AHH darn, now I noticed the ebay $150 for 60 plants has about a two week delayed delivery.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Winter-Gem-Korean-Boxwood-Qty-60-Live-Plants-Fast-Growing-Cold-Hardy-Evergreen/232149891358?hash=item360d36391e:g:H9sAAOSwxg9Zb63r

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Boxwood-Qty-60-Live-Plants-Buxus-Fast-Growing-Cold-Hardy-Evergreen/232602450184?hash=item36282fb908:g:Sm8AAOSwT2daOUlV

want to add that lawn was just overseeded and sprinklers on every day 3 times for 7 minutes, and tapering off timings to more water each time less frequently, so new plants will get watered up untill freezing. and then water back on in Spring.

I can buy the eBay stuff for Spring I guess but might talk them into buying local larger plants 15" for $20 each and might only need to space them 2 feet apart would be about $500 for plants though.

she said something about maybe not even maing it a hedge and just spacing plants a few feet apart so maybe will just do that but I know she'd rather have an actual hedge.

. this is confusing AF and a lot to learn. now I know why landscape archetect charge how much for a doodling if they know what they're doing.

Anything that grows fast enough to make a hedge by next summer will require constant pruning to keep it in shape--think about it! And 75 ft of hedge is a LOT of hedge to maintain.

Unfortunately, there is a boxwood blight that is killing off boxwood in the area. It is a problem in NJ.

Boxwood Blight

"want to add that lawn was just overseeded and sprinklers on every day 3
times for 7 minutes, and tapering off timings to more water each time
less frequently, so new plants will get watered up untill freezing."

Often sprinklers calibrated for lawns do not provide enough water penetration deep enough for the root mass of shrubs, especially during establishment. You will need to check this with your fingers and be prepared to haul out a hose.

^ ok yea I'll make sure it gets plenty water.

boxwood blight, I haven't seen any problems and they want evergreen and dense, final height maintained around 2.5 feet high , 2' thick, doesn't have to be boxwood though.

as far as pricing, there's no way to like hack this and save like $600? I don't get why vinca is so cheap, I mean yeah it's been tended too much less compared to a 15" $20 boxwood but I guess I wish they sold those ebay mini boxwoods but I don't think landscape supply places have them.

Would it be better to plant $20 15" plants bought locally spaced about 2 feet? Or those ebay mini things planted 1 foot or even closer? As mentioned though the minis won't resemble a hedge for a long time and don't want to wait forever.

And good point, lacey ; if there were something small, or medium but spaced far that I could plant now and it end up growing enough by mid Summer to resemble a hedge, then it would be so fast-growing that it would need to be trimmed about every month. And I could see someone skipping those trimmings and it ending up to tall, then hacked at the wrong time into old wood, and may or may not bounce back great without dead spots.

The mini ebay things would be cheapest option but even if I could find them locally (no wait 2 weeks for the ebay delivery it says), then I would have to plant them like every 10 inches and would not look like hedges for several years. As mentioned it took like 5 years for my boxwoods to even fill in about 1.5 feet and those were about 15" to start. Albeit in very dense shade but still. Or does shade slwo down growth that much that if it were full sun the mini ebay option isn't a bad idead, just that I have to wait till spring to order because would be too cold to plant in November when finally delivered??

Probably going to end up just doing the vinca and then plantings various perrenial shrubs here and there along the driveway.

A two foot wide strip of Vinca minor, that will be fun, with 75 feet of a short evergreen hedge planted in it and lawn on the other side butt up against one or both sides of the driveway will make a nice landing strip. That should keep the cars on the pavement.

Fast and cheap are rarely the best route to good landscape design.

There is a pretty widely accepted horticultural rule of thumb that trees and shrubs that stay small and compact grow slowly........those that grow fast tend to get big as well. Boxwood grows very slowly.......one of the slowest growing plants I am aware of!! It can take years for boxwood to form a dense, solid hedge unless you start with already larger sized plants to begin with. And space them close enough. Larger and with closer spacing = $$$$. And boxwood blight is a real concern along the east coast. For that reason alone I would consider other options.

You're just not going to be able to obtain a 75-ft.-long feature for peanuts. Is the vinca long established? Trying to hack dozens of individual planting holes out of a mat of vinca sounds like a real picnic.

Boxwoods: Now You See Them, Soon You Won’t!

https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/boxwood-blight-confirmed-in-new-jersey/

Saving up or biting the bullet and hiring a contractor to install a fence of the desired height would be so much less bother and work. Both now and every year in the future (except for any maintenance and repair a wood fence for instance might some day need). If the two of you adjacent property owners split the cost that would cut your portion in half.

ok guys, thanks again. I get it now, just can't be done cheap, or quickly if done with tiny plants, and boxwood blight should try a different species. I'll call my friend who owns the nursery and see if he'll cut me a deal being end of season too.

Wood fence wasn't the idea but I could install a short fence easy, but this does bring up an interesting idea of a short lattice-type fence and then vining plants on it but I don't think they'll go for that.

The vinca isn't installed yet. Going to do that this week unless they change their mind.

Taking a step back . . .

We don't have a photo, but I question the wisdom of lining a drive with plants as it sometimes is impractical. You will need to evaluate for your own particular site.

- Here (not sure about your location) one needs to think about where and how snow will be removed. Plants lining the drive can be in the way of snow removal or can be damaged by removal of wet, heavy snow.

- Depending on number of cars and drive width, is there room to get out of the car when parked if the drive is lined with plants? If the drive is particularly crowded with vehicles, for instance for a family gathering, is there room to walk up the drive to the house without having to avoid the plants lining the drive, or is there a pathway to accommodate foot traffic? I hate having to step out onto plants other than grass, and stepping over a 2 1/2' hedge would be inconvenient for all but the most physically fit and casually dressed.

And UGH! Keeping 75 feet of vinca (times two sides) in bounds would be something of a chore if it is happy. It sends out long runners that root where they touch, and I am constantly fighting to keep it out of the lawn and adjoining beds, etc. and it will try to grow out onto the driveway with the potential of being a trip hazard if it loops around and reroots. That's a lot of regular trimming. Pachysandra might be a better choice.

Pachysandra discolors in sunny positions. And is susceptible to box blight.

inkberry sounds like a good (and pretty) choice, esp if lining both sides with vinca minor - would detract from legginess that inkberry is prone to be. not sure of cost for inkberry, and also slow growing but less maintenance.

There are a few varieties of inkberry that have been selected specifically to serve as buxus/boxwood substitutes. I don’t know how readily available they are on the market yet.

http://plant-quest.blogspot.com/2018/08/boxwood-alternatives.html

ended up getting a good deal on boxwoods and planted those. those $2 ebay flats would take forever to grow and look like a hedge.

And a 2 ft border of vinca minor

sorry I don't see a way to quote or even italicize your post, so I'll just reply in ALL CAPS.

- Here (not sure about your location) one needs to think about where and how snow will be removed. Plants lining the drive can be in the way of snow removal or can be damaged by removal of wet, heavy snow.

ALREADY THOUGHT OF ALL THIS. THE DRIVEWAY recently HAD A RAISED STONE /brick BORDER INSTALLED about 6" tall. snowblower will feel that and not go into lawn/vinca. especially a single stage blower with soft rubber paddle vs a dual stage with metal auger can damage brick if not careful if didn't actualyl know it was there though. it's actually better IMO to have vinca there if there were no raised brick border because if some were chewed up by a snowblower, it'll just grow right back in spring vs turfgrass might need to be RESEEDED if crown is damaged enough.

- Depending on number of cars and drive width, is there room to get out of the car when parked if the drive is lined with plants? If the drive is particularly crowded with vehicles, for instance for a family gathering, is there room to walk up the drive to the house without having to avoid the plants lining the drive, or is there a pathway to accommodate foot traffic? I hate having to step out onto plants other than grass, and stepping over a 2 1/2' hedge would be inconvenient for all but the most physically fit and casually dressed.

YES THIS IS WHY I put the hedge 3 feet away from the edge of the driveway, so car doors can open fully without hitting the hedge (if cars are parked that close to the driveway edge. the vinca border right along the driveway is low-growing vinca minor, it only grows about 6" tall especially if trimmed down once or twice a year which also promotes denser growth.

And UGH! Keeping 75 feet of vinca (times two sides) in bounds would be something of a chore if it is happy. It sends out long runners that root where they touch, and I am constantly fighting to keep it out of the lawn and adjoining beds, etc. and it will try to grow out onto the driveway with the potential of being a trip hazard if it loops around and reroots. That's a lot of regular trimming. Pachysandra might be a better choice.

pachy (and english ivy) climb and vinca doesn't. And it's quite sunny and vinca is the better of the 3 for sunny areas, and it fills in the quickest. It can be put around a hedge or other plants and not take over them as long as they're over a foot or so tall.

With weekly or every other week mowing any vinca runner can be cut back in literally like 10 seconds while edging the driveway with a string trimmer. The vinca border has a bed edge/clif cut out of the lawn and just run the string trimmer vertically over any runners to keep it out of the lawn. Yes if unkept the vinca can creep into the lawn but I see this situation all the time with other groundcovers and it's not that hard to keep in place. Also trimming a 2-3 ft tall hedge is a cakewalk for me. going up on ladder and trimming branchy stuff becomes a chore but a simple hedge trim like that is no problemo.