I would do a boxwood. I love how much I can shape them as they get older.

I've actually had some poor luck with boxwood and am wondering if it doesn't do better in less than full sun. Take a look at the pic and tell me what you think.

Myrtus communis, common myrtle. Deep, dark green. Needs little water once established.

A local business has a very attractive small hedge, growing in a cutout of the sidewalk against the building, with a west exposure. I had to stop my car and get out to see what it was made of. To my surprise it was Rosemary. Al

When you say clay soil, how much clay is that? How good is your drainage? Most of the clay soils I have seen in SoCal still drain fairly well. If you have decent drainage, Teucrium fruticans could work.

Here is a link that might be useful: Teucrium fruticans

Someone else has mentioned Myrtus communis. I'll go check it out.

And rosemary! I've never seen that as a hedge, but I'll check that out, too.

My soil here is pretty heavy clay. It does drain, but I wouldn't say it's good. Maybe too heavy for the Teucrium fruticans? I've been given advice about planting in clay, but no real consensus. Some say amend heavily, others say not to amend at all. I usually do amend at least some.

Thanks everybody, for all your input!

Ilex crenata 'Beehive' or 'Hoogendorn'
Euonymus japonicus âÂÂMicrophyllusâÂÂ
Lonicera nitida 'Twiggy'
Hebe 'Sutherlandii' or 'Emerald Gem'
Abelia x grandiflora 'Sherwoodii'
Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Golf Ball'

Wow, cool. I'll go look them up. Thanks!

Abelia is also very pretty, with very small white flowers. I don't like the constant trimming to keep any hedge smaller than it is meant to be. When trimmed all you see are cut ends for awhile and sooner or later the inside will die. A dwarf plant of some kind might work.

I love abelia, but yes, it's a very large plant and might be difficult to keep small.

There are lots of dwarf abelias - 'Sherwoodi' is one, as are 'Kaleidoscope' and 'Confetti', but those are variegated and not everyone's choice for hedging.

All the plants in my list are dwarfs......most don't get any taller than 2 or 3 feet over an extended period of time. Very few plants will stay hedged at a precise size without trimming - that's just the nature of hedging. And if pruned properly, they can live for years without issues. No shrubs automatically stop growing when they reach a specific size. Growth slows considerably once they reach genetic maturity but it never really stops. Stop by the Shrubs forum and see a recent thread illustrating 10' tall boxwoods.....they can get massive if old enough and left unpruned.

I didn't know there was a dwarf abelia. Haven't had time yet to research your list. : ( I'm happy to know that, though, since it's such a beautiful plant. I'm always drawn to it when I'm at the nursery. Thanks for the input.

What about Manzanitas? California native, low water needs and fine in clay.

Sounds like my kind of plant. I'll have to check it out. Thanks!