Thinking About Planting a Hedge?

Planting a hedge can be a very good idea but as is usual, it depends.

The Positives of Planting a Hedge

It can give you and others many benefits but living things need looking after, just ask your partner. A hedge takes money to set up, time to establish and regular cutting to keep it looking right. Coincidentally that sounds a lot like falling in love with someone that has short hair.

Hedge benefits include:

Privacy and screening
Shelter from wind
Wildlife value e.g. bird nesting sites
Softer, greener boundaries
Noise and dust reduction
Seasonal interest
Extra security if thorny
Long-lasting boundary option
Fruit harvest e.g. nuts and berries
Some support garden pollination insects

It is not usually a place to gamble i.e. where you go to hedge your bets or a place to be indecisive i.e. to beat around the bush but you could if you wanted.

What are the drawbacks of planting a hedge?

Commitment is the usual short answer to that. Once it is in, it becomes part of your regular garden workload. Young hedges need watering in dry spells, weed control around the base and pruning early on to help them thicken up properly. If you have a deer or rabbit problem, they may also need protecting.

Young hedges do not give instant results and can look thin, patchy and a bit underwhelming at first. Plant losses are more likely while plants are establishing, so you may have to replace a few. In exposed spots, wind can slow growth.

Established hedges still need trimming to keep the shape under control. Some are fairly forgiving. Others, especially vigorous conifers, will punish neglect quickly by getting too wide or too tall and becoming difficult to bring back neatly. There is also the simple fact that hedges take up space. A narrow boundary strip may not suit one at all.

How much does a hedge cost to plant?

This depends on the hedge species, plant type, size, quantity, spacing and whether you do the work yourself. It can range from fairly cheap to surprisingly expensive. The biggest cost drivers are usually:

The type of hedge plant you buy
The size of plant you buy
How many metres you are planting
Whether you plant single or double row
Whether extra materials are needed, such as compost, mulch matting, guards or stakes

In general, bare root plants are usually the cheapest starting point, rootballed tend to cost more, and larger potted plants can cost much more again. Cell-grown hedge plants are often sold as a mid-point option: dearer than bare root, usually cheaper than larger pot-grown stock, and available for a longer planting season.

Bare Root Hedge Plants

Comparison of bare root, rootball and pot grown hedge plants

Bare root hedge plants are usually the cheapest way to plant a hedge and are often the best value when planting longer runs. They are field-grown, lifted while dormant and sold without pots or soil around the roots. That keeps costs down, but it also means they need to be planted in the dormant season and handled properly so the roots do not dry out.

Rootball Hedge Plants

Rootball plants are usually used for evergreens such as yew, holly or laurel when a bigger plant is wanted. They are lifted from the field with a ball of soil around the roots, wrapped to hold it together, and tend to cost more because they are heavier and more labour-intensive to produce and move.

Potted Hedge Plants

Potted hedge plants are grown in containers and can usually be planted for more of the year, provided the ground is workable and watering is managed properly. They are convenient and often look more substantial at the point of purchase, but they are usually dearer than bare root stock, especially in larger sizes.

Cell Grown

Cell-grown hedge plants are raised in modular trays so each plant develops its own root plug. They are often a useful middle ground: cleaner and easier to handle than bare root, generally cheaper and smaller than larger potted plants, and available for a longer planting window. They still need watering and aftercare, but they can be a very practical option if you want decent establishment without paying for large pot-grown stock.

Additional Hedge Costs

Plants are only part of the bill. Depending on site conditions, you may also need:

Weed control materials
Organic matter or soil improver
Rabbit or deer protection
Mulch
Stakes or supports in some situations
Replacement plants for failures

Weeds

Weed competition is one of the most common reasons young hedges fail to get away well. Weeds steal moisture, light and nutrients, especially during the first couple of growing seasons. That means some kind of weed control is often worth budgeting for, whether that is manual clearance, mulch or another method suited to the site.

Soil Improver

Not every site needs it, but poor soils often benefit from added organic matter. That can improve structure, help moisture retention on light soils and aid establishment. It is not a magic fix for every soil problem, but it can help if the ground is tired, hungry or difficult.

Animal Protection

If rabbits, deer or similar are a problem where you are planting, protection can be essential rather than optional. Browsing can ruin young plants quickly and repeated damage can leave a hedge patchy for years. Guards, shelters or fencing can add a real extra cost, but on some sites they are cheaper than replacing the hedge repeatedly.

Single or Double Row Hedge Planting

Most garden hedges are planted in a single row, which is usually cheaper, takes up less space and uses fewer plants. A double staggered row costs more because you need more plants and more width, but it can be the better choice if you want a thicker, denser hedge faster, especially for better screening, a stronger wildlife hedge or a more traditional stock-style boundary. In simple terms, single line is the leaner option, double line is the fuller option.

Hedge plants good for single row planting are:

Leylandii (× Cuprocyparis leylandii)
Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)
Portugal laurel (Prunus lusitanica)
Yew (Taxus baccata)
Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium / Ligustrum vulgare)
Beech (Fagus sylvatica)
Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)
Holly (Ilex aquifolium)

Choosing Which Type of Hedge Plant

The species you choose can make a big difference to cost. Fast-growing, widely produced hedges such as Leylandii, privet and western red cedar are usually among the cheaper options, especially in smaller sizes, because growers can raise them quickly and in large numbers. Beech, hornbeam and laurel often sit somewhere in the middle, while slower-growing or more specialist hedges such as yew, holly, box and Portuguese laurel are usually dearer. In simple terms, the slower a hedge grows, the longer it takes to produce a saleable plant, and the more you normally pay.

Work Required For a Hedge

Illustration about hedge maintenance and work required

How much work is involved in planting a hedge?

More than many first-time gardeners expect, but not ridiculous.

The physical work is mostly at the start: clearing the line, removing weeds, improving the soil where needed, setting out the spacing, planting properly and watering in well.

After that, the first couple of years matter most. This is the stage where neglect shows. Weeds stealing moisture, missed watering in dry spells, or no formative trimming can leave you with a hedge that is thinner and patchier than it should have been.

How much maintenance does a hedge need each year?

Enough that you should think about it before you plant.

A hedge usually needs:

Some pruning after planting to encourage dense growth
Regular trimming once established
Watering in prolonged dry spells while young
Occasional feeding or mulching if growth is weak
Basic checking for gaps, damage or poor shape

How often depends on the hedge and where it is. A neat formal hedge near a path or drive may need more frequent cutting than a looser wildlife-style hedge. Some hedges can be cut less often, but if you leave things too long, the job gets bigger and the result is usually worse.

How much space will a hedge take up?

Illustration about hedge spacing requirements

For a single row hedge, a reasonable average width would be around 60 cm and for a double staggered row around 90 cm. If you have a Leylandii hedge that has not been pruned for a couple of years, that number goes out of the window. The problem you then have is that it needs cutting back harder and if too hard, it will take a long time to recover leaving you with big gaps.

What Are The Biggest Threats to A Hedge?

Illustration showing major threats to a hedge

The biggest threats to a hedge are usually drought, waterlogging, poor establishment, animal damage, bad pruning, weeds when young, and pests or diseases. In many gardens the biggest day-to-day threats are poor planting, lack of watering, and neglect early on.

Is planting a hedge the right choice for you?

A hedge can be a very good choice if you establish early on what job you want it to do and source the correct hedge plants for the job. That will inform you what the long-term maintenance requirements and issues are. If you are somewhere between ambivalent and doing cartwheels around the garden then it is a good choice for you.

Thinking of Hedge Plants