What type of cedar hedge do I want?

[treetoronto]

Hi there,

I want to plant a cedar hedge along my fence, a neighbor planted cedars a while back and they blended into a uniform hedge over 15 feet tall rather than columns like the emerald cedars do.

I do not want the column look of emerald cedars but rather a uniform blended look.
She does not remember what was planted for her though.

From research I have come to find that white cedars seem to blend together so do black cedars. Is this correct?

Are there any other types of cedars that blend together to create the uniform look that I am going for?

Thanks

[Heidi S]

The blending is more a feature of spacing and pruning of your shrubs than just the type. Smagrd or Emerald cedars are 'hedging' types, so if spaced according to their plant tag recommendation, they will eventually merge as they mature. There are other hedging cedar types as well, just read the tags carefully, and plan your planting accordingly. But don't put the young and small plants too close together now, or you end up with too much crowding which will eventually cause die back.

Pruning correctly is very important for cedars - if you try and cut back a hedge that has been allowed to exceed its space, you can create serious brown spots, because cedars typically only grow on their branch tips. To maintain a line, you must keep that line from the beginning, or you will face cutting into deadwood later - cedars do not flush out from bare branches like some other hedging shrubs do, so you would end up with a permanent brown space.

Cedar hedges are definitely not low maintenance options, but can be very attractive if managed correctly from the beginning. Hope that helps.