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z9 shrubs for tropical effect


southlatropical

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On 9/22/2018, 9:29:24, Sandy Loam said:

.... I should also mention that  I bought four of these awabuki viburnum in the spring this year, but they have hardly grown at all.  The one in the photo is shade-grown (no surprise about the slow growth), but the other three are growing in relatively sunny conditions and have not grown either.  By comparison, my viburnum odoratissmum (standard "sweet viburnum" ) grow at lightning speed when they are planted in a sunny spot here.  There is no comparison in growth rate between these two species ---- or have I simply not given these viburnum awabuki enough time to grow?  They have had a full summer growing season. During this same time period, my sweet viburnum have grown by leaps and bounds, requiring constant pruning.  Is there anyone out there who can advise on this?  Thanks.

They're definitely slower than others. It took mine about 2 years before it really started growing well. I still think they are worth it for the appearance

-Krishna

Kailua, Oahu HI. Near the beach but dry!

Still have a garden in Zone 9a Inland North Central Florida (Ocala)

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Oh no! I was hoping for a quick, twelve-foot tall hedge. That's what regular sweet viburnum has been for me wherever I have planted it in full sun with adequate water.  I just assumed that viburnum awabuki was the same.  The IFAS link below says that it grows to 20 feet in height, so I didn't think that growth rate was going to be an issue.

Krishnaraoji88, how did your viburnum awabuki hold up during the two freezes this past January 2018? (at your Ocala, FL home). Did it drop any leaves?  I really need for my awabuki to become a long-term hedge right out in the open (cold spot; no overhead canopy), so they need to be cold-tolerant.  The IFAS link below says that this type of viburnum is best suited to Central and southern Florida:

http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/nassauco/2017/07/09/q-can-tell-abut-awabuki-viburnum/

Does anyone else have experience with viburnum awabuki, perhaps near the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico or northern Florida? ....or anywhere else on earth?

Thanks all.

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5 hours ago, Sandy Loam said:

Oh no! I was hoping for a quick, twelve-foot tall hedge. That's what regular sweet viburnum has been for me wherever I have planted it in full sun with adequate water.  I just assumed that viburnum awabuki was the same.  The IFAS link below says that it grows to 20 feet in height, so I didn't think that growth rate was going to be an issue.

Krishnaraoji88, how did your viburnum awabuki hold up during the two freezes this past January 2018? (at your Ocala, FL home). Did it drop any leaves?  I really need for my awabuki to become a long-term hedge right out in the open (cold spot; no overhead canopy), so they need to be cold-tolerant.  The IFAS link below says that this type of viburnum is best suited to Central and southern Florida:

http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/nassauco/2017/07/09/q-can-tell-abut-awabuki-viburnum/

Does anyone else have experience with viburnum awabuki, perhaps near the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico or northern Florida? ....or anywhere else on earth?

Thanks all.

As far as I know there were no issues but Ocala didn't get that cold (minimal to no damage to my queens or Parajubaea, I have recent pics from my fam I haven't posted). I actually had more issues with flooding from the Hurricane last year causing major flooding and killing many plants in lower areas. It does eventually pick up the growth rate but for me the establishment period was a little slow.

-Krishna

Kailua, Oahu HI. Near the beach but dry!

Still have a garden in Zone 9a Inland North Central Florida (Ocala)

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The really big-leaf ("Macrophyllum") type survives in colder 9a areas (like my garden up in Natchez, Mississippi) but it is not as hardy as the other forms. It is also much broader and spreading and I think takes some time to gain a lot of height. The one I have in the ground in Natchez defoliates below 20F and may be killed to the ground in the upper teens, and in those circumstances is slow usually to come back. But it was the coldest winter there this past year since 1996 and hit 13.5F. The freeze wasn't as long, apparently, as had been the horrific 2010 winter (when it went to 18F but stayed frozen for three solid days...plus all the long-term cold weather surrounding that event), so it has recovered pretty well this year, whereas it was so hard-hit after 2010 that I doubted it would survive (it eventually did return). I'd say you could use it in an uprotected area, more or less undamaged cosmetically as long as it stays above about 23-24F. It is definitely not foolproof and if you're in one of the cold-spot areas around Gainesville you might want to change out for the 'Chindo' form, which is super cold-hardy. It is also faster-growing, much taller and has a fastigiate growth-form so is very well suited for tall, narrow hedgework. Though it can get leggy if you don't top it periodically. But it may be hard for you to find in the Gainesville area. You might have to search around and may have the best chance of finding it up north. I just checked plantant and there is a wholesaler north of Gainesville (in Macclenny, FL) called Southern States Nurseries and they show it in stock, so you might be able to order them from a local retailer with that info in hand. Also, perhaps Woodlanders or Camellia Forest or one of the other online retailers might sell it online.

Michael Norell

Rancho Mirage, California | 33°44' N 116°25' W | 287 ft | z10a | avg Jan 43/70F | Jul 78/108F avg | Weather Station KCARANCH310

previously Big Pine Key, Florida | 24°40' N 81°21' W | 4.5 ft. | z12a | Calcareous substrate | avg annual min. approx 52F | avg Jan 65/75F | Jul 83/90 | extreme min approx 41F

previously Natchez, Mississippi | 31°33' N 91°24' W | 220 ft.| z9a | Downtown/river-adjacent | Loess substrate | avg annual min. 23F | Jan 43/61F | Jul 73/93F | extreme min 2.5F (1899); previously Los Angeles, California (multiple locations)

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19 hours ago, mnorell said:

The really big-leaf ("Macrophyllum") type survives in colder 9a areas (like my garden up in Natchez, Mississippi) but it is not as hardy as the other forms. It is also much broader and spreading and I think takes some time to gain a lot of height. The one I have in the ground in Natchez defoliates below 20F and may be killed to the ground in the upper teens, and in those circumstances is slow usually to come back. But it was the coldest winter there this past year since 1996 and hit 13.5F. The freeze wasn't as long, apparently, as had been the horrific 2010 winter (when it went to 18F but stayed frozen for three solid days...plus all the long-term cold weather surrounding that event), so it has recovered pretty well this year, whereas it was so hard-hit after 2010 that I doubted it would survive (it eventually did return). I'd say you could use it in an uprotected area, more or less undamaged cosmetically as long as it stays above about 23-24F. It is definitely not foolproof and if you're in one of the cold-spot areas around Gainesville you might want to change out for the 'Chindo' form, which is super cold-hardy. It is also faster-growing, much taller and has a fastigiate growth-form so is very well suited for tall, narrow hedgework. Though it can get leggy if you don't top it periodically. But it may be hard for you to find in the Gainesville area. You might have to search around and may have the best chance of finding it up north. I just checked plantant and there is a wholesaler north of Gainesville (in Macclenny, FL) called Southern States Nurseries and they show it in stock, so you might be able to order them from a local retailer with that info in hand. Also, perhaps Woodlanders or Camellia Forest or one of the other online retailers might sell it online.

Thanks NMorell.  I didn't realize that there were so many sub-varieties of awabuki viburnum, which is itself already a sub-cultivar of viburnum odoratissmum.  The kind that I have appears in the photo below (I used a Coca-Cola can for scale).  What kind is it?  I bought them from a grower in Plant City, Florida, just outside of Tampa. 

 

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TuI0mr02OeY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_20180926_1919536.jpg

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Sorry, my message posted too soon.   The youtube video above is from somebody who apparently lives way up in zone 7 and has no problem with the long term survival of viburnum odoratissmum var. Awabuki var. Chino.  Hopefully, I have the type which is cold-hardy enough to survive a night in the high teens Fahrenheit at least once per decade without damage.  I can manage with a little bit of cold damage, but I need this to form a long term screening hedge.  Mine (pictured above) does not look the same as the chindo  variety in the video, but I could be wrong. Experts, please weigh in!
 

Your advice is most welcome.  Thank you. 

NMorell, I usually don't have temperatures below 26 F each year , but some years it can get colder.  This January was rough.  I had 23.4 in one part of my yard and 24.4 in another area (coldest night of the year).  Thanks. 

 

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Awabuki should grow as fast as regular Viburnum odoratissimum. They have always been fast growers here but do like lots of water to get established, especially if you have sandy soil. Your photo of yours looks like it is in between Awabuki and regular V. odoratissimum. I have grown seedlings off of Awabuki and seen others that have too and you get a wide range of leaf types. So where you got them from may have seedling forms.

Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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So here is what I have found regarding Awabuki...

Viburnum macrophyllum is an invalid name. Both Kew and GRIN list it as a synonym for Hydrangea macrophylla.

Viburnum odoratissimum is native from Assam, India to  southern China, Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki , native to southern Japan and Taiwan.

Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki 'Chindo' has more narrow leaves than regular awabuki but still very glossy. We have tried this several times and it does not thrive here. It was discovered by JC Raulston growing at a school on Chindo Island, Korea.

Flora of China and Kew also list Viburnum odoratissimum var. arboricola, native to Taiwan.

At one time Awabuki was thought to maybe be a form of V. japonicum (native to Honshu, Kyushu and Ryukyu Islands in Japan). I have never gotten V. japonicum to grow here. It is attractive with shiny leaves (but much smaller than Awabuki).

Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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From Flora of China, descriptions...Overall description of Viburnum odoratissimum

 

. Viburnum odoratissimum Ker Gawler, Bot. Reg. 6: t. 456. 1820.

珊瑚树 shan hu shu

 

 

 

 

Shrubs or small trees, evergreen, to 10(-15) m tall. Bark gray-brownish. Branchlets of current year green or reddish, glabrous or sometimes sparsely yellow-brownish stellate-pubescent; branchlets of previous year gray or gray-brownish, terete, glabrous, with dispersed, small, raised lenticels. Winter buds ovoid-lanceolate, with 2-4 pairs of separate scales; scales glabrous. Leaves always opposite, not clustered at apices of branchlets; stipules absent; petiole green or reddish, robust, 1-2(-3) cm, glabrous or stellate-pubescent; leaf blade green when young, becoming intense green and lustrous adaxially, elliptic to oblong or oblong-obovate to obovate, sometimes suborbicular, 7-20 × (3-)4-9 cm, leathery, abaxially sometimes with sparse, dispersed dark red minute glands, both surfaces glabrous or sparsely stellate-pubescent on veins, midvein raised and conspicuous abaxially, lateral veins 4-9-jugate, pinnate, arched, branched, anastomosing near margin, conspicuously raised abaxially, slightly impressed adaxially, veinlets transverse, slightly raised abaxially, inconspicuous adaxially, not lobed, base broadly cuneate, rarely rounded, without glands, margin irregularly serrate except at base or subentire, apex shortly acute to obtusely acute and mucronate, sometimes obtuse or subrounded. Flowers appearing after leaves; inflorescence paniculate, pyramidal, terminal or at apices of short lateral branchlets with 1-jugate leaves, (3.5-)6-13.5 × (3-)4.5-6 cm; rays opposite, decussate; first node of inflorescence with 2 rays, lax, large, glabrous or stellate-pubescent, without large sterile radiant flowers; peduncles 4-10 cm; bracts caducous, leaflike, greenish, less than 1 cm × 2 mm, lanceolate to ovate, sparsely hairy; bracteoles scalelike. Flowers usually on rays of 2nd and 3rd orders, fragrant, sessile or shortly pedicellate. Calyx green; tube tubular-campanulate, 1.5-4 mm, glabrous; lobes broadly triangular, ca. 1 mm, glabrous, apex obtuse. Corolla white, later yellow-whitish, sometimes reddish, rotate, ca. 7 mm in diam., glabrous; tube ca. 2 mm; lobes reflexed, orbicular-ovate, 2-3 mm, apex rounded, margin entire. Stamens slightly exceeding corolla lobes, inserted at apex of corolla tube; filaments 2.5-3 mm; anthers yellow, oblong, nearly 2 mm. Styles not exceeding calyx lobes; stigmas capitate or slightly 3-lobed. Fruit initially turning red, maturing nigrescent, ovoid or ovoid-ellipsoid, ca. 8 × 5-6 mm, base rounded, apex rounded, glabrous; pyrenes compressed, ovoid or ovoid-ellipsoid, ca. 7 × 4 mm, with a deep ventral groove, apex rounded. Fl. Mar-May, fr. Jun-Sep. 2n = 40.

 

 

 

Forests, scrub; sea level to 2500 m. SE Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, ?Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Henan, Hunan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [E India, Japan, Korea, N Myanmar, ?Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam].

This species is commonly cultivated in China.

 

 

Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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and the 3 varieties...var. odoratissimum is the common Sweet Viburnum

 

Viburnum odoratissimum var. arboricola (Hayata) Yamamoto, J. Soc. Trop. Agric. 8: 69. 1936.

台湾珊瑚树 tai wan shan hu shu

Viburnum arboricola Hayata, Icon. Pl. Formosan. 4: 12. 1914; V. sphaerocarpum Y. C. Liu & C. H. Ou.

Petiole green; leaf blade dull, elliptic to oblong, papery to subleathery, lateral veins 6-9-jugate. Inflorescence axes brownish stellate-pubescent. Corolla campanulate; tube ca. 1.5 mm.

● Forests; 1500-2500 m. Taiwan.

 

 

 

Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki (K. Koch) Zabel ex Rümpler, Ill. Gartenbau-Lex., ed. 3. 877. 1902.

日本珊瑚树 ri ben shan hu shu

Viburnum awabuki K. Koch, Wochenschr. Vereines Beförd. Gartenbaues Königl. Preuss. Staaten 10: 109. 1867; V. awabuki var. serratum (Makino) Nakai; V. odoratissimum var. conspersum W. W. Smith; V. odoratissimum var. serratum Makino; V. sessiliflorum Geddes; V. simonsii J. D. Hooker & Thomson.

Petiole reddish; leaf blade lustrous, elliptic-obovate, thickly leathery, lateral veins 5-8-jugate. Inflorescence axes glabrous. Corolla campanulate; tube 3-4 mm. 2n = 40.

Forests; sea level to 1500 m. Taiwan [Japan, ?Philippines].

This variety is commonly cultivated in China (e.g., Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang).

 

 

 Viburnum odoratissimum var. odoratissimum

珊瑚树(原变种) shan hu shu (yuan bian zhong)

Microtinus odoratissimus (Ker Gawler) Oersted; Thyrsosma chinensis Rafinesque, nom. illeg. superfl.; Viburnum kerrii Geddes; V. sinense Zeyher ex Colla (1824), not V. chinense Hooker & Arnott (1833).

Petiole green; leaf blade dull, obovate, papery, lateral veins 4-6-jugate. Inflorescence axes glabrous. Corolla subrotate; tube less than 2.5 mm. 2n = 32.

Forests; 200-1300 m. SE Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, ?Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Henan, Hunan, Taiwan, Yunnan [E India, Japan, Korea, N Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam].

This variety is commonly cultivated in China.

 

Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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Wow.  Thanks, Eric-in-Orlando.  This is incredibly informative.  Anyone seeking info about these viburnum in the future will benefit from your research. 

From your comments, my guess is that my type of viburnum will be cold-hardy enough for Gainesville, Florida (certainly regular Sweet Viburnum is, even considerably north of here).  If mine has accidentally been hybridized with the pure Awabuki variant, hopefully it be hardy enough here to form a long-term large hedge.  I can't wait to see those big, glossy leaves on an entire hedge.

MNorell, what was the appearance of yours compared to mine?  Krishna, is yours the same too?

Thanks, everyone, for posting. 

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Your very welcome. A common name for the awabuki variety is Mirror Leaf Viburnum. I have read Nehrling was growing this at his Gotha garden around 1900. So though it seems like a newer plant its been tried before. In Florida they came around in the late 1980s but never got popular untill late 90s.

Viburnum odoratissimum makes a great smaller tree and var. awabuki is just as nice as a tree. I promote them in talks as a tree instead of a shrub. They grow fast, look tropical but are hardy. Nice white flowers in spring followed by red berries. The berries really stand out against the dark green glossy foliage.

They should be hardy for you. The only problem is a long warm spell in winter followed by a freeze. Awabuki will grow in winter if it is warm and have tender new growth. So some new shoots or leaves might get nipped but it will grow back. I have seen this in cold areas north of Orlando. Also it happened here during the horrific Christmas 1989 freeze. I don't remember seeing any awabuki but V. odoratissimum was common and often used as a small tree. It had some damage on new growth after 2 nights near 20F. back then. But it hadn't hardened off and there was lots of new growth on them.

Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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I just saw what I think was a small tree of Awabuki Vivurnum in Orlando this past weekend.  Wow, its growth pattern was totally unlike regular Sweet Viburnum. It looked almost  like the green form of ficus elastica.  I couldn't imagine how I could trim it into a hedge because the leaves were big and, well, just imagine trying to trim ficus leaves into a hedge.  It didn't have that compact, dense growth form like regular viburnum.  I was surprised.

It also wasn't more than six feet tall even though it was growing in full sun.  I don't know how long it had been growing in that spot, but my Sweet Viburnum reached almost twelve feet in height within three years from a three gallon pot (if irrigated and in full sun; slow in shade).  Perhaps my semi-clay soil helps too, coupled with all of the summer heat and humidity.

The awabuki which I saw this weekend in Orlando looked quite tropical.   To my eyes, though, regular Sweet Viburnum does not look tropical at all.  It is just a common hedge seen all around Gainesville, Florida (quite cold-hardy here).  It is wonderful if you want a quick screen to block out a view of neighbours, but it is otherwise not particularly stunning, in my opinion.  

 

Ordinary Sweet Viburnum is also available at every single big box nursery in northern Florida and is cheap.  Awabuki VIburnum was actually kind of hard to find.

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Awabuki needs to be selectively pruned. I have seen it hedged by lazy uncaring "landscapers" and it looks horrible with the large leaves tattered and shredded.

Regular Sweet Viburnum has a tropical look if it is allowed to grow into a tree form. It gets about 15ft tall and older specimens develop a nice look to them.

  • Upvote 1

Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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  • 4 weeks later...

I was looking at my awabuki viburnum again today and it truly has not grown one bit after a whole growing season.  I am so frustrated with it because the goal was for those shrubs to form a quick, thick and dense screen to block out the view of a neighbour's house.  If it doesn't put on some size by the end of summer 2019, I will dig them up and plant regular sweet viburnum instead.  With the latter, I know from experience that I will have a large screening hedge 12 feet tall within just a few years.  Am I being too impatient?  

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.... And, even if it does take off, I am also unsure whether awabuki will be as dense as regular Sweet Viburnum.  Is it?  I need it for its screening potential, and I need that screen to be opaque all winter long.  Thanks in advance to anyone who knows from experience.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here is some Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki screening the service area of the main building at Leu Gardens, the block wall is 6ft.

awab1.jpg

awab2.jpg

Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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And some more screening the AC chilling units, this is an 8ft block wall.

awab3.jpg

awab4.jpg

Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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Huge! Twenty feet tall, at least?
Thanks for sharing this, Eric.  I am having growth rate woes with my awabuki, so this is encouraging. I wonder how long it took for these trees to reach eight feet or nine feet tall.

 

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They were planted about 20 years ago and got to their current height within about 6-7 years. They get regular irrigation but infrequent fertilization. They are fast growing. There is a similar sized row of them used as a screen in the Tropical Stream Garden.

Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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  • 5 months later...

Can anyone identify the shrub in the photo below?  This photo was taken in Boca Raton, Florida.  This type of shrub is seen everywhere in South Florida, usually in the form of very tall hedges.

They're not as pretty as the other customary South Florida hedges (Seagrove, Copperleaf, Ixora, Hibiscus, Bougainvillea, Clusia Guttifera, Croton hedges, etc.), but I'd love to know what they are. Thanks!

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This may seem like an ignorant question, but I am just a novice and amateur gardener.  Here goes:  Since ficus benjamina and ficus nitida become giant trees with massive wide trunks, why do they retain a hedge habit when trimmed?  Why don't they eventally stop growing foliage way down at the ground level, and instead grow a real trunk like they want to.  Isn't that what they are genetically programmed to do?  When you see the non-hedge version of those two trees, they are just that: trees.  They are BIG trees too. 

If anyone ever tried to make a hedge out of ficus benghalensis (banyan trees), would those trees also keep their foliage all the way down to the soil level and never grow a trunk?  If so, I am amazed because the banyan trees which I see down south (when visiting South Florida) are absolutely massive creatures.  They look like they would be impossible to turn into a hedge.  Imagine, for example, a giant Live Oak tree.  It simply isn't an appropriate trees to turn into a hedge. 

 

I may have have asked a silly question here.  Perhaps it is common knowledge that a tree won't grow a trunk (AND will never grow branches, AND will keep its foliage all the way down to the ground when trimmed into a hedge).  If so, I was not aware of this.

 

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40 minutes ago, Sandy Loam said:

This may seem like an ignorant question, but I am just a novice and amateur gardener.  Here goes:  Since ficus benjamina and ficus nitida become giant trees with massive wide trunks, why do they retain a hedge habit when trimmed?  Why don't they eventally stop growing foliage way down at the ground level, and instead grow a real trunk like they want to.  Isn't that what they are genetically programmed to do?  When you see the non-hedge version of those two trees, they are just that: trees.  They are BIG trees too. 

If anyone ever tried to make a hedge out of ficus benghalensis (banyan trees), would those trees also keep their foliage all the way down to the soil level and never grow a trunk?  If so, I am amazed because the banyan trees which I see down south (when visiting South Florida) are absolutely massive creatures.  They look like they would be impossible to turn into a hedge.  Imagine, for example, a giant Live Oak tree.  It simply isn't an appropriate trees to turn into a hedge. 

 

I may have have asked a silly question here.  Perhaps it is common knowledge that a tree won't grow a trunk (AND will never grow branches, AND will keep its foliage all the way down to the ground when trimmed into a hedge).  If so, I was not aware of this.

 

Regardless of height, any tree, or large bush that is kept smaller in height by trimming / pruning will form some sort of trunk ..just not to the same degree it would if allowed to grow unimpeded / without constraint. For example, if you look at any large Viburnum or Ligustrum hedge, and pull back some of the foliage, you'll see some sort of trunk which growth emerges from. There's a gas station at the corner near the house that hedged some Sissoo and Mesquites that grew in a bed among other stuff that was planted for the same use ( as 3' tall hedges along that side of the particular building ) While dense, you could see an obvious trunk in each specimen when you examined each closely..

Generally, the rule of thumb is, the taller the hedge specimen, the bigger / thicker the trunk it may grow, esp stuff like Ficus, or Viburnum / Photinia, to name a few...  Some landscapers here will cut certain stuff like Texas Sage, Bougainvillea, or Oleander to the ground, or, within a foot or two of..   every few years to eliminate woody growth.. Works for awhile until the plant has exhausted itself, and then needs to be replaced..  I personally see the practice as a huge waste of money myself..  Plant the right stuff the first time, and you won't have to replace it as often.. anyway..

As far as X plant growing the way hedged material often does, that is simply a result of the plant attempting to grow as it would naturally, but getting cut back, thus causing it to attempt more growth hence the dense growth look. Certain things take to such treatment fairly well. ( Japanese Boxwood for example ) Other stuff might for awhile, then will start thinning out / dying off towards the ground, especially if that particular area receives too much shade.  When i took Hort. certification courses, it was stressed that the "ideal" way to trim hedges is to have the bottom of them slightly wider than the top to lessen the chances of die back at that level, and keep a more uniform look.  Most landscapers still trim the opposite way.

Hope this helps...

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  • 2 years later...

From what I have been told the Awabuki (or Chindo?) viburnum takes about 24 months to establish and take off like sweet viburnum. 
Classic sleep, creep and leap.
I have seen some in my area of Ponte Vedra, FL and the foliage is definitely more glossy than the sweet variety. 
Although it has a more tropical look, I have to say I'm not sold on the growth habit. Sweet viburnum has a very boxy growth if left unpruned however the Awabuki is very narrow and the new growth at the bottom is very vertical. This can make spacing and pruning important as a good pruning will make the hedge look thin and leggy.
The other thing I have noticed in the landscape and at nurseries in the area is the Awabuki does NOT like to be hit by irrigation. The leaves turn red and it defoliates where the rotors hit it.
I'll take some photos this weekend and update the post.

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  • 1 year later...

Daphniphyllum macropodum

I discovered this plant last autumn in the Botanical Garden of Cologne. It's relatively rare in cultivation in Europe and I immediately loved it. I bought a small specimen and it's going to get planted in my tropical themed corner of the garden.

Here's a picture of the Cologne specimen:
Capture4.thumb.PNG.b2e182c16789d8998705807e00d6c8a5.PNG

  • Like 2

Yes it's me Hortulanus 😂

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