Can I Plant American Holly As A Privacy Hedge In A Large Planters Box

Question

Hi, I’ll be moving to the outskirts of Chicago in the near future. The community that I’m moving to has strict fencing rules. My goal is to create a large bottomless planters box that goes around the perimeter of my back yard. I plan on putting American Holly in the planters box to grow as a privacy hedge to get around the fencing rules. I plan on interlocking landscaping timbers to a height of 2ft and keeping the Holly cut to 8ft, so I have a total height of 10ft. My question is: will the root structure keep the plant anchored while in the planters box at 8ft tall? Also are there any other reasons I shouldn’t do this?

Answer 1

This could work, but I would definitely not use the American Holly. They are simply too big for this.

This article will offer more information on different cultivars of Holly:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/holly/common-types-of-holly.htm .

This article will help you to prune whichever you choose:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/holly/trimming-holly-bushes-how-to-prune-holly-bushes.htm