Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Very clueless gardening Novice - Buxus hedge in planters?

uobrup66554uobrup66554 Posts: 18
in Plants
Hello everyone!  I hope you'll bear with me...not one of my ten fingers are green and I'd be grateful for your experience and wisdom! Sorry for the long post.

My parents live on a busy main road.  I would like to help them add some greenery, and some privacy, to their front driveway which has block paving.  I'd like to ask:
1. if a 1 metre high buxus hedge can be grown in wooden cuboid 'trough' planters (120cm on it's longest edge left to right, 25cm high/tall, 23cm front to back) by putting, say, 3 plants in each planter
2. Do the planters need to be especially tall (42cm high) to allow a deeper soil or can I get away with the shorter trough planter (25cm high)? 
3.  If I have a the taller 42cm high planter, can I get away with the 23cm front-to-back measurement or does it need to be still larger e.g. 40cm.

I would like to use the smallest planter due to problems of space as well as cost.

The troughs would sit along the 4 metre edge/border of the driveway at the boundary wall. The driveway is not very wide so ideally I need the front to back dimensions of these planters to be as 'slim' as possible, and adding wheels would mean they can be moved on occasions when a second car can just about be squeezed in. 

With the combined planter height and plant height, it doesn't need to be any taller than 1.4metres. 

We are struggling a bit with cost of living etc and the cost of 3 tall planters (42cm high) in addition to the plants has put us off this for a while.  However someone I know is getting rid of their hedge (1metre high) & if I'm willing to dig up 4 metres of hedge,  they will kindly only take a minimal payment for it.

The photo attached is of the hedging available and the trough planter (120cm x 25cm x 23cm I am looking to buy).  Thanks so much for your advice!


«134

Posts

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    I would recommended forgetting Buxus. With Box Blight and Box-tree Moth you'll be giving yourself problems


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • RubytooRubytoo Posts: 1,630
    edited November 2023
    Afraid to say I agree with nutcutlet.
    I was going to say if they were giving them away...But even then .

    A relatively cheap option might be ivy. There are a few types you could use or choose from, little leaves to large, variegated, white or yellow.
    You could put relatively thin posts in with wire mesh like chicken wire or perhaps plastic clematis mesh fixed to it..  A roll of that is fairly cheap. This would support the ivy and you could keep it trimmed tight to the mesh and narrow.

    Then when finances allow choose another plant if the ivy does not suit . There are some box alternatives now like euonymous that are tall and narrow. Not sure how they do in a container like yours. But think they have been bred for just that kind of thing?

    If you decide on ivy it may need better supports after a few years if it gets heavy.
    But trimmed fairly tight once you get it covered will keep the weight down.
    And the stems thicken and support it a bit.

    If  there is a narrow soil border/edge?
    Do away with the planters and spend the money on posts and mesh fence, plant the ivy straight into the ground?
    Quaint but accurate term is a Fedge.
  • uobrup66554uobrup66554 Posts: 18
    nutcutlet said:
    I would recommended forgetting Buxus. With Box Blight and Box-tree Moth you'll be giving yourself problems

    Thank you so much for your response! I wasn't sure whether the discolouration on the plants above already indicates they might not be so healthy anymore...

    Is there a screening plant that you would recommend instead that is
    -evergreen
    -could be grown in a planter trough with 25cm deep soil
    -not too short: will provide a height of 1.2-1.5 metres
    -likely to survive a novice gardener
    -grows more 'upwards' than outwards (i.e. doesn't take up too much space front-to-back)

    I hear bamboo is very easy to grow but I'm unsure if it meets the above requirements.

    Thank you again!
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    Euonymus fortunei and E. japonicus are pretty bomb-proof in my experience, Also cut back very well if needed


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • uobrup66554uobrup66554 Posts: 18
    Rubytoo said:
    Afraid to say I agree with nutcutlet.
    I was going to say if they were giving them away...But even then .

    A relatively cheap option might be ivy. There are a few types you could use or choose from, little leaves to large, variegated, white or yellow.
    You could put relatively thin posts in with wire mesh like chicken wire or perhaps plastic clematis mesh fixed to it..  A roll of that is fairly cheap. This would support the ivy and you could keep it trimmed tight to the mesh and narrow.

    Then when finances allow choose another plant if the ivy does not suit . There are some box alternatives now like euonymous that are tall and narrow. Not sure how they do in a container like yours. But think they have been bred for just that kind of thing?

    If you decide on ivy it may need better supports after a few years if it gets heavy.
    But trimmed fairly tight once you get it covered will keep the weight down.
    And the stems thicken and support it a bit.

    Thank you so much for your helpful post!
    Yes, they would only charge me £20 but I'd be digging and transporting the plants myself...I worry I might even ruin them in the process.
    I just googled box blight and box moth and realised I've seen a few hedges nearby that look like that...perhaps not the plant for me then!

    I wonder would Ivy grow thick and tall enough to eventually provide screening that the neighbour also wouldn't find unsightly?  The boundary wall in 90cm high and I'd be keen for something to grow that rises above said wall.

    I wonder if there are any other cost-effective bushes you might recommend?  Thank you so much for your help.
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    Ivy is a very good idea, you could buy metal mesh to grow it up as a support. If you can lift some block paving that would be much better than planting in a container, even if the soil isn't very good. 
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    You could also use wooden trellis fixed to the wall; which would look much better than mesh and provide a degree of instant screening too.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • uobrup66554uobrup66554 Posts: 18
    Loxley said:
    Ivy is a very good idea, you could buy metal mesh to grow it up as a support. If you can lift some block paving that would be much better than planting in a container, even if the soil isn't very good. 
    Thank you so much for both suggestions- I think parents are worried that lifting block paving & planting in ground would cause block paving to lift up from the growth of any plants in the border.
    Ivy with a wooden trellis sounds a great idea!  I wonder if you have any tips on increasing the lifespan of the trellis (in the past, mine seems to disintegrate after a year or two- should I be varnishing it?)

    Thank you!
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    23 x 25 cm isn't very much room for roots, and that certainly isn't what that planter looks like. There's no way the width of that is only 2cm less than the height. The photo must be of the higher one, which would be ok with the right soil mix. Shrubs or hedging which need to be around four or five feet [or more] would struggle unless they have adequate root room. 
    You could try one of the shrubby loniceras - nitida or pileata, but some trellis and ivy would be easier as it doesn't mind being contained.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I think the planters are too small to grow even a short hedge healthily. You would end up with spindly, sad specimens because of lack of growing medium for the roots to spread out in. A root bound trough is also difficult to get enough water and nutrients into to keep them going. I would be looking at something a minimum of 40cm high by 30cm wide.

    Ivy may cope, but I’m not so taken with the idea and my pick, echoing Nutcutlet, would be Euonymus Green Spire:

    https://www.hopesgrovenurseries.co.uk/shop/hedging/euonymus-hedging/euonymus-japonicus-green-spire-hedging/

    Just a personal view, of course you must go with what you think works best within the available space and funds.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Sign In or Register to comment.