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Go to Work
on a Hedge
17 September
2003
There are hedges suitable for shelter and screening,
for demarkation and as a barrier. They are available
as deciduous or evergreen plants, with flower
and berries and a range of leaf colours including
red, silver and
variegated.
Some hedges need more maintenance than others
but there are no short cuts when it comes to
good planting.
Container grown shrubs are available for planting
at any time of the year. Bare root plants such
as thorn quicks, rose, beech and laurel are
only sold from the end of October until March.
A hedge is a permanent feature and deserves
a well prepared, deeply cultivated soil. This
should be free of perennial weeds such as thistle,
dock, nettle and convolvulus. Adding well rotted
farmyard manure will help retain moisture. Plant
at the same depth as previously grown. Firm
the soil with your foot and water to settle
the soil round the roots. A surface mulch of
bark will deter weeds and conserve moisture.
 After
planting reduce the height of the plants by
one third to encourage them to thicken up by
branching close to the base. Some varieties
of shrub such as escallonia, forsythia and berberis
can be pruned on a regular basis to keep them
within bounds. Roses, including Rosa rugosa
and R.canina, may be hard pruned as necessary
to rejuvenate the plant and encourage extra
flower.
Avoid clipping hedges into shape until nesting
birds have reared their young. Don’t
cut late in the season as the cover will be
sparse allowing frost to penetrate and kill
young growths.
Feeding high potash fertilizer in autumn will
harden late growth. Gaps at the base of the
hedge can be infilled with young plants. Water
on a regular basis for the first season.
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