Hedges
Do you desire privacy or a little extra security “Fencing”? Growing a hedge could be your solution.
Generally, evergreen and deciduous shrubs are used but the possibilities are pretty endless to create a “living wall” by planting the correct varieties you can have a fast growing, low maintenance, hardy hedge in no time.
Tips and Tools
- Space hedging shrubs 12 to 18 inches apart, specimens should be spaced further at about feet apart.
- Suggested tools: hedge shears, pruning shears, hedge trimmer.
- Hedge shears are good for smaller hedges; for large hedges electric hedge trimmers will do the trick, assuming they are sharp and well lubricated.
- Hedge trimmer tip: Use a wide, sweeping motion and work from the bottom up so the cut foliage falls away.
- Cutting straight edges with the naked eye is difficult; stakes and a level string can be a guide for vertical lines.
- Shaping? Cut a template from cardboard or plywood and cut following the line of the template.
Formal Hedge
- Adds unique designs to a garden.
- Cut back all stems by one-third after planting (repeat the same time the following year)
- Need regular clipping and pruning, potentially every 6-8 weeks (May-September), to maintain the desired shape.
- Trim side branches and allow it to taper toward the top.
- Use to create boundaries, structure, division, and edges formative pruning: the process of shaping a tree when it is young.
Informal Hedge
- Provide privacy, block unwanted views, and divide spaces.
- Low maintenance.
- Pruning required to restrict height and width.
- Can provide fruit and flower.
- Prune flowering hedges once in spring, as they will still be able to produce flowers that year.
- Do not trim conifer hedges after August it can encourage bare patches to develop.