'Willpower & sheer idiocy combine in harmony'
Establish boundaries when plants are dormant; cut in May & August
BETWEEN late autumn and the end of winter is the perfect time for planting a new hedge - when the plants are dormant.
Even though it takes time (and effort) for one to reach maturity, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
I inherited a beech and hawthorn hedge. While the hawthorn does increase the biodiversity, it also grows a lot faster than beech – and it’s prickly.
Cutting
As our garden faces a path, we have to keep on top of the cutting. Since it’s about nine feet high in places, this is not easy.
The first cut usually happens in May, when the old beech leaves, some of which stay on the plants during winter, finally get pushed off by new growth.
It’s a two-person job involving electric shears and stepladders on a slope. Although we do this, we’ve bitten the bullet and get a professional hedge cutter in for the second cut in August, when it has virtually stopped growing.
This keeps it neat and tidy thoughout winter and his expertise means the growth has thickened up at the base, leading to a much better shape.
Go native with hedges for wildlife
Hedge your bets
PRICE-WISE, your best bet is to go to a hedge specialist, where you can buy your chosen plants in bulk - even a mix of native species.
For a stronger hedge, especially if you want it to act as a windbreak, make two staggered rows that will knit together to form a dense thicket.
Avoid Leylandii conifers at all cost. They may be cheap, but their growth is ridiculous.
I have a neighbour who put in a hedge about 10 years ago - it's now almost up to his two-storey roof - and that's with professional cutting.
Asymmetric (and evergreen) yew hedge at RHS Harlow Carr; beech changing colour in late October.
BEECH is a lovely background, with fresh green leaves in spring, slowly darkening during summer to turn yellow, orange and copper in autumn. The dry, brown leaves stay on during winter, providing privacy.
It’s also great to grow other shrubs into it. My favourite combinations are with Fatsia japonica, variegated Weigela and Cotinus, the purple-leaved smoke bush.
The hedge is home to a variety of birdlife – blackbirds, robins and a host of sparrows.
A word of warning – hedges cast shade and sap the soil. It sounds obvious, but bear this in mind when you consider what you are planting next to it.
November colours in beech hedge with holly Silver Queen.
Beautiful beech
1. DECIDUOUS plants (beech, hawthorn, hornbeam) can be planted from mid-autumn to late winter; evergreens (box, yew) are best planted in early autumn, but you can get away with the same time as long as plants are dormant.
2. Avoid privet and Leylandii - they are rampant growers and will impoverish your soil.
3. Cheapest to buy are bare-root plants. Some evergreens come root-wrapped, where the rootball is held together with soil in a fabric case - remove before planting.
4. Easiest to establish are whips, about 60cm high, planted closely so form a thick hedge.
5. Delay planting until soil is workable - do not plant if frozen or waterlogged.
6. If conditions are unsuitable, keep plants in a frost-free place. Cover their roots with moist potting compost and plastic sheeting.
7. To plant, dig over a strip 60-90cm wide and one spade blade deep. Remove weeds. Add garden compost, mixing it into top 25cm.
8. Plant 30-60cm apart. For hedges thicker than 90cm, plant a staggered double row 45cm apart, with plants 90cm apart.
9. Spread out the roots and plant up to the previous soil mark on the stem. Firm plants and water. Mulch to a depth of 7.5cm.
10. Aftercare: ensure plants are well-watered for the next two years. Top-dress in spring with Growmore at 70g per sqm.
Perfect hedge top tips
ALL it takes is a busy couple of years and a hedge can get out of control. This has happened to our beech/hawthorn mix - we now hire a professional tree surgeon to give the top and outside its final cut of the season to keep it in check.
However, this still leaves the inside, which has cut off light and cultivation space.
It's an old hedge, packed with dead wood, infested with coral spot. With this in mind, I was determined to renovate it this winter. I'm doing it by hand, bit by bit, as it's so intertwined with other plants.
There's no legal maximum height for a hedge, but if yours is evergreen and more than two metres tall, your neighbours could be able to claim it is affecting their right to the reasonable enjoyment of their property.
Heavy renovation can take place only in midwinter for deciduous hedges such as hornbeams, hawthorns and beech, mid-spring for evergreens such as holly, Lonicera nitida, yew, box and laurel.
If you want a major cutback, spread work over three years; a year for each side and one for the top, because a growing season is needed for recovery - and it will look ugly.
Beech, box, hawthorn, holly, hornbeam, Lonicera nitida and yew respond well and can all be reduced by as much as 50 per cent in height and width in a single cut.
Check that there are no nesting birds, as it is an offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 to damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built.
DECIDUOUS HEDGE: 3-YEAR GUIDE
Year 1: Cut back the width on one side to at least 15cm (6in) less than desired. Make sure the side tapers from a thinner top to bottom. Trim the other side of the hedge as usual and leave the height unaltered. Mulch and feed in spring, water well in dry spells.
Year 2: Cut back the other side, but leave the height the same. Mulch, feed and water as before.
Year 3: Cut the height to at least 15cm (6in) below the level you want, harder where growth is patchy. Mulch, feed and water as before.
RENOVATING EVERGREENS
CUT evergreen hedges in mid-spring, as they respond better in active growth.
Most conifers (apart from yew) do not respond well to renovation, as they do not re-shoot from old wood - they need regular light trimming.
If your Cupressus, Chamaecyparis and × Cuprocyparis leylandii (Leyland cypress) hedge has become too big, here's what you can do:
Reduce the height by up to one-third in April by thinning out side branches right back to the trunk. Mulch and feed to encourage vigorous re-growth.
Beware: hedges reduced in height by more than a third may stay flat and bare at the top.
Where bare patches have developed in conifer hedges, try to tie in a new branch to cover it.
Hedge restoration
Cutting back one side of the beech hedge in January - before and after.
Jobs at a glance:
hedge renovation
WHEN: midwinter (deciduous); mid-spring (evergreen).
TOOLS REQUIRED: electric/petrol/eco battery hedge cutters, loppers, secateurs, pruning saw, ladders (and someone to hold them). If you live on a slope or the job is massive, consider hiring a professional.
DIFFICULTY: Easy to impossible, depending on how overgrown the hedge is, and how decrepit you are.
