Suggestions for privacy shrub/hedge?

[johncotexas]

We want to create some privacy on our property line with a hedgerow or line of thick shrubs or trees. Any suggestions on plants or trees that make good 'fence'? Prefer something that won't take over or become difficult to maintain. Thanks in advance. (oh, and as you can see, we are in central TX. so it needs to tolerate our heat.)

[Maura]

Wild roses. They spread, but you can control it by mowing.

[amwitched]

Cedar makes a good hedge and we all know how well it tolerates hot & miserable conditions. If you want something "pretty" then plant some Texas Sage, Evergreen Sumac, Texas Mountain Laurel, and the holly bushes will all be pretty much evergreen for you. Then you can inter-plant some trees and bushes that will lose their leaves in the fall, for some added interest. I have a couple Rose of Sharon bushes that do really great in our area.

Do you have a nursery up there that sells native Texas plants? If so, go check out what they have and go from there.

[oregon woodsmok]

I like wild roses, but in Texas, you can grow Osage Orange. Nothing is going through that stuff.

If you want trees, might as well plant fruit trees and get double use out of them.

[JuliaAnn]

I don't know how far you are from Kerrville, but if I'm not mistaken there is a native plant nursery there (maybe google it online and see what they have to offer) and maybe they can suggest what would grow best in your area. Soil varies out your way--do you have sand, caliche, or are you in that tiny strip of blackland prairie that slices through the center of the state? We're in east Tx, so what we plant here would tend to be different than what you'd plant there, but natives are always the first plants I consider as opposed to non-natives. Something else to consider are trees/shrubs that are secondary hosts to diesases that affect things like apple trees (cedars) so if you're going to grow fruit trees, you can avoid planting things that would be reservoirs for diseases.


http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/natives/

This is a good place to start if you are interested in native trees. There is also a site for native shrubs, but you'll have to google that yourself. Lots of good information in this database.

[meanwhile]

Whatever you choose, try to use two types of plants or trees. One that will be taller and the other, in front on your side, a bit shorter. The reason to use two types is that if one type gets some disease and dies off, you will still have a partial hedge screen. I learned this lesson the hard way.

Cedar would be nice and you could plant those to the rear and crowd them. Then, plant something shorter and pretty in front. Good luck.

[amwitched]

Originally Posted by meanwhile

Cedar would be nice and you could plant those to the rear and crowd them. Then, plant something shorter and pretty in front. Good luck.

I can help you with the seedlings if you decide to go this route. I have oodles and oodles that could use a new home.

[ronbre]

my privacy "fence" is a mixture of different evergreens with a few vines and deciduous trees and shrubs mixed in..you can see it on my blog site by my signature..browse the photographs of the property

[Callieslamb]

Watch Edwardian farming on youtube! They had a segment on building a hedge row fence. They took the shrubs and cut them off on one side and bent them over so the uncut part would continue to put up new growth. Then they were able to weave the still growing branches together to make a real fence from the shrubs. I thought it was fascinating.

[MO_cows]

We use pampass grass for a hedge along our frontage to catch the dust. We cut it to the ground in early spring before the new growth, so there is a brief gap in the coverage. Here it is in April or so, not to full its height yet. In a more southern climate it might go year round.

[Cyngbaeld]

Yaupon holly will frequently keep leaves most of the yr. It tends not to be invasive and can be pruned.

[Old John]

When we lived up in Indianapolis, we had 240' of Barberry hedge around the front yard, I planted, 25 years before. I kept it trimmed to about 6' tall. And, it kept folks, mostly kids from running the yard.
But, I had put in a gate, at the beginning, at each side, for the paperboys to go through on their daily trips. I trimmed it twice each Summer.
The wild birds loved that hedge, for nesting and for the red berries, in the Winter.
I think when I started it I set the little plants about 10" or 12" apart. That made a nice thick hedge. It was a pretty red, in the Fall.

[Cassanderthe1]

Originally Posted by oregon woodsmok

I like wild roses, but in Texas, you can grow Osage Orange. Nothing is going through that stuff..

I second that. Also, Osage Orange has the highest BTU content of any wood on the planet.

Here is an article from Mother Earth News on how to use the 'oranges' to make a fence that is "Horse high, pig tight and bull strong"

http://www.motherearthnews.com/moder...-z10m0sto.aspx

I hope this works.

[Esteban29304]

Leland Cypress planted 5 ft apart. Plant 3-5ft trees in good soil,,, even if you have to buy soil mix. Water a little every day for a month. Fertilize every 3 months. Clip top stem off after every 6in. of new growth. Makes a beautiful maintenance free hedge in a few years. My 3 ft trees grew to 12 feet in 6 years.