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Living Fences Made Of Yew, Juniper, Cypress
Living Fences Made Of Yew, Juniper, Cypress

Video: Living Fences Made Of Yew, Juniper, Cypress

Video: Living Fences Made Of Yew, Juniper, Cypress
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Living fences made of coniferous plants

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Living fences are one of the best tools for creating an intimate setting in your garden. Of course, a lot also depends on which garden such fences are created in - urban or located in the countryside.

Of no less importance is the choice of a suitable tree species: will it "fit" into the environment and will it become a natural continuation of it.

The natural beauty of conifers is striking not only at the time of intensive growth, but also in winter, when trees are the main decoration. The varied color of the needles brings a certain revival to the somewhat saddened gardens.

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Conifers, like other tree species, divide gardens into certain, usually outwardly different parts. Due to their size, conifers are able to create interesting living scenes, impenetrable green walls, a pleasant calm background, an intimate atmosphere, and serve as a beautiful frame

Some species and cultures of thuja, cypress, spruce, yew, and juniper are especially suitable for creating impenetrable green walls, dense living fences.

They can be given the desired shape by trimming, or, conversely, allowing them to grow freely, especially when there is enough free space.

Beautifully shaped living fences 60-100 cm high, as well as higher ones, form, for example, a berry yew. Since yews are highly resistant to diseases and pests, they grow violently even with the most minimal care. By trimming the plants, you can keep their size in the desired range from 60 cm to 2-3 meters in height. Deep and thoroughly worked lime-containing soil is suitable for yews. When selecting conifers for planting, gardeners prefer yews, which tolerate pruning well and develop both in the sun (if there is enough moisture) and in partial shade and even in full shade, which does not affect their appearance.

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Yews

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Yew tolerates unfavorable conditions better than many conifers. It can grow on covered soils, in the shade, is not afraid of polluted air, but poorly drained soil, oversaturated with moisture in winter, does not suit it. The leaves are usually dark green, 1.5-3.5 cm long, arranged in two rows. Plants are male and female. Seeds are formed on female plants. Each large light brown seed is surrounded by half a fleshy, juicy, bright red formation - aryllus, sweet in taste, slimy and very sticky.

Yew grows slowly. This plant can be used as a living fence. But do not forget that yew seeds are poisonous.

Types and varieties: Yew berry has the shape of an upright tree or a large bush with a dense crown. A variety is used as a columnar tree: Fastigiata, the so-called Irish yew, reaching a height of 4.5 meters. Fastigiata Aurea has colored yellow needles, while Fastigiata Aureomarginta has yellow-bordered leaves. Of the low-growing yews, the yellow variety Semperaurea is the most popular. Of the strongly growing ground cover varieties, that is, creeping, it should be noted the Repandens variety, which in 10 years grows only half a meter in height and has 3-5 m in diameter, while maintaining the correct umbrella shape. There is also a species that forms a rounded bush - this is the medium yew, variety Hicksii with dark green leaves, and the slow-growing creeping yew pointed-pointed, variety Nana.

Yew berry, grade Repandens. Creeping shrub 0.4-0.5 meters high and 2-5 meters wide. Branches horizontally spaced from the trunk are pressed to the ground. The needles are up to 3 cm long, crescent-shaped, directed upward and forward, from above with a distinct central line, shiny, dark green with a bluish tint, flat below, lighter. The needles are poisonous to mammals. This yew grows slowly, shade-tolerant, moisture-loving, winter-hardy, strong shading causes oppression of plants. Prefers fresh, well-drained soil.

In culture, the form has been known since 1887 in the United States. Propagated by grafting and layering. Recommended for landscaping terraces, for growing in containers, for group plantings in rocky areas, in rock gardens.

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To create a living fence with a height of 1-2 m, in addition to the named yew berry, some varieties of it can also serve, for example, the yew berry variety Fastigiata, characterized by slender straight growth, short dense branches and equally dense dark green needles. This beautiful yew tree is good for small gardens.

The culture of the medium yew, variety Hicksii, is also interesting, it is also suitable for use in living fences. It reaches a height of 2 m, has a straight trunk and more sparse branches, and its needles on the upper side are painted in dark green with a glossy coating. Its crown shape is columnar. Shoots are long, rising, often wider at the top than at the base. The needles are up to 3 cm long, dark green. Plant height 3-4 meters. Diameter 2.2 meters. Loves light (partial shade). Prefers fertile, moist soils, hardy. It grows pretty quickly. Produces abundantly. Recommended for group and single plantings in rocky areas. Best grade for shaped live fence.

Along with yews, some cypress trees can be used for a similar purpose.

Cypress trees

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Among cypress trees there are dwarfs suitable for rock garden, compact bushes for a mixed fence and tall trees for single planting. In cypress and cypress, oppositely located tiny scaly leaves, which cover the shoots, but in cypress, lateral branches extending from the main shoot are located in the same plane, while in cypress they grow in all directions. Plants also differ in the size of the cones: for a cypress, the diameter of the cones is about 1.5 cm, and for a cypress - 2.5 cm. In addition, the cypress is more cold-resistant and tolerates transplantation better, but do not think that it can grow anywhere. Cypress does not like poorly drained soil and open places, some varieties can die in such conditions.

Types and varieties:In the cypress, the most popular is Lawson's cypress, the Elwoodii variety - it can be planted on rock gardens and in borders. This is a slow-growing plant, reaching a height of 1.5 meters by the age of 10 and not exceeding 4.5 meters in mature age. Gray-green needles turn silvery-blue in winter, but there are several mutants with a different color. These include Elwood's Gold, a slow-growing plant, with golden twigs at the ends, and Elwood's White, green and white needles. The Fletcheri cultivar resembles Elwoodii in its crown shape, but it grows faster and is more suitable for living fences than for rock gardens. Allumii has a tapered crown - this blue-gray cypress variety is often used for single plantings on the lawn or for live fence. Also, Lawson's cypress has three popular medium-tall golden varieties: Lane, Lutea,Stewartii.

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Dwarf varieties grow up to 30 cm in 10 years, and in adulthood they do not exceed one meter. Look for Minima Aurea (yellow needles), Minima Glauca (green needles), and Pygmaea Argentea (bluish green needles with silvery tips) -they meet these dwarf requirements.

The Nutkansky cypress, the Pendula variety, is one of the most weeping among tall conifers, if after planting the main shoot is directed upward, then in 10 years it will grow up to 2.5 meters.

Many varieties are bred on the basis of blunt cypress, the most popular variety is Nana Gracilis, its branches resembling shells fan out from the middle of the bush. Of the pea cypress varieties, it is also called the pea cypress, the most popular is the slow-growing Boulevard variety, reaching three meters in height, it has a neat conical crown and feathery silver-blue twigs.

Junipers

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Wide living fences can be created from an interesting variety of Chinese juniper, Pfitzerioana variety. This beautifully growing juniper with widely spread, slightly drooping branches and gray-green color of the needles reaches two meters in height and four meters in width. It is quite unassuming, but only suitable for large gardens.

Dwarf and ground cover junipers are now more popular. These plants are extremely frost-hardy, are not afraid of cold winds in open places, are undemanding to the soil, and calcareous, acidic, and stony soil are quite suitable for them. In addition, they are much more drought-resistant than most conifers; in a dry and shady place they prefer dry and sunny places. These plants tolerate pruning well. In the middle of summer, live fences are cut and creeping forms are trimmed. Junipers are not only unpretentious, but they also have attractive leaves and crown.

In creeping junipers, foliage can be green, gray, blue, golden and bronze. In addition, there are upright junipers with a crown in the form of a cone, wide column, knoll, pencil or neat pyramid. The leaves are also interesting, which are of two types, there are small leaves 0.5-1 cm, narrow, subulate, they are called young, or juvenile, and there are scaly leaves, even smaller, they are called mature, or old. In some junipers, young leaves are quickly replaced by mature ones, but in other species, even on mature trees, young leaves predominate. The pea-sized cones are formed by coalesced fleshy scales.

Species and varieties: A typical low-growing juniper is a scaly juniper. If you need a smaller plant, then the Blue Star is suitable here - this variety does not exceed one meter in diameter. Meyeri, like other varieties of this species, has blue foliage and drooping branches, but this spreading shrub grows to 1.2 meters or more in ten years. The middle juniper, like the scaly juniper, has both creeping and bush varieties.

The most famous cultivar: Pfitzeriana with strong branches growing at an angle of about 45 degrees, with graceful drooping tips. It grows strongly in breadth, like its golden version, Pfitzeriana Aurea. Common juniper varieties are varied in shape and size. The Compressa variety forms a miniature columnar tree for a rock garden. Hibernica, which reaches a height of 4.5 meters or more, has a narrow-columnar crown. Spreading ground cover varieties include Depressa Aurea with golden needles, Repanda with green needles, and Hornibrookii with green needles.

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Chinese junipers are represented by upright trees and spreading shrubs. Piramidalis is a slowly growing tree with a conical crown, like other varieties of Chinese juniper, almost entirely covered with young foliage. The varieties Aurea, Obelisk and Stricta also belong to the tree type. To grow a sprawling bush, plant Japonica or Kaizuka. There is also Virginia juniper and its popular varieties Skyrocket - a narrow-columnar tree, and Gray Owl - a silver-gray spreading bush.

Juniper horizontal "Meyeri". The dwarf form Meyeri is a widely known and especially beloved decorative form by gardeners. At a young age, this variety branches densely. In an adult state, it is a shrub 2-5 meters high. Shoots are straight, twigs are short. The color of the needles is bluish-white, it is most intensely expressed at the end of May and in July. Annual growth of up to 10 cm. Propagated by cuttings (65%), seeds. Only 30% of plants of seed origin have a wider crown and gray needles. This form was brought to Europe in 1904. Recommended for landscaping roofs and rock gardens.

Read the next part. Living fences made of coniferous plants: spruce and thuja →

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