Griselinia hedge

Bramble55 · 24 January

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Got a hedge row of Leylandii, has quite a few dead patches from being cut back too much, a local gardener recommended we remove them and plant something else, I didn't want to do that as the leylandii are providing a privacy hedge between us and our neighbours so what the gardener suggested was cutting the leylandii back a fair way up their trunks then planting a row of Griselinia slightly out from the Leylandii and in 8-10 yrs time they will have grown enough to then great rid of the Leylandii in behind. There's 18 Leylandii approx 1 metre apart then there would be another 10 metres or so we'd want the Griselinia along the front too so altogether 30 metres approx of Griselinia hedge. The gardener quoted me £1800 to get the new trees, level it all off and do all the planting, seems a lot? Or not? Anyway I can't afford that right now but I still want my new hedge, I want to have a go myself, what age/size Griselinia should I get, when to plant and how far apart? I know the leylandii take up lots of the nutrients from the soil but there has been compost deposited along the fence for some time now and I would make sure the soil there is the best it can be for the new trees. Any advice welcome

robairdmacraignil · 24 January

Griselinia is from New Zealand and so often not the best choice for supporting wildlife away from there. It can be killed back dramatically by hard frost so I would not view it as a suitable choice for inland gardens. Maybe some other hedge plant options would be worth considering.

Happy gardening!

Mrs-B3-Southampton,-Hants · 24 January

My Griselinia grows very happily on a south and west facing corner, gets the prevailing wind.

Bramble55 · 25 January

Our neighbours have a happily growing Griselinia hedge so not worried about it not growing, just wondering what size/age I should plant and how far apart etc?

Plantminded · 25 January

I grow Griselina here as both hedging and specimen plants. They can suffer from blackening of tender shoots and leaves in winter due to frost but this can be lessened by not pruning any later than late August/early September so that any new growth has a chance to toughen up.

There's lots of useful information here about plant heights, planting spaces and maintenance etc which should help:

https://www.hopesgrovenurseries.co.uk/shop/hedging/griselinia-hedging/.

There are many other hedging specialists online.

Ergates · 25 January

This is a griselinia hedge we put in years ago. It’s about four and a half feet high. I’m guessing the plants were about 18 inches high when we put them in and probably about the same distance apart. I’ll check when I go out later! They established very quickly, and we trim the hedge several times a year. Occasionally we get blackening of dead leaves after very cold weather, but it always recovers well. Hadn’t thought it might be associated with new growth after late pruning, but that makes sense.
This is to the north of the house, and gets a lot of shade.

Interestingly, we did put three other plants in a different place. We wanted to fill a gap quickly, so splashed out on three more mature plants, over three feet tall. They took a long time to get growing, after several years they are only now starting to really shoot up and thicken.
If you can afford to wait, I’d get smaller plants which might establish more quickly?

Plantminded · 25 January

This is one of my Griselina hedges, it's about 10 years old now, kept to a height of about six feet and just 1.5 feet deep. I spaced the young plants about 18 inches apart. I suggest you buy plants that are about 2 feet high. Bare roots are less costly.

There's a huge laurel hedge behind in my neighbour's garden but it doesn't seem to bother the Griselinia. Laurels have deep roots though whilst Leylandii have shallow, widespreading and thirsty roots which will affect how well your Griselinia hedge establishes and grows. You will need to prep the soil well and add plenty of organic matter to help.

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Bramble55 · 25 January

Thanks. I've worked out will need approx 56 Griselinia if planting 18 inches apart, will go for the bare root option to keep costs down. Any recommendations for buying online? Websites like www.best4hedging.co.uk?

Plantminded · 25 January

I’d choose a supplier nearest to your home location if you can as the plants will have been grown in similar conditions, but this is not critical. All good online hedge specialists offer a guarantee, don’t buy if they don’t.

Ergates · 25 January

All our local garden centres seem to keep a stock of these. I bought ours from the big garden centre / nursery in the next town. They grow many of their own plants, and I did want to see what I was getting, and choose the nicest plants.

Plantminded · 25 January

I did the same @Ergates. I always remove plants in garden centres from their benches or trays to subject them to scrutiny from all angles! I doubt that would be practical for the quantity to be purchased here though!

Griselinia hedge

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