Better Hedges - Replacing Ficus

31. January 2010 by Carol Whitaker.

Any way you look at it, Ficus hedges are not Green. The constant use of gas powered trimmers and blowers to maintain them makes them a plant with a major carbon footprint.

The pesticides required to keep them alive in the environment of pests doing damage to them these days, pollute our air, soil and likely our water and food supply. The manufacture of the pesticides has a carbon footprint as well.

When planting a hedge or screen to be Green, it’s important not to plant a monoculture. While monoculture hedges are quite popular and hedges are a great way to provide privacy to a garden, buffer noises from the street, and screen an eyesore from view, the way they are commonly planted as monocultures in long rows is not Green. 

The best way to plant a Green hedge is to use a variety of plants in a hedge.  Stagger the plants in a zig zag fashion rather than a straight row. Then allow them to grow in their natural habit.

This method protects garden and gardener from great loss, and contributes in a positive fashion to the living landscape.

When the plants need some pruning, do it by hand.

If a particular plant is suddenly under attack by a pernicious pest, one doesn’t have to use pesticides on the whole hedge, nor lose the whole hedge. The plants not under attack remain standing sentinel at their posts in the garden hedge.

Without the need for constant gas equipment to prune the hedge plants, not only does one lessen their carbon footprint, they also save money on the cost of maintenance.

Allowing plants to grow in their natural habit also provides habitat for desirable native birds, butterflies and the likes, as well as annual migrating birds.

Smarter choices of plants for hedges have always been available, but the ease of growing Ficus from cutting and their quick growth, made them cheap and popular with growers, developers, landscapers and homeowners.

My favorite choices for a more natural, naturescape style, Green hedge, include: Simpson Stopper, Green Buttonwood, Jamaica Caper, Bay Rum (what a marvelous bay scent the leaves have when one brushes against them), Golden Dewdrop, Clusea rosea “Nana”, Powder Puff (has beautiful flowers and is available in a variety of colors and sizes), White Indigo Berry, Tawnyberry Holly, Tallowwood, Red Stopper, Redberry Stopper, Spicewood, Natal Plum, Marlberry, Myrsine, Lingarro, Holly Malpigia (for a shorter hedge), Florida Privet, Chinese Hat, Bush Cherry, Bouganvilla, Bay Cedar, Black Torch, Boxthorn (for a shorter hedge), Wax Jasmine, Firebush.

Consider the ultimate height you want in your hedge. Plant the taller plants at the back row when staggering them.

All of the above plants have a lot to recommend them. Some are better than others at tolerating salt water intrusion. So consider that when choosing plants for landscapes near the ocean.

Some other fine choices that have been around a long time include: West Indian Cherry, Barbados Cherry, Yew Podocarpus. All these are also fine when grown, limbed up, as small trees, as are some of the other choices.

Be creative, plant a back row spread about 6 feet apart of Jamaica Capers. Two or three feet in front of them, in between each set of Jamaica Capers, plant Green Button Woods. About two feet in front of the Green Buttonwoods, in the center of each set, plant White Indigo Berry. Or zig zag three of the same plant, then three of another plant and so on until you have created the look you want with your Greenscape hedge. 

If you don’t have that much space, then alternate the plants and stagger them only a foot in front of each other. Be creative.

Top dress with composted manure and watch them grow. Enjoy a Green screen which offers beauty, privacy and desirable wildlife habitat.

Know that you’ve done your part for the environment and the living landscape.

The picture here shows a Greenscape with a hedge, planted at the left of the photo. The hedge is made up of several varieties of plants which do well in south Florida. They were planted small, in three gallon containers and have been allowed to grow in their natural habits. The natural hedge includes groups of Firebush, red blooming Powder Puff, and Golden Dewdrop, all of which are butterfly, bird and hummingbird attractors. They create a wonderful natural visual screen from the neighbors and offer privacy to the homeowners. The plants are all relatively fast growers and are filling the space quite quickly.

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