How high do you want this conifer hedge to be?

Dave

The only 2 conifers i can think of that has berries for birds is Juniper,or Yew.

It probably would be a holly - juniper cones ('berries') are blue-purple, not red, and yews tend not to produce many when trimmed.

There are some quite cold-tolerant holly cultivars available. Remember hollies are single-sex, so you'll need to plant some males as well as females, to ensure pollination and berry set on the females.

Resin

Pinus virginiani 'Canaertii' is a champion seed producer. To go along with that you will have all the birds in 7 counties this time of year to gulp down the seeds. This juniper also provides a good wind break and protection for birds that winter over...

Juniperus v. 'Canaertii' in this photo were planted in 1980. Approaching 35-40 feet now. I have seen these topped at a given height for control.

Dave

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Dave that last pic is amazing,look at the size of those conifers at the back of that spruce,and they're Junipers?

RE: It probably would be a holly - juniper cones ('berries') are blue-purple, not red, and yews tend not to produce many when trimmed.

Generally true. And 100% true for junipers you find in Chicago. But at least one has red berries. Its on my "to collect" list. click the link

dctseg,

could I ask how the foliage on your blue ice looks on the side closest to the junipers? any sign it gets too much shade?

Here is a link that might be useful:

Tcharles, I like that red berried Juniper a lot! I guess its quite rare!

Not rare - but not in my part of Texas. (Texas is almost 3X the size of the entire UK) I have a distribution map from nothotsuga that shows it in the hill country, but it's not in hills I've been to. I think it's more common in the pan handle.

I doubt it would be hardy in zone 5 chicago. And doubt it would do well in Britain, if the cimate of native range is an indicator (but who knows)

Tree itself look just like our ashe juniper.

Hi Tcharles,

Yep, saw that one in west TX and another similar one with pink cones in NE Mexico . . . I was citing above in the zone 5 Chicago sense ;-)

Quite a few other junipers worldwide (but all in fairly warm climates) have orange/red cones; here's J. oxycedrus (above) and J. phoenicea (below). Alas, neither is hardy in z5.

Resin

Quite a few other junipers worldwide (but all in fairly warm climates) have orange/red cones; here's J. oxycedrus (above) and J. phoenicea (below). Alas, neither is hardy in z5

how about in our zone? ;)

Thanks for all your responses. The height I would like it to be is about 6 ft max. I could trim it down if needed or shape it. Well I did my walk thru around the blocks and the color of the evergreen is dark green with new growth being a light green. The berries are sparse but some have many of them in red. So maybe they're junipers or yews? Well I'm going to the nursery tomorrow to look around and see if they have them. I got the flagging done around my house. In IL you have to call JULIE so that they mark areas where utility lines are. So I'm good to go. Thanks a lot, I'll look into the junipers and yews.

Boxwood is a very common hedge in the Chicago area, also yew, usually trimmed into a box or simple geometric shapes. If that is what you want it's pretty easy. For a small suburban yard that might be the most appropriate, though not much fun.

I like mixed hedges, so I might use holly and yew, the contrast of color and texture is more interesting than a solid wall imho. Larger rhododendrons could also work, or mountain laurel if you are willing to have a more natural look, not a sheared rectangle... maybe a hemlock or two for upright accent if you have room.

The rambling, woodsy look can be lovely if you have space and a less formal setting. Mix a few flowering shrubs in as well, and stager the planting a bit, rather than a singe straight row.

Junipers are nice in full sun, but won't stand shade or crowding as well as the others.

Yea,add some wild rambling rose too and maybe some climbing Honeysuckle too,both have berries for the birds and Honeysuckle has scented flowers that attract moths at night which in turn attract bats.(Buddleia is also excellent in this role and gets pretty big,taking pruning well)

Hi Greenlarry,

"how about in our zone? ;)"

The red-coned species will mostly grow, but not very well for lack of summer heat.

Resin

For a six foot tall, low-maintenance hedge, I like, and have installed, a solid line of Woodward Globe arbor vitae. These things get about that height, and would never need shearing, or any pruning, save the odd branch that got gnawed on by voles or something. Planted about six feet apart, I've seen them work out perfectly. Might be a little wide for your situation-not sure.

No berries or anything, but good cover for birds.

+oM

Dave, those Junipers are awesome! How wide would you say they are??

BTW, Larry how did you get the red color text??

Coniferfreak,i typed this: font color=red
Then i pasted the text i wanted highlighting,then closed it with /font You have to put a at the end

(I had to put a space before and after the or you wont see what i'm doing)

Ohhh ok.. thanks Larry! It just uses HTML then. Like this!
Hmmmm... I didn't know that... LOL!

now youve gone one ahead of me, you changed the font and size! I'm not too great at HTML......;)