privacy hedge for hiding my wood pile and "stuff" in shade

[tdump]

I know all I have is questions but 1 more and maby I can quit bugging you folks so much.
I am a collector of antique garden tractors and other rusty mechanical stuff that I restore,repair and use and some for their parts. And I have a ugly wood pile under tarps I got for free or cheap. My stuff is in a wooded area consisting of whatever grows wild here .Oaks, cedars,pines, and that #*#)(&$ sweet gum.
But it all tall enough that there is nothing hiding my stuff during the winter from the highway.
The rest of our place is neat and clean and I want to hide all this with a hedge that will grow in the shade.
Plus I kinda need it cheap. I have a catalog from Summerset nursery where I ordered my fruit trees last year and they have a dollar tree section. Canadian Hemlocks can be bought for a buck apiece and I think about 18 of them spaced right would take care of the problem. I have about 400 feet between the stuff and the road and it is all wooded. I have clipped off underbrush and cleaned up some of the fallen stuff and so on So I can make a line of those hemlocks and I wanted to put Rose of Sharon about 20 feet or so in a row in front of those hemlocks for color. Once all this in all I want to do to that area is keep sticks picked up and vines and junk plants cleaned up so the wooded area is clean. I want to mulch around the stuff I put out of course.
Will these plants work or do I need to back up and start over with my plans?

[applestar]

I don't know about Canadian Hemlock but I strongly advise AGAINST Rose of Sharon -- you will have 400 feet of solid Rose of Sharon in no time flat because they reseed readily HERE. In your more southerly location, I suspect there will be no stopping them.

[j3707]

If you've got lots of space, how about English Laurel

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/all/ ... rocerasus/

It's evergreen and, at least around here, can get 20 feet tall or more. It's tough and grows quickly. It can be cut way back if needed. It's a popular hedge in my area with some concern of it naturalizing.

[tdump]

Well the Rose of Sharon I got last year as my free plant when I ordered my 2 fruit trees and so far it has lived ok in the environment I am talking about but has not grown much at all.

I checked that link to the laurel and that looks to be more what of what I need. Thanks for the help folks!

I picked up a Dr mower at the lawnmower shop for 10 bucks that was deemed not worth repairing, 8 bucks and a hour later I was clearing my wooded areas like a dream! so if this stuff would get out of hand, I will dispatch the "Dr".

Edit, I found these on Ebay, I will be heading to the big city tomorrow so I will check at Lowe's about prices there..
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-English-Laure ... SwxCxT~MbT

[ButterflyLady29]

The first year they sleep, the second they creep (grow slowly), the third they leap (grow like bad weeds). I just cut down 2 Rose of Sharon which were over 10 feet tall and spreading seedlings all over that part of the yard. (Although I will let the ones in the hedge row grow only because they can be mowed around)

Canadian Hemlock can get to be 80 feet tall and 30 feet across, not really a good small screening hedge. I think boxwood or holly would be a better choice.

Check into your native flowering and berry producing shrubs for color and wildlife attraction, some produce berries that you can eat too. You'll find some very nice looking, non-invasive shrubs that will grow well in your area.

Great job on the mower. Hard to say why the owner thought it couldn't be fixed. Sometimes getting the right mechanic is all it needs.

[imafan26]

It depends on where you are. Rose of sharon here is a cool weather plant. We have a hard time keeping it alive and they remain very smal where they do survive.
Most of our hibiscus do not seed. The only thing that has reseeded has been H. acetosela and H. sabdariffa...the roselles. H. sabdariffa is an annual and H. acetosela is a short lived perennial.

[tdump]

Well I went to lowes and they didn't have that laurels mentioned above.
There is a local nursery that sales wholesale only but I can check with a friend and see if they have some in gallon pots for economy. I am not in a bind or dire need but want to get started.
I did find the hemlocks on ebay for 13 dollars for 10. There is plenty of room if they want to grow tall and wide that is fine with me in this area.
I think labor rate at the shop is what determined the mower not worth fixing. But all it was was a dirty carb and air filter. Cheap easy fix. And I love using it.Does a good job quick.

[ButterflyLady29]

We once bought a car that wouldn't start for $50. It was a cheap car but the owner couldn't afford the tow and labor fees. Hubby cleaned the carb and it ran great. Most of the time it pays to do work yourself.

If you like the hemlocks and have the room for them then by all means go ahead and plant them. They are nice trees for places where there is enough room for them to grow.

[tdump]

It is hard to explain the lay out but it is basically woods that the trees have gotten so tall that there are no low limbs. During the winter time you can see the multiple tarps covering my firewood and my old lawnmowers and such and a section of it will be better suited for the shrub English Laurel suggested above and the lower part,the hemlocks will have plenty of room to be themselves and never interfere with anything. And they was cheap I like cheap! But near my shop the hemlocks may pose a issue with ice and limbs and falling on the building or something so the Laurel may be a better idea for that area.

Another what may seem like a silly question. Me and post hole diggers don't get along well. Where I want to put these things there is alot of stump holes from pines that were cut in 1968. Nothing in them but a open hole that you can literally drop you leg in. I am thinking, fill these holes with good organic stuff and put the hemlocks in them holes! Will that work? Most are about 10 to 15 inches in diameter .

[ButterflyLady29]

I have a problem with trees being close enough to fall on buildings, close call with our house when I was little. So yes, smaller shrubs near the shop.

Just put your local dirt in the stump holes after setting the trees in place. Should work just fine, the roots will eventually break through the stumps into the surrounding soil.

[tdump]

I pulled a cord out and found that 4 stump holes are in perfect alignment and another is about 3 foot out to the front. I think I will use it anyway. Oh there wont be a struggle for the tree to grow. There is nothing left of the old stumps, just a hole about 3 feet deep,and 12 inches round. I hope they come in the mail tomorrow so I can get them in the ground while our weather is good.

[tdump]

Well 11 Canadian Hemlocks are in their new homes in the ground. They came yesterday by mail ,bare root so I wanted to get them planted asap. Cheated and used 5 stump holes.
I discovered there is some of what my neighbor calls, Privy hedge, "spelling" right where it should be to help hide stuff so I cleaned around it all today and will prune and trim it so it might help me and no planting involved.
Neighbor has some Forsythia "spelling" or yellow bell bush as they call it. I am going to get some cuttings off it and see if I can root them and save buying plants.
Also want to do the same with some Dogwood trees as alot of ours have died out in the wood during the long droughts we have had over the past few years.
Thanks for the help. Still looking around for the Laural's suggested above.