Hedge Planting

How much water a hedge requires is dependent on the environment it is located. The soil and ground type needs consideration, as does the species and maturity of the hedge when planted. Our advice is to monitor the hedge regularly until established.  As a rule, the soil around the roots should not be allowed to dry out at any point.  Dry roots of newly planted hedges can cause the hedge to fail, regardless of how long it was dry for.

Some potted or root ball hedging plants can easily be carried manually or in barrows and planted using hand tools. Larger hedging plants and instant hedges need machinery to unload and carry them from the delivery trucks to the planting locations. Excavator digging machines are sometimes used to create perfect trenches for the hedges to be planted into.

We install dripper irrigation pipe as standard on all hedge planting projects. The pipe allows the hedge to have water delivered directly into the soil above the roots, wetting the ground and keeping it moist, allowing the roots to establish and grow. This dripper pipe lays along the top of the ground directly under the hedge near to the stems, easy to locate when needed but blending into the background when not. This can be connected to a full garden irrigation system or simply attached to a tap which can be turned on manually or attached to a simple irrigation programmer. Connection from the tap to the hedge is done by using solid plastic pipe which can be hidden in soil or under lawns.

The most important maintenance of newly planted hedges is the regular checking of the state of the soil under the hedge and the adjustment of watering required to keep the ground moist. Any weeds under or near to the hedge should be removed to stop competition of water and oxygen in the soil. All hedges should be trimmed at least once per year, timing varies on which hedge species. You can find this information in our guide. A feeding of the hedge once a year in the spring is recommended.

Hedges are mostly planted along neighbouring boundaries close to fences allowing maximum inner garden space which appears ideal at the time. However, hedges need space to grow, some species get wider than others and problems can happen as they mature. The stems and branches get larger and can push into fences. Generally, as a rule, shrubs used for hedges like Box, Lavender, Osmanthus, Photinia and Rosemary need less growing space and can be kept in check easily. Tree species used for hedging such as beech, hornbeam, laurel, and yew will need more space.

We recommend that most species of hedge should be planted, leaving 50cm space from the boundary line.