The Poultry Keeper

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2490 Location: South Cumbria

I have Rosa rubosa and can supply hips if you want to grow some, fairly fast growing very thorny, I have pink and white though can't guarantee colurs this time of year as they are all mixed together just send me a sae

kittoch · Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 170 Location: glasgow

thought i would add my tuppenceworth, at my work ( a country park) we are plagued with rabbits, and often have plants neatly snipped off and left....................especially newly planted things..............and the infuriating thing is, they seem to try different things every year.............they left bellis and polyanthus alone the last 4 years, this year all gone............lavenders etc that are supposed to not be attractive, cut to the ground Evil or Very Mad

i dont mind leylandii.they are evergreen, and the golds a bit slower growing than the green, but it does need cutting regular.............what i have used as an informal hedge to screen me from neighbours here this year (they cut down a large leylandii, but opened my view up to there garden), was mixed buddleias which grow quickly to 6-8 foot in a year or so, but, because they are cut back hard every spring, never outgrow there alloted space..........plus they flower, and attract loads of bees and butterflies in late summer.
Very Happy

hollowlegs · Joined: 04 Nov 2007 Posts: 50 Location: Hampshire

Budhlia is a great suggestion & would give a good variation in height in a mixed hedge. We have the usual Davidii, Black knight & Alba & hope to add a pink next spring. So easy to deal with & an absolute magnet for bees & butterflies. .... Just lovely!! Very Happy

kittoch · Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 170 Location: glasgow

also there are nice variegated ones that still flower well, and the "ball" ones like globosa that flower in early summer, (they dont get pruned as hard as the late flowerers), and hybrids between the two................ they can make an attractive, different looking informal screen/hedge. Very Happy

coco · Joined: 24 Jan 2006 Posts: 319 Location: Northants

Kittoch,

How hard is a hard prune? We have a several buddleias along part of one boundary and i usually take them down to about 5 feet. How long would they take to provide cover if I took them lower?

Sparklepeeps · Joined: 17 Jan 2007 Posts: 1950 Location: Cheshire

My gardener has taken ours right back to about 2 feet this winter!

hollowlegs · Joined: 04 Nov 2007 Posts: 50 Location: Hampshire

Two feet is just right as they put up new growth 8 - 10 feet in just a couple of months with flowers on every one. It is the easiest shrub in the world for anyone to have success with as long as you are strict with the pruning - half it's length after flowering & down to 2ft in March. Also deadhead regularly to get more (though smaller) flowers, late food for butterflies.
I forgot about the globe shaped ones! What a lovely range of colours & shapes from one genus!!

kittoch · Joined: 02 Jul 2005 Posts: 170 Location: glasgow

For the davidii hybrids ( the ones that flower in cone shaped heads around august) i prune mine to around 3ft in autumn to lessen wind rock , as the root base can cause a hollow that fills with water and freeze/thaws if they are too tall and blow about all winter,and this can kill them, then, around march i prune back another foot or so.........this is on established plants of over 2 years old..................younger plants i would prune lighter.
They flower on the current seasons growth, hence pruning each year early on does not stop flowering, and in fact keeps the heads bigger, and at a level we can enjoy as well as lots of insects. remember and give them a feed in spring after hard pruning to encourage lots of strong growth that will flower well in late summer.
To prolong the flowering season of a few buddleias, you can prune some lighter or not atall one year, and others normally, and this staggers the season of when they flower (and the heights), also, taking the main flower head out as its turning brown usually encourages a few smaller side branch heads to form in september...........ideal for all those ready to hibernate insects!
the globosa types (the orange ball ones) tend to flower on last years growth and early summer, so need light pruning, or only pruning to keep them in check. they arent as vigourous as the davidii types.
there is a great hybrid of both called buddleia x weyriana or summat like that i think, that takes the best of both, and has a long flowering season that covers the gap between the globosa types and through to the davidii types.
hope that helps. Very Happy

CP · Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 7:18 pm Post subject:

They are extremely robust even if you don't prune correctly.

My mum has one next to her front door which I couldn't even begin to dig out, so it was pruned right back to ground level a couple of years ago & it's now the same height it was before! Shocked

Duckie · Joined: 24 Sep 2007 Posts: 201

aha - so if they're fairly robust do you reckon I could reposition some established ones and if so is it best to do it about March? I like them but we have some in really stupid places and I was considering a 'kill or cure' prune and transplant next year sometime......

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2490 Location: South Cumbria

we brought some with us from our last house and they spent a winter in large pots and still survived !

Magpie · Joined: 28 Aug 2007 Posts: 553 Location: Norfolk

It really depends how established they are. I would suggest that if they have been in for more than 3-5 years then you would be better off taking some hardwood cuttings in the next 6 weeks and when you are sure some have rooted get rid of the old ones and plan on moving the cuttings next winter.

How to take Hardwood Cuttings

Look for pieces of stem about the thickness of a pencil and up to 18" long.
Try and find ones with three nodes (where the shoots grow from).
Cut the bottom end flat (90degrees)
Cut the top end at an angle away from the top bud.
This helps if you drop them and can help to shed the rain away from the bud.
Find a spare piece of ground, edge of the veg plot is ideal Smile

Then push the cuttings in between half and two-thirds of their length.
If you have a heavy soil you may be better off cutting a slit in the soil with a spade and filling it with sharp sand and putting the cuttings into this.
Wait.
You should see some growth in the spring and summer
Wait some more.
Transplant them to the final position next winter, ie 12 months after you took them. It may be slow but they are pretty easy and reliable for many deciduous shrubs.

HTH

Tim

hollowlegs · Joined: 04 Nov 2007 Posts: 50 Location: Hampshire

It's amazing how many of you have replied to this post! It just goes to show how many excellent & knowledgeable gardeners there are in Britain!! & how popular such a common shrub is! Cool

Keep up the good work - obviously chooks & gardening go hand in hand- reading all your replies is as good as Gardeners Question Time, so long may it continue!!!!!! Laughing

A very Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year to Everyone. H.

Heather · Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 12:28 pm Post subject:

I would go for blackthorn or rosa rugosa - both are naturally thorny to keep things out & both have 'crops' that you can use Smile