How to plant a hedge this autumn: a simple step-by-step guide
Shwmae, everyone!
A hedge is one of the best things you can plant. It gives you privacy and shelter from the wind (something we know all about in Wales!), and it's a home and larder for birds and insects. Autumn is the perfect time to plant one, because the soil is still warm and the autumn rain does the watering for you. Here's how.
1. Choose your plants
Think about the look you want. For a neat, evergreen hedge, Euonymus 'Green Spire' is a lovely low-maintenance alternative to box. For year-round green with berries, try holly. For winter colour, the red stems of Cornus alba 'Sibirica' are hard to beat, and it comes in a five-plant hedging pack. A mix of plants makes a fantastic informal wildlife hedge. Browse all our hedging plants.
2. Work out the spacing
As a general guide, allow about three plants per metre for a single row. For a thicker hedge, plant a double, staggered row with about five plants per metre. Mark the line with string so it stays straight.
3. Prepare the ground
Clear away grass and weeds along a strip about 60cm wide, then dig it over. Mix in plenty of peat-free compost or well-rotted organic matter to give the roots a good start. Avoid planting when the ground is frozen or waterlogged.
4. Plant
Give your pots a good soak first. Dig each hole a little wider than the pot, tease out any circling roots, and plant at the same depth the plant sat in its pot. Firm the soil gently around the roots with your hands or heel.
5. Water and mulch
Water well after planting, even if it's been raining. Then spread a thick layer of mulch, such as leaf mould or homemade compost, along the row. It keeps weeds down and holds in moisture.
6. Aftercare
Keep the base weed-free for the first couple of years and water during dry spells, especially next spring and summer. With leafy deciduous hedges, a light trim after planting encourages bushy growth from the base. With evergreens, just tidy any stray shoots. After that, a trim once or twice a year keeps everything neat. Please check for nesting birds before trimming in spring and summer.
Grown in Wales
All our hedging plants are grown peat-free, without pesticides, at our nursery in Wenvoe, and shipped in recycled plastic pots.
Until next time, happy gardening!
Garden City Cymru