Preparation and Planting of Hedges
Selection of the correct hedging subject for your particular soil, location and visual need is only part of the story. Good hedges do not just happen, they originate from careful soil preparation and aftercare. Mark out the site of your hedge and then prepare an area one metre (one yard) wide for the entire length. If the soil is very heavy and prone to water-logging in the winter, then a tile drain or a trench filled with old brickbats 60 cm (2 ft) or so beneath the surface and leading to a soakaway should be invaluable. A hedge where plants are sitting in the wet will grow in an uneven fashion and be a constant source of irritation. If the soil is largely composed of sub-soil, as is the case on a recently vacated building site, then incorporate plenty of well-rotted manure, leaf mould or other organic matter. Remember that in the case of a boundary hedge this is the last opportunity of getting down into the soil to enrich it for probably the next forty or fifty years. Dig the designated area thoroughly, removing any perennial weeds, especially creeping weeds like bellbind which enjoy hedgerow conditions and are virtually impossible to eradicate, once well established. Allow the soil to weather, and then break it down into a reasonable tilth before planting.
Hedging subjects can now be planted at almost any time of the year as they are grown and sold in containers. It is generally a bad idea to try and establish a hedge during the summer as you will have all kinds of watering problems to contend with, apart from which the purchase of container grown hedging is inordinately expensive compared with that of bare rooted stock purchased during the dormant season. Deciduous hedging is best planted during the winter, but broadleaved evergreens and conifers should be left until the spring.
Select plants that are well furnished to the ground and go for the smaller sizes as these are more manageable and easier to get established. Large plants seem to provide an instant barrier, but unless you are exceptionally lucky they will tend to have naked lower parts and rarely fill out to make an impenetrable hedge. Plant between 30 cm and 50 cm (1 ft and 1 ft 8 in) apart depending upon the habit of the subject, where space allows in an alternate triangular fashion. Naturally the closer the plants are set the more quickly the hedge will become serviceable. If time is not a serious consideration a good hedge can be made much more economically by spacing plants further apart and feeding them well to encourage rapid growth. Once successfully established, a young hedge requires considerable attention if it is to be an object of beauty in future years. It is always a mistake to let plants grow tall too quickly. Encourage dense bottom growth by keeping them low initially, otherwise they become top-heavy and unwieldy and can only be rectified by drastic pruning.
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