188 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



November, 1907 



them if you can afford it. In screening ser- 

 vice yards or laundry yards, I generally 

 select hedge plants from the list of plants 

 recommended above for windbreaks. 



ORNAMENTAL HEDGES 



Ornamental hedges are of two classes — the 

 flowering and non-flowering. To the latter 

 belong the conifers and certain broad -leaved 

 evergreens, such as box. These are largely 

 used for formal situations where the beauty 

 of line and greenery is enough. Flowering 

 hedges are largely used for boundary lines. 



THE BEST BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREEN 



Hitherto the standard hedge plant of the 

 world for formal effect has been the box, 

 but it is more or less slow, costly and treacher- 

 ous and I believe that in the Amoor privet 

 we have the best plant of this class for the 

 masses. This plant, which I call Lignstrum 

 Amurense, is unquestionably the best of the 

 privets at the South. It retains its bright 

 green foliage during the coldest winters; 

 it has withstood, without injury, a cold of 

 twenty degrees below zero in western North 

 Carolina; and it also endures the extreme 

 heat of southern Florida. It is therefore 

 adapted to a very wide range of territory, and 

 furthermore, will succeed in any soil that is 

 neither too arid nor a swamp. If planted in 

 rich soil, and properly treated, a good hedge 

 may be expected two years after planting. 

 This privet is grown in a few Northern 

 nurseries under the name of Ligustrum 

 Ibota which is evidently incorrect. Unfor- 

 tunately there are several different species 

 sold under the name of Amoor privet, which 

 may account for the difference of opinion 

 as to its hardiness and evergreen character. 



In 1868 I received six plants of the Amoor 

 privet from the late Eugene Baumann, then 

 living in Rahway, N. J. He wrote that the 

 few experiments he had been able to make 

 with it satisfied him that the plant would 

 prove to be the best of all the evergreen 

 privets, but feared that the excessive cold at 

 Rahway might kill it. It was fortunate 

 indeed that these plants were sent to me, 

 because Mr. Baumann's death occurred 

 soon afterwards. It is astonishing that the 

 Amoor privet is still so little known outside 

 of the Middle South, as it is assuredly far 

 superior to the California variety, retaining 

 its foliage and bright color during the greater 

 part of the winter in the latitude of New York 

 where the latter becomes denuded. Near 

 Richmond, Va., there exist several miles of 

 hedge of Amoor privet, the first extensive 

 use of the variety made by the late Major 

 McGinty, who was quick to appreciate its 

 great value. 



In the South the California privet (Ligus- 

 trum ovalifolium) seldom casts its foliage 

 during winter; but as it turns to a dull 

 purplish-black color, it is unsightly, and 

 therefore very seldom used. In the Northern 

 States it is more extensively planted than 

 any other hedge. There it is deciduous, 

 usually becoming defoliated during Decem- 

 ber, but in mild winters it retains its foliage 

 later when it assumes a dingy, purplish hue. 

 This species grows to a height of ten to fifteen 



feet if left unsheared and may be used as a 

 windbreak or screen. 



The new growth of an evergreen privet 

 should be sheared whenever it has reached 

 a growth of six to eight inches. Cut off one- 

 half of this growth and proceed in the same 

 manner with each succeeding shearing until 

 the hedge has attained the desired height. 

 Then leave only half an inch at each clipping. 

 The shape of the hedge may be either conical 

 or triangular in section for regions subject 

 to heavy falls of snow; in other sections the 

 perpendicular-sided-with-flat-top form may 

 be used. 



Never plant a double row as it cannot be 

 kept in good shape as readily as the single 

 row. Set the plants twelve inches apart in 

 ordinarily good soil, but increase the dis- 

 tance in rich ground to eighteen or even to 

 twenty-four inches. It is understood that 

 a deep trench is first made and filled in with 

 rich earth and stable manure and the plants 

 set several inches deeper than they were 

 growing before. After planting cut them 

 back to ten or twelve inches to secure a dense 

 growth from the base. 



If a broad-leaved evergreen is desired for 

 a very tall hedge or windbreak for the South 

 I generally recommend the Japanese privet 

 (Ligustrum Japonicum). This grows to be 

 a fair-sized tree. It is not hardy north of 

 Washington. 



Where ample space can be given and a tall 

 and broad hedge is desired the various forms 

 of the English laurel (Prunus Laurocerasus) 

 are of great value. Their principal merit 

 consists in their broad, vivid green, shining 

 foliage and the ease with which they can be 

 transplanted into any soil of ordinary fertility. 

 They are hardy as far north as Washington. 



For a very low hedge the sweet myrtle 

 (Myrtus communis) is occasionally used. 

 Both foliage and flowers are very fragrant. 



FLOWERING EVERGREEN HEDGES 



The climate of the South is favorable to 

 broad-leaved evergreens, some of which are 

 chiefly valued for their flowers. Among 

 these perhaps the most magnificent are 



No evergreen hedge in (he North is more 

 beautiful than the hemlock, because of its feathery 

 grace and lively green in winter 



Magnolia grandiflora, camellias and azaleas, 

 but these are not commonly used for hedges. 

 Years ago, the Japan spindle bush (Euony- 

 mus Japonicus) was the favorite broad- 

 leaved hedge plant as far north as Virginia, 

 but its liability to scale insects has caused it 

 to be discarded. Wherever the scale does not 

 exist, it is a most desirable plant as it can 

 be trimmed to any shape and at any time. 



Perhaps the commonest tall hedge plant 

 in the South is Prunus Caroliniana, known 

 to nurserymen as Cerasus Carolinensis and 

 to the public as wild orange, mock orange, 

 Carolina cherry, etc. This tree is apt to be 

 injured by borers, thus causing gaps to form 

 in a hedge and after a few years it does not 

 respond well to shearing. This plant (and 

 also Ligustrum Japonicum) can be trained 





ll^HHSHflHnBBi 



For formal hedges in the Southern States, the Amoor privet is unquestionably the best. It stands heat and 

 cold, and the foliage in winter is brighter than the California privet 



