🌳🌳🌳 CREATE YOUR OWN PRIVACY HEDGE for HOME GARDEN - Best Hedge Plants, Hedge Shears, Pruning Tips

[@FLOWERCHILDGARDENS]

Look at that melasma on my cheeks. This is why #skincareforgardeners

[@pacificpermaculture]

I think you may be getting some wind burn plus the sun over there.Working outside isn't always fun.

[@FLOWERCHILDGARDENS]

@@pacificpermaculture It does look like wind burn but I think it is Melasma. At some point, I will go to a dermatologist to get it checked out. Melasma seems common for people of color, including Asian folks.

[@pacificpermaculture]

You may be correct.I use the ignore it until it goes away method of treatment for most things.

[@chenigen]

I've watched 15+ hedge videos today and yours has by far been the best and most informative. Also, your voice is really calming to listen to. :) I hope your channel blows up!

[@umaumalei14]

Susan, another excellent video. I appreciate your coverage of CA natives, so important to consider for more sustainable gardening. I have found Ceanothus 'Carmel Creeper' to be a pretty robust hedge. It wants to get taller than 3' in my garden so I decided to take it out last spring. While doing so, I discovered a lot of new growth close to the base of the trunk so pruned it pretty hard down to about 18." I'm pleased to see it bounced back quite nicely. I've had them for about 12 years so I think they can last a long time. The trick is to stop irrigating them after they're established in a few years. These are also in part sun, which I think helps too.

[@FLOWERCHILDGARDENS]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Ceanothus! It makes sense... they do not like watering after established and it's hard to accept because they grow so well for the first couple of years. I do love seeing how Ceanothus can be longer lived and pruned up like a small tree. My neighbor who has an all native front yard has a 10' one that frames her front yard nicely. What do you have growing with your Ceanothus that's also doing well with no or little irrigation?

[@umaumalei14]

@@FLOWERCHILDGARDENS It's neighbors are mature Coffeeberry, and two Manzanitas, I tried to a establish Verbena lilicina next to it too a few years back and the semi-regular watering caused the Ceanothus to overgrow.

[@FLOWERCHILDGARDENS]

How was your weekend? Yes, I'm talking to you.

[@pacificpermaculture]

My weekend was short but good.Once upon a time I took horticulture classes thinking I wanted to be a landscaper.After hearing what they get paid, decided it wasn't a career path for me.You make really nice videos.Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@FLOWERCHILDGARDENS]

@@pacificpermaculture Yes, I know. I totally feel like landscapers and horticulturists are way undervalued. I try to be competitive and fair with my fees, but now I'm wondering if I should get more into vegetable gardening consulting. I was surprised to see how much consultants were making for a 1 hour virtual session, no design plans, just recommendations - like $500?? It may be due to high interest during COVID.

[@Nhoj31neirbo47]

My pet peeve ; hedging plants that are planted one foot from the sidewalk. I love pineapple guava, the plant and the fruit. Some California native plants for possible hedges, screens, windbreaks....... Berberis aquifolium, Oregon Grape Berberis nevinii, Nevin’s Barberry Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, Lawson’s cypress Garrya elliptica, coast silk-tassel Lavatera assurgentiflora, tree mallow Myrica californica, Pacific wax myrtle Ribes speciosum, fuschia-flowered gooseberry Simmondsia chinensis, jojoba Umbellularia californica, California bay. I took this list from ‘Growing California Native Plants’ , a book by Marjorie G. Schmidt and Katherine L. Greenberg

[@FLOWERCHILDGARDENS]

Yes! Pineapple Guava is great and multitasking! Love it and would recommend it in gardens in California with full sun and good drainage. Thanks for sharing the California Native plants! I think Berberis/Mahonia is an excellent barrier plant. It is really pokey, especially when the leaves are dried and fallen on the ground. I have definitely been pricked many times raking and cleaning up those leaves, but they are effective at warding away animals and people. I also love how they're so ornamental especially the tinge of fall color. Ribes speciosum is also another good barrier plant for a low hedge. Garrya is underutilized in my opinion. It's a good non-descript background shrub that always surprises me with its blooms.

[@pandantales1682]

Really informative video! So glad you pointed out Feijoa...Acca now...as I'm looking for dual purpose plants. Another good edible hedge plant for me is chilean guava or ugni. Have you seen the battery powered hand shears by Stihl?

[@FLOWERCHILDGARDENS]

Thank you Ella! Yes, Pineapple Guava is so good. I'm appreciating in more and more. Such a useful plant and a great foil to other plants with its grayish foliage. Love it! Yes, Chilean Guava is really good for a small hedge. And thank you for bringing that up because I may use it for a project soon. I've cared for this plant at a garden in Hillsborough, and it is so multifunctional too. Did you know that's it's a great cut foliage plant? The berries are yummy, too! Haha.. yes. You showed me the Stihl hand shears. They are so cool!!!!!

[@kgardennerd]

Is buxus a suitable option for the Sacramento area? Loved all the diagrams, and I would love to see the plant names (listed in description or in the video) so I can go look them up. Thanks for the info!

[@FLOWERCHILDGARDENS]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching it and commenting! I will try to put up a list of plants that are mentioned in the video in the Comments. Please check back to see if I have posted~ Buxus does grow in the Sacramento area, but you may need to water it more and select the right spot for it. Since Sacramento is more inland than the SF Bay Area, your Summers and Winters are more extreme. I'm mostly concerned about your Summers. Buxus really needs to be planted in soil that has good drainage. It has a tendency of getting root rot (Phytophthora). It does not like water logged soil like heavy clay soil. I visited McKinley Rose Garden (I think it was McKinley?) a couple of years ago, and I noticed that they have a low Boxwood hedge going on. I imagine they are irrigating it well and the soil is suited for it. Most likely, they are using the Japanese or Korean version of Boxwood which tends to fair better than English ones. The variety that is commonly used for low hedges is Buxus microphylla 'Green Beauty'. Here are some other plants that could be used for low to medium sized hedges in Sacramento. But please research them because some need good drainage and some can tolerate clay and light shade: Abelia grandiflora - may go deciduous in Winter, evergreen in So Cal Berberis thunbergii - will go deciduous in Winter, but has a brilliant Fall color and is prickly so good barrier plant and good shelter for birds Westringia - truly good for Mediterranean Climate gardens, evergreen in SF Bay Rosemary - some of them can get really large, and there are some varieties that are dwarf that are better suited for smaller gardens Baccharis - May go deciduous in Winter, evergreen in SF Bay Area Teucrium - needs full sun, good drainage, will go deciduous in Winter, evergreen in So Cal Ilex - good barrier plant. I would probably plant this in light shade Trachelospermum - multifunctional plant, it's a vine but can be hedged or grown like a groundcover, best in light shade I hope this is helpful! ❤️

[@PR-td2iu]

What do you think of using Iva hayesiana for a hedge? is that crazy? 😁 I wish I could believe that down here in Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley, I could successfully grow ceanothus as a hedge, but so far I’ve had nothing but failures with ceanothus. Prunus ilicifolia is an good idea. Also the Garrya. Going to look up how to sex Baccharis. 😆

[@FLOWERCHILDGARDENS]

I'm not sure... I'm not familiar with that plant. I looked it up, and it looks like it could spread easily and be possibly thuggish? But, I'm not sure since I've never worked with it! Sorry! I can understand your distress with Ceanothus. It's best to get a Ceanothus that is hyperlocal to your area because there are so many different species and varieties that behave differently. Some originate from foggier regions and may dislike the arid intense conditions of San Fernando Valley. With Ceanothus, it can be sort of long-lived if grown in its natural habitat and left alone after establishment. But, if you introduce one that is not adapted to your area or if you plant in richer, denser soil, or if you irrigate more, it will be quite short-lived. For example, 'Dark Star' is a really popular variety for home gardens in California, but it tends to suddenly die within 8 years. This is totally normal if you grow it in a garden setting with irrigation. Manzanitas are longer-lived than Ceanothus, but you do want to get hyperlocal species again. For a hedge, you might want to consider Baccharis pilularis if you have good drainage and full sun. It will be evergreen in So Cal, and there are more prostrate forms like 'Pigeon Point' or 'Twin Peaks'. But as I'm writing the names of these varieties, take notice of the names. 'Twin Peaks' sounds like it refers to the neighborhood in San Francisco. So it may need foggy, mild conditions. These are helpful clues in selecting varieties. I hope this is helpful! Thanks for watching the video :)

[@llzzz6726]

Like the information. One problem: I am definitely no expert on plants. It will be extremely helpful if you can have the plant's name show on the screen. I am basically making up names along the way then hope google will correct me. :|