Hedges - Why Don'T We See Them Around Properties?

[cooked]

I was most enlightened when I came upon the topic about hedge plants on this forum. Our property has about 600 meters of boundary and I really don't fancy forking out for a wall. Bougainvillea seems to be the answer. especially as the cuttings are so easy to make..

I am very conscious of the amount of work I am putting myself in for once the hedge reaches maturity, but my question still remains: why do we see so few hedges in Thailand?

[sezze]

Good question . The reason that i think of is probably a few reasons .

I did see many times usable plants for sale but i do not remember the price . I can certainly imagine them be more expensive then a wall .

As second , there is some work keeping it upto shape , and it will take a few years to see the beauty and have any function as keeping people out .

As a 3th , as low starting ( above ground level ) dense structure they are loved by any critters around . Especially snakes would be delighted by a structure like that . You can say that bamboo is like that also and you are right but bamboo is also not used for boundary work and is not as dense as hedges are . Also the bamboo does not need to be cut , so you do not come in close contact without seeing what's inside . Foreign cats and dogs and chickens probably will have no problem going on your land and will lay nice packages on your lawn .

As 4th , is has no ground retaining function whatsoever . So you put it on street level , where it is flooded in the raining season and probably killed . Or you put it on filled gound but then you need a extra retaining wall behind it .

The result of all this makes it pretty clear that it has nearly 0 chance for people putting it on their land .

Edited August 29, 2012 by sezze

[Crossy]

What he said ^^^

I think you have already answered you own question. Hedging grows so fast here that it requires constant maintenance (with the associated equipment and manpower outlay).

A wall, whilst costing more in the beginning needs no clipping and won't over run your property if you forget about it for a few months.

[Mosha]

We have one around the front of our house.Don't know the species, comes in 3 colours I think, Orange, red, and white flowers. Ours is the orange variety. The kids from school like to come and collect the flowers when something is going on up at the village school

Edit, ok found a post by SBK, the flowers are Dok Kem in Thai, and apparently there is a pink variety too. I think the Latin name is Ixora finlaysoniana

Edited August 29, 2012 by Mosha

[cooked]

Good question . The reason that i think of is probably a few reasons .

I did see many times usable plants for sale but i do not remember the price . I can certainly imagine them be more expensive then a wall .

As second , there is some work keeping it upto shape , and it will take a few years to see the beauty and have any function as keeping people out .

As a 3th , as low starting ( above ground level ) dense structure they are loved by any critters around . Especially snakes would be delighted by a structure like that . You can say that bamboo is like that also and you are right but bamboo is also not used for boundary work and is not as dense as hedges are . Also the bamboo does not need to be cut , so you do not come in close contact without seeing what's inside . Foreign cats and dogs and chickens probably will have no problem going on your land and will lay nice packages on your lawn .

As 4th , is has no ground retaining function whatsoever . So you put it on street level , where it is flooded in the raining season and probably killed . Or you put it on filled gound but then you need a extra retaining wall behind it .

The result of all this makes it pretty clear that it has nearly 0 chance for people putting it on their land .

Good points. I don't think however, that anything would willingly go through a Bougainvillea hedge, and I would plan on putting some strands of barbed wire in there.Also, in my particular situation, we are not in danger of flooding. Maintenance: I can do myself but labour being cheap here, I'm not so worried about that.

In view of the expense involved in constructing a wall, I guess I'll go for the hedge solution and replace 50 meters or so every year. Making cuttings of Bougainvillea is easy.

Edited August 29, 2012 by cooked

[villagefarang]

Hedges are indeed lovely but require a lot of work.

[ignis]

Myself and another house further up the Village have the same.......... it is always green, grows very fast and am always trimming, has many white flowers, at night they give off a wonderful sent.. planted them about 6 years ago and keep them at 1.8 meters high [so I can reach easy to trim the tops] 2 of the 30 odd died after the floods last year, have or had 5 spare ones in large pots, 2 now back at front and same size as the rest

Now over the years have asked the same question about hedges, the answer is normally the same, open you/everyone can see the burglar/robber, with a hedge or high wall a thief has privacy to break-in and rob the house. ....... This could be true as last owner of one house had a wall built 2 m high all round and was often broken into. new owners since early last year have never had a problem...... maybe because they have 2 new cars and only use one at a time, so always a car inside the carport.

Edit: another point where I live many work in BKK, so leave before it is light and back well after dark 6 days a week, the other house with the hedge in the Village has a live-in maid, that also appears to do the gardening.

Edited August 29, 2012 by ignis

[Mosha]

Our hedge is kept neatly trimmed. My wife and our Burmese couple see to it. As for the wall and gates. I wonder if it's seen as a sign that the owners have something worth stealing?

[bkkjames]

maintenance. look at all the houses / shops that have never been repainted since they were built.

[ignis]

maintenance. look at all the houses / shops that have never been repainted since they were built.

Yes that is another subject, but often wonder, 1,000's of houses with the water level of the flood still on them, did they paint inside ? or is the watermarks all around inside as well ?

[jaapfries]

Hedges are indeed lovely but require a lot of work.

"BEAUTIFUL GARDENS AREN'T MADE BY SITTING IN THE SHADE AND SIGHING . . . .OH; HOW BEAUTIFUL !"

(R. Kipling)

[villagefarang]

Beautiful gardens are made by caring and hardworking gardeners...so we can sit in the shade and sigh, Oh how beautiful!

[David006]

"cuttings are easy to make" 5555

yup the cuttings from Bougainvillea are but f..k'd if I have ever had one take.....whats your secret mate? 55

they are my only cuttings that don't seem to grow even using hormone powder....?

seen lotsa hedges ...even here in the boonies

[cooked]

I am going on what my wife told me: take the cuttings in the evening. 30 cm long. Remove nearly all the leaves. Stick them in plastic bags filled with sand. Place in the shadow and water regularly.

As I plan to make at least 600 of these, I hope it works! For smaller quantities, pinning branches down on the ground and covering with a good soil definitely results in a new plant as I have been able to observe in my own garden.

I'll let you know!

[oldestswinger]

I've had success with bougainvillea by just sticking 9 inch hardwood cuttings straight into the ground.

Nothing very scientific about it. My wife says they'll grow anywhere around where we live.

[overherebc]

I used 4inch square concrete posts with 25mm square mesh strung between then planted on each side. Dog and chicken proof and doesn't take long before the wire can't be seen.

[billd766]

My outside boundary for 14 rai is over 1 km long and I am buggered if I am going to plant and mainatin something that long.

[David006]

I am going on what my wife told me: take the cuttings in the evening. 30 cm long. Remove nearly all the leaves. Stick them in plastic bags filled with sand. Place in the shadow and water regularly.

As I plan to make at least 600 of these, I hope it works! For smaller quantities, pinning branches down on the ground and covering with a good soil definitely results in a new plant as I have been able to observe in my own garden.

I'll let you know!

okay thanks ..will also try the sand solution..the pinning method sounds good..

...tried lotsa times putting sticks in pots with potting soil upright ...nadda

Now .....Hibiscus is so easy and you can borrow cuttings most anyplace

[cooked]

Yes well, this is Thailand... she forgot to tell me to do a slanting cut just below the leaf nodes, and to take two years old branches (not the easy to cut green shoots). So that's the first thing I found out this morning. Secondly she is in fact applying a hormone (ฮอโมนเร่งราก - hormone ring rah) and mixing rice bran 50-50 with the sand. She did many cuttings years ago and things are coming back as we do it this morning. The bags are going in the shade, two cuttings to a bag, did 60 of the first colour this morning.this morning.

[JungleBiker]

...mixing rice bran 50-50 with the sand.

Rice bran or did you mean rice hulls/husks?

[cooked]

Oh dear, isn't it the same thing? The husks I suppose, sorry.

[riceyummm]

Do you live in a big city or a gated community? A hedge would never work out in the country where I live. All day long herds of cows and buffalo and their caretakers walk through the village eating everything they can reach from the road. Bougainvillea would be just another tasty treat........ while it lasted.

[loong]

Never seen a cow eat Bougainvillea. Maybe cows have tough mouths and stomachs, but the needles/thorns (whatever they are called) are strong and sharp

[villagefarang]

Apparently we have more civilized cows and buffalo in our village or maybe it is the caretakers.

[Khonwan]

You are correct, Loong, none of my 160 cows would eat Bougainvillea, not even the small native Poon Muang Keb.

Rgds

Khonwan

[IsaanAussie]

...mixing rice bran 50-50 with the sand.

Rice bran or did you mean rice hulls/husks?

Actually it is the bran that will help get the plant established. It feeds the microbes and the microbes help the plant root down. Use the cheapest form which contains hulls as well. I use it to ferment my manure compost and make bioactive organic fertiliser

[cooked]

now that is interesting. We actually used composted coconut fiber as the guy in the village didn't really want to give us his husks.

[riceyummm]

Never seen a cow eat Bougainvillea. Maybe cows have tough mouths and stomachs, but the needles/thorns (whatever they are called) are strong and sharp

I stand corrected. Good to know, looks a lot better than barb wire.

I'm trying to explain this to my wife but don't know how to say bougainvillea in Thai. Little help?

[villagefarang]

Never seen a cow eat Bougainvillea. Maybe cows have tough mouths and stomachs, but the needles/thorns (whatever they are called) are strong and sharp

I stand corrected. Good to know, looks a lot better than barb wire.

I'm trying to explain this to my wife but don't know how to say bougainvillea in Thai. Little help?

Show her this ----เฟื่องฟ้า Edited September 8, 2012 by villagefarang

[JungleBiker]

I'm trying to explain this to my wife but don't know how to say bougainvillea in Thai. Little help?

feuang fa