Alternative to Boxwood

[Lisa S]

I need to plant about 14 shrubs to go along our path. Boxwood is too expensive in that quanity, but I love the look of it. Whatever I get needs to be something that grows in very acidic soil.

I also need a good idea for cottage-like shrubbery to go along our big white fence. I'd like something that has nice color all year round. We're right on a busy street and that area gets lots of sun. I'm gonna need about 30 5 gallon plants.

Cheaper is gooder.

[Chyna]

How about cotoeaster? It is pretty much just green in the summer/spring but in the fall the leaves turn beautiful colors, the limbs/branches are really interesting in the winter, same sort of thing for dog wood except the branches are red in the winter. Fire bushes are supposed to be amazing in the fall with their brilliant hues.

That is about all I can think of right now, sorry can't help you on the pricing but I know that alot of catalogs offer discounts for buying more than 2 or 3 which would certainly be you. ;)

[Memmey]

How does Indian Hawthorn do where you live? Pretty grey green leaf and flowers in small clusters in spring. Not picky about the soil either. I can get big but low and spreading. It's not picky I do know that.

[RoseMary]

Nandina bushes? They are nice, though sometimes slow to grow.

[Lisa S]

Thanks for the great suggestions! I went online to Michigan Bulb and ordered some Privit Hedge for along the fence line. They come bare root, but they are supposed to be fast growing. Good price.

I couldn't stop there, of course! I also got 3 dogwood trees for under the large cedars in the front yard. (I hope they can handle the soil. If not, I have some other places they can go.) The cedars are huge, so I'm hoping the dogwood will fill in the space and bring it down to a human scale. Bought a few wisteria vines to plant in planter boxes by my log arbor.

I just went outside to see how Spring is progressing. It's a soggy mess out there. The ground is so wet that it makes a little sucking noise when you walk on it. Yuck! It's really hard to believe how pretty it will be in a few months.

I need to put my "it ain't even close to spring" blinders back on and get to work on some painting projects...

[dedavis]

Lisa, how tall does the boxwood alternative need to be? Do you plan to prune or shape them? You could try hyssop, a perennial semi-woody herb. It has small oval leathery green leaves, and blue flowers similar to veronica. You can shape it, and it would make a nice low hedge. It will tolerate full sun to partial shade.

I've had a privet hedge. It makes an effective screen, but if you hedge it, you have to prune it or it looks shaggy. If it gets tall, this means standing on a ladder with a hedge trimmer--not for the faint of heart.

I have two snowdrops, right at the edge of the melting snow in the yard. But it's snowing again and snow is forecast for the next week. Sigh. My blinders are going back on too. Wanting spring is a physical ache. Hang in there.

Deb

[Memmey]

Well spring is on the edge of bursting out here but right now the live oaks are dropping their leaves...oh my gosh it looks like it is raining...LEAVES you should see. The trees know when to drop them. If we were in tune with nature better we would sense the seasons more and could tell without the waether man. Like the indians did. When they have fallen then the spring growth will start and while admiring the spring growth LOL I will be raking and raking..LOL:(