Planting A Hedgerow Is Easy, Right? As Long As Its Done Correctly
You can’t ignore the beauty of the hedgerow plants it provides around your property. They offer excellent physical barrier and sound reduction while avoiding soil erosion during severe weather disturbances. But before you can enjoy the many benefits of hedge planting, you first need to plant its bare roots properly right from the beginning. Find out below how you can do this from our local experts in landscaping services.
Preparing the tools
You can’t do hedgerow planting easily if you don’t have enough equipment, to begin with. Planting a newly planted hedge is considered a DIY job, and you can buy the essential tools from typical home improvement stores. Prepare the following gardening tools before you start:
- Hand gloves and protective goggles
- Measuring tape
- Spray paint and sticks (for marking)
- Garden hose with hand sprayer attachment
- Watering can or garden sprinkler
- Shovel or trench digger equipment
- Wheelbarrow
- Hand rake
- Hand cultivator (optional if you don’t prefer bare hands)
. Hedging Plants, garden plants
- Garden compost, manure, and mulch
Selecting the right type of shrub
You need to determine which shrubs will provide the optimum privacy screen because hedge plants grow in different heights and widths. Decide first if the plant species you like is suitable for a formal garden, informal garden, or low-maintenance needs. Conduct prior research or visit a local plant nursery to find out how long the hedge plant you prefer will grow. Once you have narrowed down the options, you can now specify the type of shrub you will use in different areas of your house.
If you want privacy screening throughout the year, choose evergreen shrubs, which are available in a variety of plant species. Their rich foliage remains beautiful even if you perform regular pruning. But choose carefully the evergreen shrub that is suitable for your climate zone and soil composition. You can choose among juniper, boxwood, arborvitae, yew (bare root hedging plants), and photinia as your evergreen shrub.
If you love the appearance of blooming petals every spring and summer, consider planting deciduous plants. The bright green foliage of deciduous bushes seems noticeable during the growing months, but the foliage dries out by the cold season. Even if the plant foliage of flowering plants becomes loosened, deciduous plants can still provide protection and screening with the help of their thick branches. You can use lilacs, forsythia, weigela, rugosa, and quince as plant borders. In addition, be aware that some deciduous plants are invasive in nature, especially if you get them out of control, such as autumn olive, Japanese barberry, and burning bush.
Only consider shrubs that grow according to your desired height, so you can easily manage them. Boxwood, forsythia, and weigela all grow around three to five feet, which seem fine if you want a natural wall on the property. Meanwhile, shrubs like arborvitae, photinia, and juniper will grow up to 15 feet if left unpruned for many years. Find out the maximum growth sizes of each plant species you are interested in, or aim for the hedge height up to eye level so that you will not need a ladder to cut the upper branches.
Planting your hedge fence
After you decide where to place the new hedge, divide the length either by three or four feet to find out how many shrubs you will need. If possible, opt to buy pot-grown shrubs or wrapped bare roots rather than seeds to make it easier to position them at the planting site. Just buy the same type of shrubs to achieve a uniform appearance. But if you want to have variation, for instance, you want to plant two different species, find out the maximum height and width sizes of each shrub to get the number of shrubs to be used.
You can start by placing a mark where the shrubs will be planted. Measure the diameter and depth of the root ball of shrubs. Dig a trench two times wider and the same depth size of bare roots you have purchased using a typical shovel or trench digger. Start digging planting holes and set the excavated soil aside. Mix garden compost and manure, which you can buy from your local gardening shop. Mix one part compost, one part manure, and two parts excavated soil with a shovel them blend all components thoroughly.
Gently remove the soil from the pot-grown or burlac-wrapped young plants using either a hand cultivator or bare hands. Use hand gloves to prevent skin irritation while working. Be careful not to remove the soil in the root zone, or else the shrubs will be affected. Once the roots are partially exposed, plant them directly to the planting hole which you have dug earlier. Position the shrubs one at a time until the entire length of the site is covered.
Just follow the spacing requirement for the shrubs you prefer since larger plants expand further as they grow. Avoid positioning the shrubs too close to one another because they will likely compete with water and soil nutrients. Backfill the combined compost-manure-garden soil on the trunk of the shrubs to form an amount. Still, use a shovel and wheelbarrow to transport or pour the soil back into the trench.
Make sure the roots are well covered with soil to prevent early rotting. Water the shrubs until the soil becomes wet, especially in their root zone, using any typical watering canister or garden hose with a hand sprayer. Only use a garden hose and avoid using a pressure washer as it can damage the roots and soil composition. If you have a sprinkler system, you can use it to evenly distribute water throughout the hedges.
After you water the shrubs, you can cover the soil with a two-three-inch layer of mulch, which you can buy at your local gardening store between the shrubs. Use a garden rake to spread the mulch evenly between the plants. Mulch will help retain soil moisture and prevent weeds from developing underneath your shrubs.
How do you prepare the ground for a hedge?
Good soil preparation is by preparing the ground by digging over a strip 60-90cm (2-3ft) wide and one spit (or spade blade) deep;
Remove all perennial weeds, If a herbicide has not been used beforehand.
A permanent drainage system is required for soils that become waterlogged in winter. Alternatively, form the soil into a ridge about 15-20cm (6-8in) high and 50-70cm (20-28in) across to plant into
Don’t add organic matter to the surrounding soil at the bottom of the trench as it decomposes causing the shrub to sink.
How far apart do you plant a hedge?
Hedge plants should be about 18″ (45cm) apart with the recommended number of plants about 5-7 per metre if bare-root, or 4-5 if container-grown (pot grown plants).
Watering the hedges
Your hedges will need regular watering in the first year of planting. Always check if the soil is damped or saturated to make sure the hedges are growing healthily. Continuous watering is still required in their second year because the roots of the shrubs are still developing. Just let the hedges grow naturally until they reach the desired height you want before you consider pruning.
There are many benefits you can get from hedgerow planting. This does not only serves as a physical barrier for your property but also protection from wildlife invasion and destructive winds. But you can only enjoy the relaxing view of your hedge fence if you are able to plant it properly right from the start.