topiary trees/plants

[scluff]

What type of plants, trees, shrubs, etc are used for toparies?  How long does it take them to grow from seedlings?

[willowherb]

hi scluff...golden yew and box are used to make topiarys..it would take ages to grow one from seed so the best thing you could do is buy a box topiary and late summer take semi ripe cuttings from it and start some more off yourself..if you go to the bbc homepage ..go into lifestyle gardening you can find information their how to grow topiary and all the problems,,best of luck..

[woofgang]

you can make topiaries from other things as well, the reason that yew and box are used is that they grow comparatively slowly so once the topiary is established the it will keep its shape without too much snipping. Lonicera nitida can be used, also some cotoneasters. I had one that was made from a small leaved ivy but that grew out of shape pon a weekly basis so i gave it up in the end. I am sure that if you google on "how to make topiary" you will find loads of stuff

[scluff]

Willowherb And woofgang.

Thank you both for your answers.  Someone I know is going to try to grow trees for topiaries and I am interested in all of the information I can get.

scluff

[woofgang]

Do you mean on a commercial basis? I understand that most of the topiary sold commercially is now produced in italy

[Newt]

I would think that the fastest way to get plants large enough for this would be from cuttings.

[scluff]

woofgang

I

[scluff]

woofgang

I

don't

[scluff]

woofgang (geesh, this thing is fast)

Sorry about the two previous answers.

I don't know anything about growing trees for topiaries, but this person is looking for about five acres of land here to do this.

[scluff]

newt

Thanks for the info.  Maybe this is what this person has in mind.

[woofgang]

If he (she?) can afford it, it might be worth taking a trip out to where these things are grown in italy. (sorry, don't know where) the reason for this is apparently the climate which makes for faster growth, but is nt tropical enough to affect the hardiness of the specimens. You may have noticed that topiaries of all kinds are cheaper now than they were say five years ago, and if your friend hasn't already done so, it might be helpful for them to do some research on how much the product is going to cost to produce and whether it will be saleable at this price. Lovely idea though, I quite fancy it myself (no, I am not going to, it sounds like very hard work!)

All the best

[scluff]

woofgang

Thanks for all the info that you have sent me.  I will be anxious to see this operation in progress (if it, indeed, happens). This person seems very enthusiastic about the possibility.  Maybe she knows something we don't!!

[woofgang]

you're welcome