I have Juniper shrub (about 15' x 2') that borders the sidewalk and the front yard of my house. Due to some bad trimming, quite a few dead-looking branches have been exposed and it is ugly. I want to remove them and replace with a different kind of shrub.

My requirements are:

- dense evergreen shrub that will border the yard (want to form a thick wall)
- will maintain about 3 feet high
- easy to maintain and can be easily trimmed
- hardy and requires little water once established
- will thrive in a sunny location
- suitable for SF bay area climate

I went to a local Home Depot today and saw the following shrubs

- gardenia
- jasmine
- boxwood
- golden euonymus
- heavenly bamboo
- rosemary
- indian hawthorn
- pineapple guava (not at Home Depot, but a different nursery)

Can anyone recommend which shrubs meet the most (or the least) of my requirements? Pineapple guava sounds attractive as I can get fruits, but I don't know it is suitable as a border shrub.

Thanks in advance.

Of your choices, rosemary is the densest and most drought tolerant. Easily pruned into a 3' hedge as long as you don't let it go too far first. I have found the dwarf Yeddo Indian hawthorn to be a more compact and less leggy plant than its larger growing cousins. And it is less prone to to the unsightly leaf blight these shrubs can get and which could be a problem in the foggy Bay area. Not a great plant but OK and the white flowers are a nice contrast to the dark and reddish tinted foliage.

Boxwood is fine but is b-o-r-i-n-g as heck. And smells very unpleasant in late afternoon sun. Of the nandinas, I'd limit my choice to 'Gulf Stream', as any others will get too large and these don't prune well. Great color but not especially dense.

Pineapple guava is a great plant - worth growing if you can - but will easily get much bigger than you want for this purpose and routine pruning will remove the potential for flowers and therefore any fruit.

I wouldn't consider either the jasmine or gardenia good hedge material.

probably budget.. but that should not be determinative ... even for a cheapskate like me ...

i hate pruning.. once or twice per year ... and i would gladly pay money UPFRONT.. for something BETTER ... that will actually FIT THE SPACE ... rather than cheapout and have 20 years of maintenance labor ...

so the point is ... you need to generate a bigger list of things available from other local nurseries.. even if the cost might initially be higher ... IMHO

we/you can always refuse such.. but at least give us a chance to argue about other things .. then you can make an INFORMED decision ...

and that 2 foot wide and 3 foot tall thing is going to be a bear ... frankly i doubt you will find something that wont need to be trimmed ... but we may as well try now.. [my gut would suggest vines on a trellis .. as they have little footprint as compared to the vertical potential]

sorry but i dont live in z9 .. so i dont have any suggestions ... this is definitely more within gal's realm ...

ken

PS: i remember the pool name and your other post a while back.. did you ever go back to it.. ???

In fact, I'm checking both big box stores and local nurseries as well. I do find prices at big box stores are cheaper, but if I find better plants from a local nursery, I don't mind buying from there. :-)

Ken, I forgot what my other post that you mentioned was about. Can you remind me?

HEY!!!! .. you cant remember your own posts.. whats that all about.. lol .. probably on page 2 .. i will look.. but be sure to check the box under where you type.. so replies come to your email ... then you will know when peeps ask questions.. and you forget to come back..

good luck

ken

Save any rosemary prunings for when you barbeque - they give off a wonderful aroma when burning as well as delicately flavor whatever you may be grilling. Much more subtle than using the herb directly.