Hedging Your Bets

Bamboo can be a nice hedge, but it can get away from you.

I have just had a fascinating conversation about what hedge plant would suit a dressage arena, to block wind, noise & to form a nice barrier for the young horse, as there was no fencing. So I thought I would look into this hedge growing business. Hedges are grown for many reasons :- wind break, edging of gardens, landscaping, shelter, privacy ("look I'm in the nyuuuude"), bringing uniformity to a garden, creating areas or nooks.

A well formed hedge is a row of closely planted , dense shrubs that create a green wall either along a boundary or within a garden. There are so many different hedges you can grow & they do become an important part of the garden.

It os pretty easy to grow a hedge. The hardest part is deciding on What to plant, what your needs are, what your soil is like, climate, & watering needs.

A Stepped  Hedge, using different colours

Hedge basics

To grow a rewarding, long-lasting hedge, follow these simple tips:

• Plant a named variety.
• Space plants at uniform distances apart.
• Include a watering system when planting and regularly check drippers for blockages to avoid individual plants drying out.
• Begin shaping hedges from when they are small, clipping the top and sides.
• Apply mulch to deter weeds.
• Fertilise after pruning to encourage strong new growth.

Camelia hedge, adds flowers, colour & plenty of mess.

Day 1 : make sure soil is well drained & prepared. Placing in a drip system at the same time would be wise. Place plants evenly, & water in well, giving them a dose of seaweed meal too, to combat root shock (or worm wee). Give the plants a tip prune. You need to train your hedge, just like a climber., as you want the plant to bush up from the bottom.

After Day 1: fertilize the plants a month later. Not in Winter, as the plants are dormant. Make sure you use the right fertilizer ie: Lillypillies are native, so need a native fertilizer, camelias & murayas are acid lovers, so needs an appropriate fertlizer to suit. Bush up your plants by tip pruning every 2-3 months in the growing season. Feed monthly.

Once Hedge Has Grown: Keep pruning til you have the desired effect. try to angle the sides, narrower up the top, broader down the bottom, to encourage sunlight to those lower branches.

Stepped Hedge, Box & Lavender

Muraya

Photinia - Firey Red

Grevilleas, bird attracting, likes clay

Common Hedge Plants
Box, Lilly Pilly, Murraya, Photinia, Viburnum

Not So Common
Abelia, Agapantha, Bamboo, Camelia, Duranta, Gardenia, Hibiscus, Pittosporum, Plumbago, Westringia, Azalea, Bottlebrush, Conifer, Lavender, Metrosideros, Nandina



Box: Buxus is the most common box hedge plant, as it is small leafed & can form a tight, formal hedge. More decorative than functional & Slow growing.

Lillypilly: if you want native, you will have to look at the Lillypilly from 1m to 10 m, they have a variety to suit ie: Goodbye Neighbours (Acmena Smithii). The foliage ranges from green to copper & cherry red. make sure you get a psyllid free variety (nasty pest). Acmeda species are more psyllid resistant, make sure you ask at your nursery.

Pittosporum: A popular choice for many gardeners, & there are so many varieties, from long leaf variegated, to small dense growing plants like the most popular Sterling. However, it must be done right (see above) Below is a picture of a hedge that was not pruned early enough, & has more gaps than my teeth. The saying goes "prune early, prune often".

Pruning early is essential. This one has been left to grow too leggy.