This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Balls!
Morning all, hope you are all somewhere out of the storm!
Id like to have some pots with topiary balls and wondered what you might use? With box being a bit risky I’m looking at options. I’d like something fairly fast to establish- I don’t want to wait 5 years for instance. Ilex crenata looks nice but not sure how fast it grows. I am not a fan of lonicera nitida as find it untidy- or does a couple of trims a year keep it neat? Maybe hebes- but which one? Any suggestions please? I’d like them to reach 50cm plus in size.
Id like to have some pots with topiary balls and wondered what you might use? With box being a bit risky I’m looking at options. I’d like something fairly fast to establish- I don’t want to wait 5 years for instance. Ilex crenata looks nice but not sure how fast it grows. I am not a fan of lonicera nitida as find it untidy- or does a couple of trims a year keep it neat? Maybe hebes- but which one? Any suggestions please? I’d like them to reach 50cm plus in size.
0
Posts
I’m not sure yet if I want them all the same or different yet so may go for pairs of different plants. I want at least 6 - either side of steps, but possibly more dotted around for punctuation or at entrance points etc.
I have been experimenting with Lonicera nitida as balls.
Admittedly they are slightly oval at the moment.
As they are in pots and not in the ground yet, they may be on good behaviour, though they do get fed and watered regularly.
I have so far only trimmed them twice a year fairly hard to try and get them dense. They do have some straggly untidy shoots in between, but stay looking quite good through the winter so far.
They could well get untidy once I decide where to put them.
Check some of the cultivars there are some less vigorous ones than the common L. nitida.
I also have some Buxus in pots I do them once a year, but they are kept in a shaded area so I do not have to worry about their care so much.
I think trim for trim the box does stay tidier, guess that is why it is popular
If you don't mind slightly spikey there is a "miniature" Berberis, a house up the road has it as a low hedge, very tidy looking but how often they trim it I don't know.
I want some though!
Is the Ilex crenata a spikey holly too?
Pretty resilient as well as it bounced back after I fell in it last week!!!
"Pretty resilient as well as it bounced back after I fell in it last week!"
Getting up that step with your little flippers must be hard
I hope you are okay too.
I recently bought what Lizzie27 suggested a Boughton Dome, it is lovely a perfect little Dome.
If you can get big ones they would be nice. Mine is only four or five cms across at the moment and they grow 5 cms a year apparently. (£2.50 for my specimen).
They might be great for what you want with no trimming needed?
think I already have two little Broughton domes- they are very neat, one is about 25cm the other about 15, think they only get to about 30cm, but after something bigger- maybe rakaiensis? I don’t even mind losing the flowers on hebes if they are right in every other way...
i have two two pots of young lavender which I’m starting to dome shape as they were straggling so they will do for dotting around or on the patio area, but want to mark the steps with something more formal..