. Advanced trees have problems that tubestock never get.

Ah, did you record the rates? What was the curve like?

Natives respond. It is to external influence rather than mathematics.

roughbarked said:

poikilotherm said:

roughbarked said:

Heh. No I’ve proved it many thousands of times. Natives are more responsive if their roots are least disturbed. Advanced trees have problems that tubestock never get.

Ah, did you record the rates? What was the curve like?

Natives respond. It is to external influence rather than mathematics.

Did you unwind the root balls of your advanced trees and count the curves?

From my experience with sowing native seed, The radicle is often @20 cm when the dicotyledon opens.