I am presently on a quest to eradicate all the privet the previous owner planted on the property since I am tired of trimming the thing and it does really go everywhere.

I am presently tearing up a length of privet hedge and I have been toying with the idea of replacing it with Hibiscus syriacus. It wouldn't be cheap, but the end result could well be worth the effort.
I am thinking of planting one every 4', about 2' from the existing fence to have some room for maintenance and to keep the plants themselves 5 to 6' tall. I was thinking of using alternating Blue Chiffon and White Chiffon, for no other reason I can get them cheaper than other cultivars.

Any other thing I may be missing here? Has anyone tried this kind of hedge?

Thanks.

My neighbor planted a bunch on our property line as a privacy buffer between us. Works good and it's pretty shaded on our side also which means fewer blooms but it still looks good.

Stay away from varieties that may flop too much by the end of the growing season and remember that the birds may spread them elsewhere too (so you could be having to remove a few that start growing in spring).

Thanks to the both of you.

luis_pr said:Stay away from varieties that may flop too much by the end of the growing season and remember that the birds may spread them elsewhere too (so you could be having to remove a few that start growing in spring).

Can you suggest any cultivar that won't flop? I don't think they'll spread around though. The weather here is too rotten for anything that isn't Bay Laurel or privet.

We have several we have planted along our PVC fence to block off the glare.
But in the winter months they loose their leaves and ya just have branches.
These we have also cut back to the ground to make them thicker. They are
nice when they are in full bloom. We also have hydrangea on the west
PVC fence line that have really filled out nicely. Then in the front we have
used the variegated Weigela which a lot of folks just love. There are a lot
of shrubs out there that is one trains can make great privacy hedges, even
blue berries!!

ElPolloDiablo said:Thanks to the both of you.



Can you suggest any cultivar that won't flop? I don't think they'll spread around though. The weather here is too rotten for anything that isn't Bay Laurel or privet.

Sorry, no. The ones that I currently have have were planted by the original home owner or added by the birds. But just do an online search keying on the variety name + "flop" and see if any flopping complaints appear.

ElpolloDiablo, why shrub that gets top heave will flop. We use shoe strings to tie ours for a year and they
straighten upward. Just give them a little help.

I have a double pink hibiscus that used to flop.i didn't make a hedge with mine so it is a freestanding plant, but after it flopped for a few years I chopped it back hard in the late spring and it sent out vigorous straight shoots and hasn't flopped since.

I think the key to growing them so they won't be floppy and messy is to prune them while they are growing. It doesn't effect the blooms because they bloom on new wood anyways

ElPolloDiablo said:

I am presently tearing up a length of privet hedge and I have been toying with the idea of replacing it with Hibiscus syriacus. It wouldn't be cheap, but the end result could well be worth the effort.

I was thinking of using alternating Blue Chiffon and White Chiffon, for no other reason I can get them cheaper than other cultivars.

Any other thing I may be missing here? Has anyone tried this kind of hedge?

Sorry about late post... Just found this thread.

Rose of sharon seem to make fine hedges, especially when the deer are allowed to "help" with the trimming.

What I would encourage you to consider... What colours you actually want, Doubles or singles...

There's no reason that the hedge has to be expensive.
When I planted single blooms for someone, they were such prolific self sowers that we removed all those beautiful trees and planted doubles.

As the doubles didn't set seed, I created a rooting bed, and had all the bushes I wanted just by shoving cuttings in the ground and watering once.

Just googled "white chiffon" Pretty.

Unfortunately, the hummingbirds and butterflies seem to prefer the singles at my house.