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Otto Luykens

Posted by trigger_tre georgia (My Page) on
Thu, Mar 22, 07 at 21:55

Hello all,

I just planted about a dozen Otto Luykens (Laurels) against the front side of my house to form a continuous 4 ft. tall hedge. I am using them because they are evergreen and they tend to bush out well when pruned.

My concern is that various other Otto Luykens I have seen tend to look less filled out at the bottom.

What would be a good choice to sort of cover up the 1 ft. tall bare spot at the base of the Otto Luykens? Something thats evergreen.

I thought about Nandina's (Burning Bush), however in the past the plants tend to look less uniform. I like things to look tidy and symmetrical and with these you can have 5 that look great then one that strugles or looks ill.

Just curious what you all might recommend?

thanks,

-trigger


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: Otto Luykens

  • Posted by kaky 7b SC (My Page) on
    Sat, Mar 24, 07 at 15:01

I'm thinking about putting dwarf India Hawthorne in front of mine.


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RE: Otto Luykens

Interesting consideration kaky.

Although I was looking for something with a little more color considering the Luykens are a solid green all year round.

I wonder if some Azalea's might work?

-trigger


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RE: Otto Luykens

  • Posted by kaky 7b SC (My Page) on
    Sun, Mar 25, 07 at 14:20

I am not an experienced gardener. But I don't know why azaleas would not work. My understanding is that they need some shade and my Otto Luykens are in the sun for part of the year. Also, I'm not sure azaleas will give you the tidy look you want when they are not in bloom. I've really struggled with what to do, too. I've considered itea. I planted Russian sage last fall, but I'm concerned it will look messy. If you search for kaky on the shrub forum you'll see some suggestions made to me by a helpful person whose name I don't recall. Of course, people on these forums would probably suggest that you mix your second row and plant more than one kind of shrub.


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RE: Otto Luykens

Since your first reply I have looked into the Indian Hawthorne suggestion a little more.

They actually do bloom nice white or pink flowers (depending on type) which is a plus. After a lot of searching they seem to be the best candidate for tidy symmetrical look I am trying to achieve.


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RE: Otto Luykens

I have 3 Prunus Laurocerasus (Otto Luykens) I use as a hedge on a garden island in my yard and they are as full at the bottom as the rest of the plant, mine have been in the ground since 2003 planted from 3 gl size plants in full sun and they are between 8-10 feet tall and 5 ft across and still going. You need to be patient while they are getting established because you will be doing alot of pruning if you want to realize only four feet tall.


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