HEDGING
HEDGING
When planning a new garden there is nothing quite as urgent as backyard privacy. Whether you need to screen the neighbours or take the edge off a chilling wind, a leafy wall of native foliage is a very attractive solution. Evergreen shrubs reduce noise and provide a screen all year long while deciduous trees offer spring flowers and autumn colours and shade in summer, but do not provide all year privacy. Hedges can also divide your garden into sections (rooms) to provide structure and flow to different areas of your garden.
Planting:
Autumn is an ideal time to plant new hedges.
First decide what height/width hedge you are after. Measure the length of the space you wish to hedge and calculate how many plants you need. The distance between plants should be less than the mature width of the plant so they intertwine. Map out area with stakes and a string line to get straight rows. Purchase vigorous young plants of an even grade. Dig holes 35cm deep. Place a handful of sheep pellets in the bottom to boost plants. Add compost. Remove from pot, tease the roots and place in hole. Backfill with soil/garden mix then press around base of plant. Water well and add a layer of mulch.
Care:
In mid-late spring, once the newly planted hedge has had its first flush of new growth, cut it back by a third. Early pruning is important to encourage thick, even growth. Most hedges require clipping twice annually - in spring and again in late summer. Avoid pruning too heavily in autumn, as the fresh growth will be susceptible to frost damage. Shaping hedges so that they are slightly narrower at the top to encourage leaf growth all the way to the base, means more light reaches lower branches. Water well during dry periods and feed hedges in spring with Tui Mulch’n’Feed a controlled release fertiliser.
Depending on your region and your chosen variety of hedging there are a variety of pest and disease that could affect your plant. If you are unsure of the problem, bring a sample into the California Garden Centre and consult our green staff.
Examples of Hedging:
The requirements of the screen will determine your choice of hedge plant. How tall/wide do you want? What are the weather/soil conditions? Should it be evergreen or deciduous? Fast/slow growing. Decorative?
Here are some suggestions:
Fast growing: Bamboo
Fragrant: Fairy Magnolia
Sound proofing: Michelia Figo
Fruiting/flowering: Feijoa
Colourful: Eugenia Ventenatii (Weeping Lilly Pilly)
Hardy/coastal tolerant: Griselinia
Tall fast windbreak: Pittosporum Crassifolium
Native: Corokia
Decorative: Photinia Red Robin, Teucrium Fruticans
Short: Westringa Grey Box, Buxus