Species of trees that would function well as a hedge

[a0kalittlema0n]

I figured I'd head here to ask a question that others may not care to know or have an interest in. I'm doing research into deciduous hedges (don't change my mind, I'm not planting one for myself) and can only find things about beech and hornbeam as they hold leaves in the winter.

My question is what species have fine twiggy growth that you think could function as a good hedge (even in winter time). I've seen some Elm hedges, so I figured with regular shearing they'd be great, but what else can get that fine twiggy growth? Oh, and the kill joy is that I need it to live in zones 8/9. Some I've though of are:

Zelkovas, Trident maples (others as well I assume?), Birch trees maybe, crape myrtle, pomegranate. Anything obvious I'm missing? Also do you think you could get fine twiggy growth on these through regular shearing even while it is in the ground?

 

[vedecx]

Privet?

 

[Hack Yeah!]

How tall of a hedge

 

[Hack Yeah!]

You've probably mentioned the top ones, elm tridents, crepes

 

[zero]

Whoops I was wrong. I reread and see I was mistaken- how do I delete my comment?

 

[BrianBay9]

Where do you live? I've seen pyracantha as a hedge. Coast live oak as a hedge. Escallonia. Ceanothus. Podocarpus. Yew

 

[HardBall]

Hornbeams are commonly used in Europe

 

[Mikecheck123]

Red tip photinia is commonly used in the Bay Area. My hedge is about 15 feet tall.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Acer campestre are pretty common here. Low hedging can also be done with quince.

 

[Dkdhej]

Hawthorn, firethorn, berberis, forsythia (last 3 not really trees but can grow quite high)

 

[sorce]

I'd stick with simple leaf shapes that won't easily get caught in the twigging in fall.

Sorce

 

[PA_Penjing]

I have seen amur maple hedges, they look cool in october.

 

[Igor. T. Ljubek]

Privet (Ligustrum) is by far the best you can get.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Privet (Ligustrum) is by far the best you can get.

Where I have lived (SoCal and North Carolina) privet is evergreen. Is it deciduous in colder climates?

I have tons of suggestions for evergreen hedges (I've got tons of holly hedges on my property), however I think deciduous hedges are less common because people use hedges for screening/security/privacy and so would generally prefer to keep the foliage all year.

 

[Igor. T. Ljubek]

Where I have lived (SoCal and North Carolina) privet is evergreen. Is it deciduous in colder climates?

In my climate privet is kind of "semi" deciduous . Depends how cold the winter is. Usually it keeps some of the leaves (i would say around 30% up to max 40%) during winter. The leaves that stay on the hedge are very darkish green, they look more dead than alive and they drop just a few weeks before spring.

I see that op lives in zone 8/9. Privet won't stay deciduous in his climate i guess. My bad, you can just ignore my previous post.

 

[Bnana]

If you have some space I like mixed hedges with blackthorn, hawthorn, wild roses, field maple, privet, hazel and sometimes other species.
This is what used to be between field before barbed wire in North Western Europe. You have flowers at different moments, birds and insects love it and it's not as boring as a simple privet hedge.
It's best when trying in a A-shape, not square. Making a hedge square means the sides get less light and won't flower well, flowers will be on top where you don't see them.

 

[TN_Jim]

Privet is extremely invasive, so much so it is illegal to sell here, plenty of other less destructive options..

 

[Bnana]

I don't know where OP is from. Here privet is native. But you should always use native species.

 

[a0kalittlema0n]

I'm in the Mojave Desert, so even though we're in zones 8/9, we push to the edges of both of those as we sometimes get sub 20° F.

I'm basically looking for something that isn't the same thing everyone uses, grows faster (since it is a tree), but will be twiggy to still function decently as a privacy hedge/windbreak in the winter.

I honestly think that between elm, pomegranate, tridents, and crape myrtles that they'd be the best options, but crape myrtles grow slower/smaller. European Hornbeam would work where I am I think, but they need water and people here are typically not into using a ton of water unless they have a well.

Appreciate the info or insights into these species or others that might work.

 

[Bnana]

Why use a European species? European hornbeam is also not very drought tolerant. Why not use a local species?