Going through some past topics I found the Vascariz question on the Leightons Green hedge.You can tell by some of the remarks that some people think that everything the Lifestyle programs say are gospel.Far from it!!When people decide on a plant for their garden it is for a specific reason.The photo of the hedge was fantastic but there were comments like "They grow hugh".Of course they do but the owner wanted a tall hedge which he was going to maintain so there is no problem about how big they grow.The Lifestyle programs are conceived to make money. So when you here them say "Do not put this tree in your garden,you will have problems with the roots"they should quantify the remark with the statement that this only applies if you let it grow full size.If you are pruning or clipping a plant to say 3 mtrs. high and a width of 1 mtr. it is not going to grow roots 40 mtrs long.You should find out from books or from a qualified person of that type of plant how it grows. The best thing to remember is that if you look at a tree take the width of it and when it rains and the runoff hits the soil that is the drip line and no invasive roots are going to go beyond that point.On one side of our house we have a hedge of Manchurian Pear and on the other side of the house we planted Pencil Pines 1 foot apart as a hedge and both of these hedges are 3.5 mtrs. high and we will never have a problem. I am in my early seventies and when I get too old to climb a ladder to clip them I shall cut them back to half the size so I can maintain them from the ground! If I had taken advice from the Lifestyle programs I would never have such beautiful hedges. So my advice is turn the sound off when you watch these programs and do your own research.
Topiarius