Mine was broken by the 3 feet of snow we had last winter, but it responded well to pruning. Not much bloom this year, but the plant looks good so I expect as full recovery by spring.

>No foliar damage and still heavily budded with flowersThe younger, outside roots of a potted plant left sitting out to freeze are what go first. You can't tell the roots took a hit by looking at the top, until the top tries to grow later in the season. That's probably why frozen camellias may look good for months, only to drop everything and reveal their true condition at flowering time.

It seems the glossy-leaved forms of Laurustinus are more hardy (as well as better-looking). Look for those instead of the more common dull-leaved selections.

If you don't want to risk dieback in a killer winter, plant yew, holly or box instead.

What is the compass alignment of the hedge? For an east-west hedge only the easternmost shrub bears the full brunt of the east wind.

On individual evergreen plants here, the leaf damage due to a chronic east wind is obvious by the springtime, whereas the west side of the plant is untouched.

Had a laurustinus here in the early 1990's. It wanted to bloom in the winter and kept getting frozen flowers. The leaves should be as rugged as a Parney cotoneaster, that one has had minor wind east-facing defoliation over the years.

Lordy, lordy!! If we all listened to Ron, none of us in the PNW would grow anything other than box, yew or hollies or other extremely hardy but boring as mud plants.

I've been gardening in this area for 30 years, both personally and professionally, and have yet to experience the widespread failures Ron seems to encounter on a daily basis. Sure, sometimes a plant doesn't make it through a tough winter but it seems unnecessarily overly conservative to me to never plant anything that has a potential for cold damage. Provide some protection if the plant is new in place or 'marginal' in its hardiness.....it will very likely surprise you.

FWIW, I have gardened with containers for many years with all types of plants and with the exception of some obviously non-hardy selections (coprosma, some hebes, etc.) that were expected not to survive, I've never lost anything in a container to winter cold.

Take a chance. Don't be intimidated by naysayers and the prophets of doom. Maybe your success will be equal to mine.

My exact statement - directed at a party that may have a cold, windy site - was "If you don't want to risk dieback in a killer winter, plant yew, holly or box instead".

In 1990 I saw the long-established Parney cotoneater hedge across the street burn up. I think I've seen hardiness assignments for that one of about 10 degrees F. The fact is many broad-leaved evergreens aren't all that hardy, and that lowest temperatures in local gardens fall right off a few miles east of Puget Sound. When a person would be annoyed by dying back or down of a planting, such occurrences should be of interest.

There are reasons why the common, larger landscape trees and shrubs of older properties are almost all "boring" types. And these reasons are not limited to what was cheap or in fashion in earlier times.

Other considerations aside, deer will eat Viburnum tinus. Personally I'd choose something else, because of that, and because I just don't like the look of it that much. Here's a wild idea, how about a hedge of Garrya fremontii, if you can find it.

Klew is unlikely to have a deer problem in NE PDX, and coyotes will not touch the stuff (Portland has recent influx of urban coyotes).

There has been a Parney cotoneaster hedge for some years in NE at the Rain or Shine parking lot on Airport Way, have a look at that. Also a number of Parneys on perimeter of TriMet Bus Barns 17th & Holgate.

I had a hedge of rosemary (the big upright stuff) for several years but eventually the plants did not like to be crowded and there was a lot of branch die-off, so I just kept each end shrub of the row. They are certainly impervious to all weather so far. Excellent for honeybees.

What was clearly Garrya x issaquahensis or perhaps even G. elliptica were put on the market here this year as G. fremontii. So, learn what this latter species looks like before buying any so labeled. It is really quite different, yellowish green instead of grayish green, with not much waviness to the leaf margins. And with a different ecology than G. elliptica, being an (entirely?) inland montane species instead of an outer coastal one. Said to be endangered by timber production operations, where it is sprayed with herbicide to favor the Douglas fir trees that come up with it in clearings.

Since many kinds of rosemary are only hardy to about 15 degrees F., there was damage in this area last winter.

Speaking of Viburnum tinus hedges, these effectively died last winter in downtown Stanwood, WA (on a flat between Everett and Mount Vernon, with salt water nearby to both the north and the south), where it has been getting into single digits in recent year(s).

Later I saw maintenance crews shearing the brown, dead growths off the outside of the main shapes - and leaving the rest of the mostly dead, brown tops in place.

Same routine each time despite changing circumstances, apparently.

I see my variegated Laurustinus got a bit burnt this time, here in an area where the species does not get hurt as often as it might in other parts of the region. Variegated forms of shrubs often experience burning of the variegated portions during adverse conditions.

What is boring about box, holly or yew? Some of the most beautiful gardens in the world rely on these three plants or combinations of them for the backbone of their structure -- they are wonderful to behold and grow to be very old.

They suffer from being traditional. And slow-growing. Faster, less refined hedge plants are more attractive to current tastes.

Here English holly has the considerable drawbacks of reseeding abundantly, infesting undeveloped land and of being prone to leaf miners and a leaf spot that causes the lower part to go bald in late fall - just as it should be coming into its prime for the holiday season.

And prickly forms produce prickly prunings.

Highclere hollies don't seem to present these pest and disease problems much, but are not as varied (no dwarf or small-leaved forms) nor as hardy. Okay when near enough to salt water, but might be damaged farther out.

'Golden King' Highclere holly is one of the most ornamental of all.

The Seattle arboretum had a great display of Highclere hollies for a long time, but this got broken up and replaced by a new exhibit a few years ago. The more dramatic holly specimens that were saved and replanted elsewhere have been malingering since, look very poor. I think I have seen honey fungus (Armillaria) mushrooms coming up among them.

And they don't produce conspicuous flowers, which many gardeners consider a major bonus if not a requirement for much of their landscape choices. Plus, a garden based solely on 3 plant genera when there is such a huge range of other possibilites present is indeed boring. And not very creative.

As far as I can tell thread is still addressing original statements

>Still looking for hedge materials. Viburnum tinus was suggested.

I am quite fond of viburnums, but I am concerned about this one's ability to handle cold winter windsand has not become a discussion about shrubs for various garden situations.