Planting Griselinia Hedge

knipex

Hi. Totally amature gardener here.

I am planting a Griselinia Hedge from pots. One side of the hedge will be planted against a low wall (about 3 foot high).

The hedge will be kept about 4 to 5 foot high and allowed to extend slightly out over the wall and out the other side (about 6" to a foot).

I plan on digging a trench about 12 to 18 deep (same width) and mixing the removed soil with compost and sand (its heavy soil) and putting a few inches under the plants and using it to back fill. Plants will be placed 18" apart.

I was wondering on how far I needed to keep the plants out from the wall ? I had planned on 12 to 18" but is this enough ??

Thanks in advance..

ymurtagh

I wouldn't bother with the sand, it's of no use, what compost are u using? A peat free compost and top soil mix would be best for you, what part of the country are you in?

knipex

I had planned on using Shamrock multipurpose compost. (I have a bag here). The soil is very heavy and I had been advised that it would help to add a little sharp sand (again I have some handy).

Based in Kerry near the Limerick Border.

almighty1

You do know that a lot of Griselinia country-wide died during the last 3 years hard winters?

Just some advice.

jamesd

All my Griselinia's died in the last frost, I would never plant them again and they were 3 years old.

paddy147

knipex wrote: »

I had planned on using Shamrock multipurpose compost. (I have a bag here). The soil is very heavy and I had been advised that it would help to add a little sharp sand (again I have some handy).

Based in Kerry near the Limerick Border.

You could mix in some grit or sharp sand/gravel,as its good for drainage....also no harm to add in some manure too.


Griselinia was badly affected and lots of it was wiped out a few years back with the frost,snow and ice.

Would you not go for something more hardy?

pwurple

Have you bought the grisilinia already? Probably worst time of year to plant, and a lot of it countrywide was damaged or killed by frosts in the last few years. I wouldn't recommend it.

wildlifeboy

golden or green privet is your only man!

knipex

Ya I have bought the hedging. I know the timeing isnt great but its all in pots and well established so I should be OK.

I know of the issues with frost damage but I also know of Griselinia hedging that survived fine. I suspect (from comparing places where it survived V's places where it died) that most of the hedging that died had been cut late in the year. We allways had Griselinia hedging at home when I was growing up but my Dad had a rule, never cut the hedge after August.. Both years we had the heavy frost we had growth late in the year and people gave a second cut to tidy up their hedges, when the frost came they were very bare..

Plus my site is enclosed, sheilded from wind and doesnt suffer from really bad frosts...

I know I am taking a chance but its a lovely hedge, grows fast, easy to maintain, closes up well, great colour, can be kept at 3 to 4 foot or allowed to grow much higher... It also makes for a nice shrub when planted on its own. Plus its cheap..

I am also planting 10 extra plants in a seperate area thats really protected which can be used to replace dead plants..

I put down 100 plants today (including the 10 extras). I have pains in places I didnt know I had and am pretty badly sunburnt... I also had to lug 100 buckets of water (one to each plant) to probably the furthest location possible from my one and only outside tap...

Thanks for all the help and advice...

pwurple

Sounds like you know the risks anyway and gave them a good start.

wildlifeboy

actually regarding the grisielinia. everyones who "died" that cut them down to about 12 inchs or so in height have fully recovered that i have seen. its the ones where they left the original branchs up to 4 foot or whatever that are struggling to come back. so most of them didnt actually die but got a severe hiding from the weather.

Squiggle

knipex wrote: »

I know of the issues with frost damage but I also know of Griselinia hedging that survived fine. I suspect (from comparing places where it survived V's places where it died) that most of the hedging that died had been cut late in the year. We allways had Griselinia hedging at home when I was growing up but my Dad had a rule, never cut the hedge after August.

I second this. I have around 100 metres of Griselinia, sown in 2000, all of which survived the two very cold winters. I cut the hedge once a year in July thus giving it plenty of time to recover before winter.