Rosemary as a hedging plant

Sive · Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 2:03 pm Post subject: Rosemary as a hedging plant

Has anyone grown Rosemary as a hedging plant ? I would be grateful for any advice on the subject.

forest flame · Rowan Tree Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 113

HI SIVE
I HAVE GROWN ROSEMARY AS A HEDGE AND IT REACHED 3 FEET THEN I KEPT IT TRIMMED AS THAT WAS THE HEIGHT I WANTED. I DONT KNOW IF IT WOULD BE SUCESSFUL ANY HIGHER

dinahdabble · Hawthorn Tree Joined: 24 Mar 2009 Posts: 62 Location: Torr

I have grown Rosemary bushes, though not as a hedge, rather as shaped individual bushes. I would certainly recomend it, but remember to keep on pruning it. A problem arrises if you forget because the old stems become very long and straggely with age. If it becomes old and top-heavy it's brittle, woody stems break off in the wind. If it is kept pruned well this doesn't happen, and you get a lovely, dense little bush or hedge. The hight you can grow it to depends both on how much shelter it will get from the wind, and how bushy you can keep it down near to the ground. It's also important to make sure that it has good drainage, so that the base of the stems will not rot or be damaged by freezing water. Hope this helps.

Sive · Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 8:41 pm Post subject:

Thanks to both of you. I'd be quite happy with 3 or 4 ft high.....and drainage is good as it will be surrounded by gravel.
However, I'm worried about wind, as this little hedge is going to be open to a lot of wind until our native hedging matures and starts to shelter us. Does Rosemary not do well in a windy spot ?

verge · Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 11:44 pm Post subject:

Rosemary is not too bad with wind say like the type you get near the sea. But cold wind can be very burning to it. Cold wind the likes of which you get during winter in the midlands.

Sive · Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:43 am Post subject:

Thanks, Verge, the wind I'm mainly worried about is the usual south-westerly. We aren't far inland...about 4 miles from the coast.