Quick Facts...
- Planting stock for hedges should be thrifty, healthy and
uniform.
- Young trees or shrubs are preferable for hedge planting.
Early spring planting is best for hedges in the Rocky
Mountain region.
- Careful pruning is necessary to produce desired shape and
density.
- Properly pruned hedges should be slightly narrower at top
than bottom to prevent shading out of lower branches.
Selection
Base the choice of planting stock on the health and
thriftiness of plants. Stock should be free from insects and
disease.
Some dealers may offer special hedge materials at bargain
prices, but such plants often are stunted and culled from regular
nursery stock. Though they may be inexpensive, they are a poor
investment.
Use only normal, well-grown plants for hedges. They should
be of similar size, shape, root development and foliage color,
because their uniformity influences the appearance of the
ultimate hedge to a considerable extent.
Planting young trees or shrubs usually is preferable to
using older stock. In planting a deciduous hedge, select one-year-old seedlings or cuttings. These are available as dormant,
bare-root material in early spring. For an evergreen hedge, it is
best to use container-grown or balled and burlapped stock.
Planting
Early spring planting is preferable to fall planting in the
Rocky Mountain region.
Planning for plant spread is the first step in planting. Do
not place young plants too close to a wall, walk or driveway that
doesn't allow space for spreading. The spread of a hedge will
depend on the species used. Unclipped hedges (informal) require
more space than those that are sheared for formal effects. The
average hedge 3 to 5 feet high will be 3 to 5 feet wide. This
means the plants for such a hedge should be set 18 to 24 inches
from a property line, wall, driveway or walk.
Digging a trench of adequate size and desired length is the
next step in planting. After deciding the proper location of the
hedge, prepare a trench deep enough to accept the root system for
the plants and long enough to place them all at the same time.
Spacing of plants also will depend on the species used. Set dwarf plants,
such as the dwarf arctic willow, about 6 inches apart. Space plants for
medium height hedges, such as privet or forsythia, about 12 inches apart.
Plants for hedges composed of tree species usually are spaced 18 to 30
inches apart.
Complete each step of the planting procedure at one time.
After digging the entire trench, line out the young plants at the
proper spacing and quickly backfill the trench with soil so that
the roots will not dry out. Then water the plants well and prune.
Pruning
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Figure 1: A) The proper way to shape a hedge (end view). B) Other
shapes that can be used that will still result in dense foliage
all the way to the ground line.
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Figure 2: A) A hedge improperly shaped (end view). The wider top
has shaded out foliage at the base, resulting in a "leggy" look.
B) Other shapes in common use that result in a thin, leggy hedge.
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Prune back after planting according to the amount of
branching of the planting stock. Prune very small, unbranched
stock to within three or four inches of the ground. Prune
moderately branched, larger material 10 to 12 inches from the
ground, and well-branched stock 18 to 24 inches from the ground.
More or less pruning may be necessary depending on the condition
of the original stock.
Pruning to train the hedge during early development is
important to its future shape and density.
After planting and pruning back, allow plants to develop new
growth until about the end of June. Then cut back the growth
again by removing approximately two-thirds of it in order to
force plants to develop more side branches. Depending on the
vigor and species of the plants used, a third and even a fourth
pruning can be done before frost.
When the plants begin to form a dense hedge, shape the hedge
so that it is narrower at the top than at the bottom (see Figure
1). This treatment allows more light to penetrate the lower
branches, thus reducing the amount of "legginess" that can result
when lower branches are shaded by upper ones (see Figure 2).
Shear hedges that are oriented in an east-west direction so
that the side facing north is sloped more than the side facing
south. This allows more light to penetrate the shaded north side
and results in a more uniform appearing hedge.
Periodic pruning needed by the hedge plants, once they have
been trained into a hedge, will depend upon the type of hedge,
whether it is to be formal or informal and its ultimate size.
Informal hedges require less frequent pruning, but branches
growing in an undesirable direction may need to be removed
occasionally. Also, periodic pruning might be necessary to
encourage dense, screening growth.
Shear vigorous plants, such as privet and arctic willow, several times during
the growing season if they are to be maintained as a formal hedge.
Pest Control
Attacks by insects or disease can be severe and result in open places in the
hedge.
Immediately treat insect pests, particularly aphids and
infestations of spider mites, with appropriate pesticides. (For
more information see fact sheet 5.507, Spider mites, and 5.511, Aphids on shade trees and ornamentals.)
Foliage diseases, such as mildew or leaf spot, generally are
not serious if preventive fungicides are applied during the
growing season. Disease of the main trunk in hedges, such as the
numerous types of canker diseases, usually are more difficult to
control. They often necessitate removing portions of a hedge and
replanting with healthy material.
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