Aftercare For A Newly Planted Hedge
There are really only a few crucially important things to do to ensure the success of your new hedge
Watering a new hedge
The first is watering and we cannot stress this enough. If you possibly can, you should water thoroughly and frequently from early Spring, when the plants need a huge amount of energy to put on the spring growth of their roots, leaves and flowers, and throughout at least the first summer. Normal summer rainfall is not enough to establish new plants. After that the plants will be reasonably well established and you will only need to water if there is a prolonged dry spell. Please water a wide area around each plant - arid soil is not conducive to root growth. After flooding the area around the plant, then apply water slowly so that the soil absorbs a large quantity of water. If there is a dry spell in autumn/winter, you should water again. Watering can be reduced in the 2nd year but is still important in dry spells.
Keep the hedge weed free
The second crucial factor in establishing new hedging plants is to keep the area to both sides of the hedge, or all around the trees, free of weeds and ideally you should keep the area weed free for 2 – 3 years. After that, the hedge itself will suppress weeds. Once you have weeded (by hand weeding or very carefully using a herbicide) you can suppress weeds with a mulch of bark chippings or compost or mulch mats. Mulching also conserves water so there’s a double benefit. Make sure that the mulch does not touch the stem and always water thoroughly before mulching.
Some species suffer from mildew in warm, damp weather, which is a grey mould. It’s not harmful to the plant and because it’s the deciduous species that suffer (mostly Hawthorn), we advise just leaving it and it’ll disappear of its own accord when the leaves fall off in autumn.
We do not give advice on which products to use if hedging plants or trees develop any other diseases because we cannot inspect the plant or the surroundings ourselves and it’s often very difficult to tell what’s wrong from photographs. There is plentiful advice on the internet – try searching for “plant pests and diseases” and then the name of the species.
Trimming a new hedge
Trimming should be done when there is no risk to birds’ nests. It is an offence under Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 to intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built, or to intentionally kill, injure or take chicks or adults, or intentionally take or destroy any eggs. If the hedging species have fruits on them, then you should not cut until late winter or even early spring – this is so that birds and small mammals can benefit from the fruits at a time of year when other food might be in short supply.
Additional hedge buying, storing and planting advice from Hedge Nursery ...
Buying a Hedge for the First Time
How to Plant Bare Root Hedge Plants