I am in Zone 8 BC Canada. Does anyone have any suggestions for a very tall growing rhododendron variety. Colour isn't important, but I am partial to the whites, scarlet reds and deep yellows. I would like it to act as a large privacy hedge. Something very tall. Another question: anyone know how fast the tall rhodos grow per year? Thanks for your help. Steph.
any rhody or azalea (also in the rhody family) has the potential to get very tall - 20 feet or so. (as far as i know there aren't any dwarf varieties), so, just about any of them will do...just don't prune it back any and it'll grow nice and tall for you. if you're looking for privacy it'll take a while for branches to fill in enough to block view...and you probably could do a little bit of pruning and/or pinching back, once the bush is large enough, to promote more growth to help fill in the inner areas...so, you could concievably get the view blocked a bit sooner than if you left it completely to nature. we had rhody's in the back yard where i grew up...they were about 40 years old when we moved in and provided decent blockage of the view between the two yards...i don't remember my dad doing anything other than some selective, light pruning now and again and over the years, the bushes did fill in a bit more. they got to a point where you could barely see through them and then, another 10 years or so with absolutely no maintence done they got too tall and leggy and my sis took them out when she moved into the house. and has regretted it ever since...i had told her to just do some bits of pruning and they'd be looking better in a couple of years - she just up and chopped them down one weekend... all in all, it was probably time for them to go - by then they were almost 60 years old... unless you get pretty large bushes to start with (at least 4-5 tall) it's going to be a very long time before you have any kind of decent privacy hedge going...they're not the fastest growers. the rhody's that is...the azalea's do grow a bit quicker and they do have a more dense branching pattern. so you might want to go with that type. i've never seen azalea's bigger than a couple feet across and tall...still, they're pretty good growers, so you should have something decent going within 3-4 years. i'd let them grow as they will for the first year and then light prune the following spring and let the grow as they want with just maintenance type trimming throughout the second growing season. third growing season you can start to get things in order with some more severe trimming to get it in the shape/form you desire.
There are lots of dwarf rhododendrons and azaleas. Peter A. Cox once wrote a book about them. The most vigorous hybrids will not grow more than one foot per year when well established. Most kinds will grow much more slowly. And if you plant a whole hedge of large coarse hybrid rhododendrons it will produce an overpowering effect. Better to choose something faster growing and smaller-leaved. And several kinds, rather than a long run of one kind of shrub.
i wasn't aware there were dwarf varieties...you'll definitely want to be clear that you do not want dwarf types, then, madhatter. i disagree with the comment that one hedge of all the same thing would be overpowering. i see many around here - all different types of bushes are used and none are overpowering - even those that have been left to get very tall or those that are very long (as in around the edge of the property).
Large amounts of large (coarse) leaf textures dominate an area visually and tend to make it look smaller. An analogy to making a planting consisting primarily of large leaves inside a normally sized, defined area is using wallpaper with large flowers or other large motifs in a smallish room. The best combination of leaf textures on most sites is a large amount of small (fine) leaves, a moderate amount of medium-sized leaves and a small amount of large (coarse) leaves. Even then the eye will tend to zero in on the big leaves and these should therefore by used primarily in support of an accenting feature, as when a hybrid rhododendron is planted near the base of a Japanese flowering cherry.
Thanks for your insight Rob. That helps me with a number of plans. May I ask you what you do e.g. horticulturist trained? Regards Steph.
Yes, I have some training and do hort. for pay. About 41 years ago I started thinking orange oriental poppies were neat and it grew from there. You might be interested in looking at the Plant Selection Guide near the front of the Sunset Western Garden Book. Hedges & Screens starts on page 90 of the current edition.
