Hedge planting - Part 1

A hedge is a group of plants, planted close enough together to create a divide.  This divide doesn't necessarily have to be around a plot, internal hedges can also be used to good effect.

The internal hedge may need to serve many purposes, a divide between utility and beauty.  Maybe, around a vegetable plot or maybe even, just to create a false sense of dimension.  Internal hedges also make wonderful windbreaks for the exposed gardens, if planted the right way to get maximum effect.

The external hedge is usually created to screen part or all of a plot of land, and it may serve different purposes, for example it may be evergreen, to hide an eyesore or could be prickly for protective purposes. Whatever the reason, a hedge needs some careful consideration, prior to investing in one.  I use the word investing, as it may not be cheap. Register for FREE if you have not already registered and share with us your story of the hedge with the edge - click HERE and tell us your story?

xcupressus Leylandii or the Leylandii hedge is often purchased as they are relatively cheap to buy and fast growing.  There is a time and a place in this type of hedge, but it is not the answer in a lot of circumstances.  The properties of this type of hedge, is such that when the plant is slightly older and it becomes denser, this is when disaster can strike, if being pruned incorrectly.  This type of conifer must stay green at all times.  It requires a regulator trim, minimum of twice a year, ideally three or four.  A relative of mine has a 20-year-old Leylandii hedge that has been religiously, lightly trimmed four times a year and is kept at 6 foot high.  What I'm trying to say is if you decide to take one on be prepared to look after it or choose a different variety if you want less maintenance.  Overzealous pruning will cause the hedge to go brown and it will not recover and go green again.

Choose your type of hedge carefully they are not cheap, if 10 years down the line it is being ripped out, because it was the wrong one there in the first place.

If you are trying to screen something that is tall, that may be for example a viewpoint from your kitchen window, you may be able to use a smaller planting scheme or a one-off specimen plant in a half barrel, closer to your kitchen window and then be able to plant a slower growing hedge at the boundary.  A blocking plant need only be 6 foot high if it is closer to you and the higher plant would hide the tall object.

A hedge need not be all of one type of plant, there are many plus points to creating a mixed hedge.

An important thing to remember, is that ecology takes a long time to develop within a garden so any maturity of plants within your garden should be kept and worked with and certainly not removed all at once.

If you are replacing an old fence then maybe joining up the mature shrubs at the boundary with other shrubs, could be considered to create a hedge over a period of time.

Thuja plicata makes a fast-growing evergreen hedging conifer, only a bit slower than that of Leylandii, but it is a much more forgiving hedge, should someone be overzealous with the hedge cutter.  There are other forms of Thuja plicata such as Thuja plicata Zebrina, which is a little slower but has a lovely creamy variegation.Thuja plicata Atrovirens is a darker green form of similar vigour to ordinary Thuja plicata.  Thuja plicata Gelderland has a tighter habit and it is slower again.

Taxus baccata or Yew makes a fantastic slow-growing hedge which is almost unrivalled for its ability to be clipped for topiary.  Just remember that all parts of the plant are poisonous.  The other big property that this conifer has, is that it is very good in shade too.

Creating a mixed hedge can be wonderful, as the depth of interest can be vast.  During the winter months, it is possible to purchase what are known in the trade as Whips.  These are bare root, single stemmed, hardy, deciduous plants that have been field grown and lifted by the grower, bundled, plunged into soil in a pot and sent to the retailer, for sale.  Whips are a wonderful opportunity to save some money, by using their naturally dormant time of year to be transplanted.  Be wary of the limitations of their use when infilling gaps in a mature hedge.  Being aware of the cultivar or type of hedge you are trying to fill the gap in, may dictate which Whips to avoid, for example, a mature Hawthorn hedge may have some gaps in, that you would like to fill-in.  Do not use rosaceous plants to fill that gap.  Hawthorn is technically related to rose and as I have written in several articles previous to this, to be wary of planting a rosaceous plant anywhere near the mature root systems of existing rosaceous plants.  So plants such as Corylus or Hazel, which are also available in whips would in fill those gaps perfectly.

If you are wanting to create a mixed hedge, then getting the balance between evergreen and deciduous, prickly and non-prickly could make the difference between success and failure for the person who lives there, i.e. you!.

I was going to give some examples of evergreen, then deciduous plants, both in field grown and container grown and I hope this is useful to you. Register for FREE if you have not already registered and share with us your story of the hedge with the edge - click HERE and tell us your story?