[david glen]

Pamela

I have been trying to raise a wind break on the lines that one sees all around here (olive country , Tarragona) enclosing the cultivated areas. These barriers have probably not been formally planted but just allowed to happen, and continue all along the roadsides. Apart from pines (which I see are out), they include arbutus unedo, pistacia lentiscus and terebinthus, myrtus comunis, different types of quercus, and (you might think it look incongruous but I don't think so) chamaerops humilis. Ceratonia siliqua will also be there, and usually stunted as a multi-trunked shrub rather than a great big tree. All of these are slow-growing but I think it's worth while to be patient. All need little water .

David

[ezeiza]

There is one tall Cytissus, not sure about the species that makes very neat hedges without any need of pruning or trimming.

[JTh]

I have planted several Spanish brooms, Spartium junceum, as a screen, they are fast-growing, very wind-resistand, thrive in poor soil and need very little water. The leaves are not much to look at and they disappear very quickly, but I like the very green, rushlike branches, and the flowers are bigger than those of Cytisus and the blooming period is quite long. They are easily propagated from seeds.

[Alisdair]

Spartium junceum flowers have a glorious scent, too.

[ezeiza]

The one mentioned has small perennial round leaves, small deep yellow flowers and can be easily propagated from seeds. Excellent as a hedge.

[Umbrian]

Spartium junceum is fast growing even in drought conditions and grows wild here just about everywhere scenting the lanes with its wonderful perfume as Alisdair pointed out. It does need to be pruned regularly however or else it gets very bare and woody at the base. If this happens it can be rejuvenated by cutting half the stems back to ground level one year and the rest the following year. Along the roadsides here the local council cuts everything to ground level (often at the most inopportune times as regards orchids for example) and often taking a wider strip than necessary. The Spartium junceum recovers quickly however and remains fairly short, dense and full of flowers in succeeding years. Those that escape this treatment get very tall and bare at the bottom with flowers only on the top growth. I grow it in my garden and cut large branches to bring into the house and this helps to keep it compact. Further reduction of height can be carried out after the flowering period to maintain shape and density.

[MikeHardman]

I'm interested to hear these comments about Spartium junceum; thanks.
It grows by some roadsides hereabouts, but I have not noticed it becoming a problem through self-seeding (maybe the seeds are tasty to critters). I would have added it to my wants list but I have always thought it short-lived. Am I trading on an old and possibly incorrect assumption?

[Fleur Pavlidis]

That's very useful to know, Carole. Some of my old spartiums have died back in parts, don't flower and look so ugly that I was thinking of getting rid of them. Instead I'll try severe pruning.

[Umbrian]

In the garden Mike Spartium junceum can become something of a pest through self seeding. Tiny plants pull out easily if you grasp them in one hand at the point where they emerge from the soil and hold them higher up with the other -  a technique I find works well with plants with tap roots when not too big. Although Spartium junceum resents transplanting, at this young age they do transplant well and require little or no ongoing care. Vigilance is the name of the game though because seedlings grow fast and if one gets to a reasonable size, unnoticed and near to another shrub/plant it is very difficult to erradicate it without damage. Pruning back after flowering helps but as they produce flowers over a long period some will have set seed before you want to do it.
Fleur, by all means try to rejuvenate yours by hard pruning but if they are really quite old, leggy and bare at the bottom it might be better to start again since they do grow so quickly. I know it is hard work grubbing out large specimins such as these but it might be better in the long run and you can start your pruning regime at the right time. A friend of mine who inherited a lot of really old, neglected Spartiums on his land did try cutting them hard back . Some recovered well and have made fine new bushes but others died, I suppose it all depends on the age and vigour of the individual bushes. Also he did do it all in one fell swoop being a rather impatient character Good luck

[MikeHardman]

Thanks Umbrian - very good to have first-hand experience, and to share it!

[MikeHardman]

Bit of an oversight, perhaps...
I think we should have mentioned Griselinia littoralis, which is happy by the sea, evergreen, can grow quite quickly given favourable conditions (yet in my experience does not become a thug), and comes in some nice variegated forms too. It is reasonable to expect it to make 3m tall x 3m thick, but it is eminently prunable to shape. It is not fussy about soil pH, though some sources suggest not planting it in chalk. I wonder what folks think about its drought tolerance in a mediterranean climate?

I also wonder about Sea Buckthorn (Elaeagnus rhamnoides, syn. Hippophae rhamnoides) in the Med.; it is a fairly common seaside hedging plant in the UK.

[JTh]

The sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) seems to be a wonder bush with many uses. It is widely used in Halkidiki, Greece, and grows well along the coast as well as in the mountainous areas. In the Holomonda mountains they have been planted along the road, where it is quite colourful in the autumn with its bright orange fruits. It grows naturally even here in Norway, from Trondheim (central Norway) to Troms, in the very north.

It seems as if every part of the plants can be used: as medicine, animal food (good for racing horses and chickens), and as fuelwood. It can grow in pure sand (it is used to stabilise sand dunes), but in Norwegian literature it is said that it actually prefers chalky soil. It is also drought resistant. The most interesting is perhaps that it has a a strong capacity to fix atmospheric nitrogen in its root nodules when associated with the actinomycete, Frankia, and because of that it is excellent for improving soil capacity.
 

[MikeHardman]

sea buckthorn - ooh - thanks for that Jorun - great to know - ticks quite a few boxes!

[JTh]

Thanks to you for reminding me, Mike, I should plant this myself.

[MikeHardman]

Briefly off topic (thinking about soil stabilization rather than screening)...
Having read about how its roots spread and probe deeply, and how it suckers, I was wondering if there was a prostrate cultivar/form of sea buckthorn...
It seems so: "the only outcrop of prostrate sea-buckthorn (sub-species) known in the world."
http://www.castlehotelaberystwyth.co.uk/index.php/scenery