Return to the Plants for Difficult Places Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Yew - Hicksi: How 'low' and 'thin' can you go??
| | |
Posted by Sethgro Zone 6/Michigan (My Page) on Tue, May 20, 03 at 21:41
| First time for me to post, but am hoping for some wisdom via the web for a question that I have about my perennial bed. Bed is located in the sunniest part of my yard on the south side of my lot. Gets sun from 12pm until 7pm during the summer. My lot is separated from my neighbor with a black rubber coated chain link fence (5ft). Fence has to stay but I don't want to look at it any more. Sun angle is slightly favoring the neighbor's side of the fence so my flowers aim a little away from someone viewing the garden. Considering something that can either cover the fence entirely such as an Ivy or planting Yew Hicksi. Have two concerns really (1) will the ivy's pretty side face my neighbor's yard where the sun angle encourages growth, and, thus, will I be left with the dirty/rough under-side of the ivy??? and (2) Can I train/trim Yew Hicksi (or some other better Yew that I don't know about) so that it grows and stays around 5ft tall and only 1-2ft wide (don't want it to smother my russian sage!). Would appreciate any assistance on these two issues. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Yew - Hicksi: How 'low' and 'thin' can you go??
| | |
- Posted by Ron_B USDA 8 WA (My Page) on
Fri, May 23, 03 at 15:57
| Ivy will look mostly the same on both sides. Shearing yew to stay 5x1ft should be fairly easy, there are yew hedges that are centuries old. |
RE: Yew - Hicksi: How 'low' and 'thin' can you go??
| | |
| Ivy can be invasive and may take over your perennial bed. Consider a flowering vine like clematis. Also monitor where the current shadow of the chain link fence falls, how far it extends and over what time. If you cover the fence with something dense like ivy or Yew, the fence will then cast a dense shadow and may turn your perennial bed into a shade garden. |
RE: Yew - Hicksi: How 'low' and 'thin' can you go??
| | |
| If you plant yews they may take a lifetime to grow to 5 feet, unless you can buy the tall ones that are quite expensive.... how about arborvitae, grows faster but not as pretty |
RE: Yew - Hicksi: How 'low' and 'thin' can you go??
| | |
- Posted by Teri2 6/7 TN (My Page) on
Thu, May 29, 03 at 16:29
| I'm on the east side of my patio fence between me and my neighbor. I grow Lonicera, Clematis, Gelsemium, Akebia and Hedera helix on the fence. The first four all grew to the top of the fence before they bushed out. And all the flowers are on top or on the neighbor's side. It works fine for privacy but not so great for beauty. The ivy is another matter. It grows on both side of the fence although it is thicker on the sunnier side. However, it doesn't particularly care whether it grows vertically or horizontally so it also grows straight out along the ground (on both sides of the fence) and requires weekly trimming. After it reached maturity, it also required constant picking of old leaves. It is extremely HIGH maintenance and I wouldn't plant it again. Ever. Anywhere. Sigh. Teri |
|
|
|
|
