12201 Box hedging

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On the other hand, if you have plenty of time to wait, and wish to save lots of money, box will easily strke cuttings but will take several years to grow to a useful hedge.

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Excellent advice, Torchiarolan, regarding the plant with "pot filled roots". I always go for these ones, providing they look healthy. The plants seem to respond extremely well as if they were grateful for getting more space to grow in their new environment and, as you say, they are a year older. Very often you find them at reduced prices in the nursery. Sorry, Adrian, I can't help with nurseries in your area, but someone will. Also, ask the neighbours.

[quote=Adrian Brown;117522]I want to put a border of box hedging around the pool terrace and need about 100+ plants. I am happy to buy smaller plants to save money. Can anyone confirm what sort of price each plant will cost and can they recommend anywhere in Southern Marche where I can get that number of plants.

Thanks[/quote]
i made a similar hedge about ten years ago it looks very nice although i try to keep it at mid thorax hight so it remains nice and thick.i might suggest -pitospero (pitosporum) a lovely evergreen hedge with soft shiny green leaves small flowers in june. personally i'd recommend i planr every 15 cms so it will get thick much easier.the small plants wont cost much and they'll deliver them (you'll require too many to go in a car) along the S.S.78 there are a few garden centers the otherside of Sarnano, Garden 78 or maybe better Franco Bellesi.both will have these numbers of plants or at worst within a few days without problems.it might even be worth preparing the trench beforehand and investing in some fertilized potting soil to give the young plants a good start,so when they deliver you can just pop them in.

Not exactly in southern Marche, and there may be one nearer you, but you should be able to get these, and all sorts of other shrubs and hedging plants at the [url=http://maps.google.it/?ie=UTF8&ll=42.747642,12.64653&spn=0.004239,0.00825&t=h&z=17]Corpo Forestale nursery near Spoleto[/url], for about €2-€3 each.

There is a Corpo Forestale Nursery in Amandola. otherwise I wuld recommend a trip down the Valdaso (the road from Comunanza to Pedaso, nearer the Pedaso end) where there are many plant nurseries who sell at very good prices if you buy in bulk.

At our pool area I planted a formal box garden using small plants bought in 2000. What I have learned is this. You may buy the plants all the same size but they grow like people and will vary greatly in size after a few years. If you want a low system of "interlaced" box, it is essential that you get the right variety. I went for the tiny slow growing Sepervirens rotundifolia. When one or two died I went back to Margheriti (very up market famous Tuscan vivaio) and asked for replacements but even from there, I eventually discovered that they were not the same variety, so buy more than you need and plant them else where for future use.

Sempervirens Suffruticosa seems to be popular for actual hedging but Torchi can explain all that stuff.

Mine have been very slow growing, deer do not eat them and I feed every single plant with some blue fertilizer every Spring. Pruning should be done on a cloudy day to save "burning" the plants. Some say July I say June up here at 627 mts.

Box certainly does make a very good hedge but have you noted it smells of tom-cat pee? Could be a bit off-putting for your pool barbecue guests!

Never noticed that smell but I planted rosemary in formal squares, to make hedges around olive trees at the front of our house for an inexpensive WOW factor. (Olive Trees and Rosemary plants where all young and small). So Rosemary could be planted at the pool and allowed to grow for a couple of years and then cut back with a hedge trimmer. This way there isn't much flower so no bees etc by the pool.

Great idea, Noble. Rosemary is such a great choice for any Italian garden.

[quote=Penny;117563]There is a Corpo Forestale Nursery in Amandola. otherwise I wuld recommend a trip down the Valdaso (the road from Comunanza to Pedaso, nearer the Pedaso end) where there are many plant nurseries who sell at very good prices if you buy in bulk.[/quote]

We've tried to get heding plants on order for the last 3 years from the Corpo Forestale Nursery in Amandola and it's a hit or miss affair (always miss so far). We ordered them before a friend on this year's run and didn't get them. Our friend who put their order in after us got them!. So we've been looking at the plant nurseries down near Pedaso and they are fairly reasonable in price.

You can get large numbers of plants from nurseries around Le Marche. Many of them will do any numbers and also sell young small plants. They will surely let you order if you are prepared to wait as they grow certain types of plants throughout the year. We use some very cheap suppliers when landscaping gardens for customers through our Property Management Business. If you let me know where you are located I may be able to suggest some in your area where you can buy cheaply. Prices are often seasonal also.

Thanks for that. We are just outside Amandola off the Fermo road.

If you are not in a hurry, you can order small plants at the A.S.S.A.M. in Amandola. you will find it at the end of the industrial estate when leaving Amandola towards Comunanza. Turn left at the Tamoil petrol station. It is right at the end past the mercato. The have a long plant list which usually includes Box and you need to order the plants by the summer and they will write to you when they are ready for pick-up, usually Nove-Feb. They only cost pennies, but there is no guarantee to whether you get all the plants you ordered. I would try there first as they will be so much cheaper, box is around 20c a plant. If you take the road to Pedaso there are lots of nurseries along the road who can do plants to order and prices are fairly similar but it depends on the time of year if they have them in.

Give some of those a go. If you are unlucky send me another PM and I call the place near the coast I sometimes buy but you'll be paying around 0.80-1.20 Euros. you need 3-4 plants a meter.