Hedging replacement advise what hardy plants to use for hedging

Hardy Hedging replacement recommendations:

 Green Privet Hedging

Many of the traditional garden hedging plants including Griselinia, Escallonia, golden leylandii and fuchsia have been badly damaged and in many cases the hedges have been killed especially younger plants and in particular Griselinia hedging.

April is the ideal time to replant an existing hedge with something hardy and easy to grow.

It’s true to say that all hedging plants were battered and damaged throughout the severe winter weather but some hedging plants including Portuguese laurel, Cherry laurel, elaeagnus ebbengii, green and golden privet have in the main come through the winter with little or no damage and all are producing fresh new green growth.

To replace your hedge I recommend the following plants:

1. Laurel Artic King – Hardy laurel variety which is ideal as an evergreen fast growing hedge, Deep green glossy foliage, white flowers and a dense full growth habit. This variety is ideal for a hedge from 2 to 3 meters
2. Hardy Portuguese laurel – Small deep green glossy foliage and red stems, tight growing hedge with dense compact shape. Easy to grow and maintain – suitable for small to medium hedges from 1 to 2 meters high.
3. Buxus Sempervirens – Small evergreen foliage, dark green with a compact tight shape, slow growing and very easy to cut and maintain. Ideal for the smaller garden or low compact hedge. Ideal for hedges .5 to 1 meter
4. Golden jenny hardy Privet – golden jenny forms a dense full easy to grow hedge, bright yellow foliage and white flowers makes this a hardy hedge, easy to grow and trim. Ideal for hedges from 1 meter to 3 meters. Adds colour to the garden.
5. Hardy Henry Privet – Dense green foliage – hardy variety with strong growth. Easy to trim solid wall of foliage. Ideal for hedges from 1 meter to 3 meters.
6. Sea –side Elaeagnus – Bright silver foliage, white underneath with grey blueish foliage all season long. Hardy good in exposed conditions and seaside locations, easy to trim and forms a dense full habit. Ideal for hedges 1.2meters to 3 meters.
7. Thuja Smarald – cone shaped conifer – Evergreen rich colour – beautiful formal shape that needs no cutting, easy to maintain hedge or screen. Ideal for hedges from 2 meters to 4 meters. Beautiful formal shape

Gardening Jobs to tackle this week

1. Its herb time in the garden, April is the ideal month to plant a selection of aromatic herbs directly into the garden or in patio tubs and window boxes. Choose from a wide selection of great tasting herbs including Scented thyme, Coriander, Dill, rosemary , lavender, bay laurel , French parsley and oregano. Herbs like to be planted into a sunny location and love to be grown in containers. Click here to view our full range of Herbs
2. Kill off un wanted pests in your greenhouse or polytunnel with a simple smoke bomb placed in the centre of your polytunnel or greenhouse. Light the fuse to release a pest killing smoke which will penetrate into he cracks and crevices killing aphids and plant pests. Click here to see our full range of potatoe seeds
3. Early and main crop seed potatoes can still be planted in late April and early May, varieties including British Queens, Orla, Colleen, Sentanta and Red Duke of York can be planted in Potato pots or ridges for a crop of home grown new potatoes this summer.Click here to see our full range of Seed Potatoes.  Remember to add organic chicken manure pellets when planting Chicken Manure Pellets
4. Millipedes – the black shiny insect that crawls up house walls – is appearing in gardens and homes at present. This insect comes out onto warm surfaces during dry weather and can b controlled by applying a dressing of protector C to the pathways and effected areas in the garden,
5. Sow carrot seed out doors this month. The carrot seed I recommend is the F1 variety called Fly away. Fly away is resistant to the carrot fly pest and is a variety which is easy to grow yet produces wonderful long stemmed carrots Carrot Flyaway
6. Plant out a selection of vegetable plants including Lettuce lorro rosso, Cabbage hispi and Duncan, Green heading broccoli, cauliflower and onward peas. Remember to add some organic fertiliser to the soil before planting and use Slug control on newly planted plants.
7. Peppers and chillies are easy to grow and fun to eat, Get about a mix of six chilli and pepper plants, pot them into ten inch pots and place them on a warm sunny window sill indoors. Enjoy a bumper crop of home grow hot peppers and chillies all summer long Click here to view our Pepper plants
8. Cover Walls and trellis in flowering and foliage climbers. Summer flowering Clematis , Wisteria and honey suckles are now ready for planting out of doors. Summer flowering scented sweet peas can also be planted now for wonderful cut flowers all summer long Click here to view our range of climbing plants
9. Weeping Copper beech and flowering Laburnum trees should be planted this month. Laburnum produces a wonderful show of foot long flowers in early summer. The weeping copper beech is a lovely foliage tree providing colour in any garden in spring, summer and autumn. Plant both now.
10. Escallonia hedging needs a feed of supergrow fertiliser to encourage strong new growth after the severe damaging weather. Apply a handful to the base of each escallonia plant now and again in mid may.
11. To add colour in flower borders, rockeries, graves or garden edges consider planting some flowering Alpines. Alpines flower this and every year and form a neat Tidy lump of foliage and flowers. I generally plant in groups of the same variety of alpine to help create a Mat or clumped effect. Alpines are hardy and easy to grow if planted now.

Join Paraic Horkan this and every Saturday morning 9-10am on the Midwest Radio Gardening show!