There are quite a few factors that will affect the type of plant you select for your hedge. Some of the important ones to consider:
1. What type of soil do you have?
2. How much sun will the area get?
3. Do you want an evergreen plant or a deciduous one (loses its leaves)?
4. How important is fast growth?
5. How high are you planning to keep it? How wide?
6. When it comes to trimming, how do you define "reasonable"?
7. Are you hoping for a hedge with a formal or informal appearance?
Don't you just hate it when you get questions to your questions? Fortunately, the University of Minnesota has developed a program for plant selection through its Sustainable Urban Landscape Information Series. If you go to the following Web site, you will be able to walk through all the steps of designing a landscape and choosing plants:
http://www.sustland.umn.edu/index.html.
A very good thing to do is to get your soil tested. It would be frustrating to pick out what seemed to be the perfect plant only to find it did not prosper in your soil. Contact your local Extension office for information about soil testing.
