Garden Hedge

Advice and tips on hedges and hedging plants - guides to choosing, planting and maintaining hedges.
Why plant a hedge? A good hedge has many benefits as a garden boundary:

• shelter, reducing wind strength better than a solid barrier
• filter, absorbing dust and noise
• privacy, as an effective visual screen
• security, a prickly hedge is a great deterrent
• beauty and interest from seasonal changes
• background texture and color complement other plants
• wildlife, food and shelter for insects, birds and mammals
• weather-resistance much better than fences
• money saving compared with most fencing
• Long-lived, hedges can last hundreds of years.

When deciding to plant a hedge, there are also some important factors to think about:

Maintenance
A hedge requires a commitment to regular maintenance. All types need trimming at least once a year, others more often. Regular light pruning is better for the hedge, and easier to carry out, than infrequent heavy pruning. Modern power tools do the job quickly when the hedge is trimmed regularly. High and overgrown hedges often need costly specialist equipment or professional help to get them back into shape - and create a huge heap of garden waste to dispose of.

Time to establish
Add a temporary screen of fine netting or windbreak material to create privacy while the hedge grows. A faster growing variety which establishes more quickly might not be suitable in the longer term as it keeps on growing.

Ability to outgrow the site or cause damage
Avoid the problems which can be caused by a hedge which gets too big for its situation by choosing the right plants.

Making the right choice
The many benefits of growing hedges on your boundary depend on selecting the right plants for the situation. If you choose an unsuitable variety you could be faced with a range of problems, especially if the hedge grows too big. It will be difficult to trim and may cut out light to your garden or house.

Its roots could deprive other plants of water and nutrients, and even interfere with paths and buildings. Oversize hedges will intrude on your garden space, and may cause problems with neighbors. Oversize hedges can be costly and time consuming to cut back and most conifers, including Leyland and Lawson's cypress, will not tolerate hard pruning. If the hedge borders a road or path the local authority could get involved, and insist the hedge is cut back. Luckily there is a wide range of plants available so it's not difficult to achieve an attractive healthy hedge - one which will take only as much upkeep as you can manage, and create an attractive feature in your neighborhood, not a bone of contention.

How to choose

Step one
Think about why you want a hedge, e.g. for security, privacy or boundary marker. Choose the features that fit the type of hedge you want. Think about leaf color, flowers, fruit, prickles, autumn interest, wind and salt tolerance.
Step two
Decide how much maintenance work you can manage, as it will require a continuing commitment. Some hedges are fine with one cut a year, others need at least three. Fast-growing hedges don't stop at the height you want, so you must remove a lot of growth every year. Slow-growing hedges are much less effort.
Step three
Consult the Hedge Selector Table (available to download below) for suitable plants. All the plants listed can be trimmed to make a hedge 1.5-2m (5-7ft) tall. They will all grow on any reasonable garden soil and in most parts of the country. For more help with local suitability, planting and maintenance consult your garden center or plant nursery.
Step four
Discuss the location of a boundary hedge and its continuing maintenance requirements with your neighbors. All sides of a hedge will need to be regularly trimmed if it is to be properly maintained and parts of it may only be accessible from your neighbor’s garden.
Step five
It would be advisable to check with your house deeds and local council for any planning conditions or covenants which apply to your garden and may affect your choice of hedge.

Which hedging plant to use?
Care must take in selecting the kinds of hedging plants that you use, some types take a lot more looking after than others, they all grow at different rates and have a variety of advantages and disadvantages. Almost any hardy tree or shrub could be planted as a hedge but a few types are better than the others.

If you wish to create a hedge which is really dense and bushy from the ground upwards it is advisable to plant young, small plants. Many people look at the small bare rooted seedlings or transplants and imagine it will be years before they will achieve anything which looks like a 'hedge'. If larger plants are chosen the result can often be that the hedge is rather gappy at the base. Also larger plants are more expensive and are more likely to fail than small ones.

Size
Along with maintenance, the ultimate size of a hedge causes the greatest concerns. In a perfect world, the hedge would grow rapidly and thickly to a preset height and then stop dead in its tracks.

The reality is that if you want a "fast” hedge, one that will grow to the desired height and thicken up just as quickly, it will tend to keep on going upwards and outwards just as vigorously past the optimum size as it did to get there in the first place. The Lleylandii hedging plant is a commonly used hedging plant, particularly on housing estates in the last thirty years. They rapidly form an excellent hedge, but require regular cutting back and the subsequent disposal of large quantities of material if they are not to get out of hand or even become the subject of a dispute between neighbors.

Fast growing plants means the hedge is effective sooner, but then requires more maintenance to keep it under control Slower growing hedges will take several years to form an effective barrier, but will require less clipping and will generally live longer.

Maintenance
The other major issue with hedges is the need for regular maintenance. All hedges need trimming at least once a year, some more often. Regular light pruning is better for the hedge, and easier to carry out, than infrequent heavy pruning, there's also a lot less material to dispose of, if it's small twiggy stuff it can be fed though the garden shredder.

A powered hedge trimmer can be used for light pruning; (though not for heavy cutting back) this can speed up the trimming process and help to give a more uniform finish with straight lines.

How to get ready before your plants arrive
Please ensure you are ready for your plants as deliveries are made during week days when you may be unable to plant them. Plants deteriorate if left in their packing too long, so have an area of cultivated soil in a sheltered site prepared in advance. Do this by digging a trench about 50cm (20 inches) deep and cover the area with polythene to keep it dry. When the plants arrive, take off any covers and any bare-rooted ones should be soaked for up to two hours in water. Bed the plants into the prepared trench and cover the roots with soil, which should be watered if dry. The plants can remain in this state until you are able to plant into their final place. Any pot grown plants should be watered if necessary then kept in a sheltered position until planted.

Planting - Preparing the ground
The soil for a newly planted hedge should be very well prepared as the hedge will be a long term permanent feature. It should be dug over thoroughly and have a #good quantity of organic matter added to the soil. f possible, get the preparation done before the winter planting season - while the weather and soil is still warm. Irrigate dry soils copiously before any cultivation is carried out.

To prepare the soil for hedges, dig a trench at least 45cm (18in) wide and 30cm (1ft) deep along the length of the proposed hedge infilling with improved soil as necessary. For individual trees or shrubs clear a circle approximately 1 meter / 1 yard diameter of grass and weeds. Dig the area to at least 30cm (1ft) deep and improve the soil structure as necessary.

To improve the structure of the soil, incorporate generous quantities of compost, such as well-rotted garden compost, well-rotted farmyard manure, mushroom compost or composted bark. If the soil has poor drainage add sharp sand or coarse grit (make sure it is lime-free). If the soil is heavy clay take care not to create a solid basin at the base of the trench that will stop the water from draining freely.

If this preparation is done in advance of planting, the soil can then settle and will be workable when you come to put the plants in during the winter. Even if the soil is cold and frosty on the surface, it will be relatively easy to turn over if it has been correctly prepared.
Plant the new plants and mulch well with at least 5-10cm (2-4in) bark chips or other mulching material around the plants. You can put down landscape fabric first and plant through this, mulching on top. The mulch is very important as it suppresses weed growth and helps retain valuable moisture in the surrounding soil.

It is essential that all evergreens are sheltered from drying winds during their first winter and growing season. If the weather conditions are particularly severe or the site is subject to strong prevailing winds a protective windbreak should be erected, for example windbreak netting. This will help to prevent the plants drying out before their roots are established.

For all plants it is essential that they are kept well watered during their first year even in winter when they are dormant. It is important to keep them moist just before they break dormancy. As a guide, in dry weather at least two gallons (10 liter’s) of water per square yard/meter should be applied twice a week. Also, it is advisable to spray over the foliage of evergreens in the evenings as well as watering. Use a hose-end diluter to make the task easier.
Ensure that all tree ties are kept secure but not too tight, and that no grass or weeds are allowed to grow around the plants for at least a year.

In the first year plants often come into leaf and flower much later than established plants and it should not be assumed that the plants have failed should they be late into leaf. Evergreen shrubs may drop their leaves when transplanted; they should re-grow new shoots within three months of planting. When the hedging plants are planted, they should also be given a dressing of bone meal or blood, fish and bone meal, alternatively inorganic Gromore or similar could be used. It is also good practice to give them a regular feed once established in the spring, again top-dressing with a balanced fertilizer. A mulch of bark chips or similar to prevent weed growth is advisable, this does not need to be replaced or topped up in later years as it rots away, as its function is to help the plants establish early on. Watering is advisable through the first spring and summer to ensure good initial establishment of the hedging plants.

It is sometimes suggested that hedging plants be planted in double rows rather than single. This is not necessary unless a hedge is required that is wider than about a meter (39") or for purposes of establishing the hedge that little quicker. When overcrowded, plants tend just to produce the same amount of top growth spread between them as they would if planted more thinly with less plants giving the same amount of leaf cover. There is also the possibility of crowding and the accumulation of dead wood.

Planting with Root grow
Whether planting bare root, ball root or pot grown plants, we would strongly recommend using Root grow. Root grow enhances plant’s root system so a newly planted plant can find more food, nutrients and water. This means you need less fertilizer, the plants will establish faster and it reduces failure rates. The product can only be applied whilst planting as it has to be in contact with the roots, but as it is so effective it may be advisable to delay planting until you have purchased enough to treat the roots of your plants.

Extra planting and pruning instructions
Left to their own devices, hedges will grow upwards and become relatively "leggy", that is thin at the bottom and thicker towards the top. Care must be taken in the first few years to prune the plants so that they develop into a thick and effective hedge. On planting - cut deciduous plants back by a third of their height. Strong laterals (side shoots) should also be cut back by one third. Second winter - Cut back again by one third.

When planting and caring for a new hedge it is very important to follow the pruning and planting instructions which will come with the plants, or are available from the Garden Centre shop. Some people do not like to cut their hedging plants back, or forget to do so, and with many varieties this will result in a hedge which is not dense at the base. The best hedges develop from a good basal re-growth – so ensure this prune is carried out at planting time or in the first spring.

The trick is to prune weakly growing shoots hard and strongly growing shoots lightly. Don't be tempted to "even up" the hedge; the result will often be the opposite. Many hedging plants will form very tall trees or shrubs if left unpruned. In general they will respond to trimming of their vertical growth by producing side shoots. Sometimes it is necessary to trim verticals in order to promote bushy sideways growth even though vertical height is also required. It is all part of the process of establishing a well formed and effective hedge.

Does size matter?
Hedges establish better and form dense bushy growth from the ground upwards more readily if planted as young, small plants. Many people look at the small bare rooted seedlings or transplants and imagine it will be years before they will achieve anything which looks like a hedge. If larger plants are chosen the result can often be that the hedge appears to have gaps at the base.  In a few years a hedge planted as small bare-rooted plants will soon catch up and even over-take a hedge planted as much bigger and more expensive pot grown plants. Larger plants are more likely to fail than smaller ones.