Yes, if you are prepared for a great deal of maintenance. There are some rather stunning Leyland hedges in my area. Not sure how well they'd translate to the St. Louis area, though.

i do not think of them as z5 plants ...

and night time humidity may or may not be an issue ...

as a clue.. are they sold at bigboxstore?????

you might try the same ??? in the conifer forum ...

ken

Has been seen to make a superior closely sheared (formal) hedge for a long time, can even be kept small with shearing. In fact, this seems to be the best use for it as otherwise it produces a sometimes very large specimen of not particularly interesting general appearance.

Yes, there is one in the north Seattle area, almost to Shoreline, that is in a serpentine shape maybe 25' long, kept at about 6' tall and maybe 3' wide. Every time I drive by I am impressed by how handsome it looks. But the guy who owns it is a professional landscaper and gives it the very frequent attention it needs.

the guy who owns it is a professional landscaper and gives it the very frequent attention it needs

Just to be clear, it is the handsomeness of the topiary that you are impressed with when you drive by?

I only know a landscaper owns the property cuz I see his trucked parked there all the time. Plus he has sign advertising his business. Never laid eyes on him personally.

since asking I did some searches & found photos of Leyland cypress hedges. while it looks like it would provide privacy I think I'd prefer something that blooms. i recently saw a hedge of holly. since some hollies are also evergreen they'd provide year round privacy & early blooms for my bees.

Keeping ANY plant groomed as a hedge generally eliminates or greatly reduces its flowering potential. And depending on type of holly selected, pruning/grooming such may be an unpleasant chore.

the holly hedge I saw was loaded with blooms & just as important ( to me ) was loaded with honey bees. I need to find out that variety. my other consideration is some type of viburnum. they're not evergreen but I see some around that bloom almost all thru the spring & summer.

when planting a line of plants... diversity rules .. just in case some plague rolls thru ...

your comments seem to infer.. that you want all of one thing or another ...

i ask WHY????

in my world.. as a collector ... more than one of anything.. is boring ...

now.. one thing we never asked... what do you mean.. when you say hedge ... and why are you thinking about developing something that requires a heck of a lot of annual maintenance ...

maybe you ought to start a new post.. since we are no longer talking about leylands... and define the space.. the location .. soil.. height.. width ... etc .....

and ask for inspiration as to diversity ...

please.. stand up.. and step out of the box you are sitting in ...

ken

here's what I have. my lot is 1/2 acre. the east property line faces the back yards of 6 houses. there is a chain link fence on the line. I'd like to not see the fence or the neighbors. while I do not actually have to have a hedge I would like whatever is there to have dense foliage. diversity is fine too. evergreens would also be a plus. since I have beehives something that blooms would be a plus as well. maybe some holly varieties mixed with viburnums, mixed with ??? on the west & north lines that are facing large open lots I have a 6' wooden fence. I'm growing taller wild flowers, azaleas, blueberries, & sweet yellow clover along the fence. that's also where the hives are.