Rosemary & Lavender for Hedging

[oconnosm]

I read that planting a rosemary hedge around a plot can help discourage slugs so I was thinking of doing this, interplanting with lavender to enhance the sense-assault. Would anyone out there have any advice as to what varieties of either works well for hedging? I think hardy would have to be the name of the game anyway...

[SueA]

Hi Oconnosm, lavender 'Hidcote' is pretty good for hedging, I think most lavenders would be O.K. but the English ones are generally hardier than the french ones which tend to be prettier but can sulk if it's too wet or cold! As for rosemary I don't know of any particular varieties but would think you'd be safe with any.

[clarelouise4]

Thompson & Morgan have some good deals on bulk buying of Lavender Hidcote at the moment - I ordered some the other day - and if I remember rightly they are giving 6 free plants away with each order. I've now just got to decide where to plant a hedge that I didn't know I wanted !!!!!!

[Earthbabe]

Alternatively try Dwarf Munstead which grows well from seed. I think there is a compact rosemary but can't remember what it is called.

[Two_Sheds]

I've got Dwarf Munstead on my lottie...very easy to grow from seeds or cuttings. Beautiful scent all summer long, nice compact plant doesn't get too "leggy"

[madderbat]

I learned that lavender near the kitchen door keeps mossies and flies away too, so don't be shy about planting it, especially with global warming.

You can take cuttings from a few plants and propagate quite successfully if you are not in too much of a hurry. Take softwood cuttings from non-flowering shoots at the end of summer and put into pots over winter. They may not all grow, but next spring you will have some extras.

[rustylady]

Rosemary and lavender both need well drained soil. They are both Mediterranean plants and can cope with cold weather if the roots are not waterlogged. If you get a mild wet winter they may well rot, so grow hard. Cuttings root fairly easily so you can increase your original stock.

[Snadger]

Alternatively try Dwarf Munstead which grows well from seed. I think there is a compact rosemary but can't remember what it is called.

Rose???????

[Earthbabe]

Ha! Ha! Ha! Silly me! Should have remembered that one!

[bramble]

I've had a lavander hedge for years. Its planted in horrible sub soil as a devide between myself and my neighbours garden. It is north facing and puts up with all kinds of abuse as sometimes it gets walked on when people are getting out of the car.
I would'nt worry unduly about it as it appears to be hardier than we are led to believe.

[oconnosm]

Where I'd like to plant the hedge is pretty heavy clay but I've compensated for that fairly successfully in the past with raised beds and good drainage systems (labour intensive but worth the hassle). Do you know if lavender and/or rosemary have deep root systems?

[madderbat]

Hi Oconnosm,
I don't think they are tremendously deep, inches rather than feet as far as I know, but haven't lifted any really big ones to find out. They both grow in the mountains in the Med, so probably not....

[Earthbabe]

They can eventually get about a foot deep but they are quite fine and fibrous at that depth so not a problem to dig out if necessary. They don't have a tap root if that is what you are worried about.

Barwinnock Herbs do a dwarf rosemary and a prostrate rosemary BTW.

http://www.barwinnock.com/

[rhubarbontoast]

I took lots of cuttings off my rosemary and lavendar last year and shoved them into cells and left them sitting outside over the winter. To my amazement, most have taken and I now have to find homes for them all. I may well do as you are suggesting and locate a few around my veg beds.

Cuttings are definitely worth doing and as someone else also said, I've found lavender and particularly rosemary, very hardy.

[Herbaholic]

Dwarf Mustead lavender is a good one to grow if you want a nice low hedge, I hadn't heard that rosemary or lavender will deter slugs but anythings worth a try! For rosemary you could try 'Miss Jessop's Upright' (Rosemarinus fastigiatus) shes a good compact variety which grows to about 120cm if left to her own devices and she has a good little bushy compact habit.
You could also try a semi prostrate rosemary something like Rosemary 'Corsican Blue' (Rosemarinus officinalis) which will grow to about 90cm. Semi prostrates tend to stay low to the ground but can look a little 'sprawly' and untidy to me. Corsican Blue is a lot hardier than say 'Severn Seas' which needs to be taken in during the winter not much use for a hedge lol, but SS does have the most beautiful dark blue flowers to make it worthwhile growing on a pot or container.