A well-cared for hedge can be a real asset in your garden. Whether you're looking to establish boundaries, improve security or encourage more wildlife, there's a hedging plant for every purpose. Hedges can be bought as bare root, root wrapped or potted plants, but they're all planted using the same basic principles. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about planting and growing a healthy hedge.
Deciding whether to buy bareroot hedging plants or potted plants can be a difficult choice. Here’s a quick summary of each:
Open your hedge plants as soon as they arrive. If you’ve ordered bareroots, stand them in a bucket of water to soak for an hour. If they’re potted or root-wrapped plants, water them thoroughly.
If you can't plant them out immediately, ‘heel’ the bareroot plants into a temporary location, or plunge the roots into a large trug of damp soil to stop them drying out. As long as you move them to a frost-free position where the vulnerable roots are protected from the cold, they can be kept like this for a few weeks.
Potted plants can simply be watered and stood in a sheltered spot outdoors.
It's a good idea to prepare your soil in advance to allow it to settle before planting. You'll need to clear a 90cm (3') wide strip of grass and weeds. Dig over the soil to a spade’s depth to break it up, and mix in some well-rotted manure or garden compost, if you have any available.
When you’re ready to plant, use a string line to mark out a straight boundary. Remove the soil to around a spade's depth to form a trench along this line. Lay your plants out at evenly spaced intervals along the trench. The planting distances will vary depending on the species and the density you require. For example, Beech can be planted 30-45cm apart to create a dense hedge, whereas Leyland Cypress will need a wider spacing of up to 75cm (30in). Save time by cutting a cane to the required planting distance to avoid measuring between each plant.
You can plant hedges in a single row to create a simple hedge - but for a denser screen that gives better privacy, you may prefer to plant your hedge in two staggered rows.
Once you’re happy with the spacing, simply spread out the roots in the trench and backfill the soil around them. Do this quickly so the pre-soaked roots don’t dry out. Check the base of the stem for a soil mark which indicates how deeply they were previously planted and be sure to plant them at the same depth. Then firm them in with your boot to remove any air pockets.
Root-wrapped and potted plants can be planted in a similar way. There's no need to remove the hessian wrappings as they’re biodegradable and will rot down as the plant establishes.
Once you’ve planted the entire row, trim your plants to the same height and rake the soil around the base of the plants to give you a nice finish. Finally, water them well to settle the soil and get them off to a great start.
We hope this has given you all the information you need to successfully plant your new hedge. For more advice, take a look at our hedges and trees hub page where you'll find growing guides, top tips and inspiration.