How do I plant a new hedge?

Bare-root versus pot-grown, spacing that gives a dense hedge rather than a row of shrubs, and the first-year watering that decides whether it works.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 5 hr
Read: 5 min

Short answer

Plant bare-root whips between November and March — they are a fraction of the cost of pot-grown and establish better. Space most hedging at three to five plants per metre in a single or staggered double row, plant to the same depth they grew at, mulch, and water through the first two summers.

A hedge is a row of plants trained to behave as one, and almost everything that goes wrong comes from treating it as a row of individual shrubs. Spacing, uniform soil preparation along the whole trench, and consistent watering matter more than the individual planting technique, because the hedge is only as good as its weakest metre.

What you'll need

Hedging plants
A spade
Garden compost or well-rotted manure
Mulch
Rabbit guards or spirals (optional)
String line and canes
Watering can or hose

Step by step

Check where the boundary actually is before you plant.A hedge planted on the line becomes a shared problem. Planting it entirely within your own land, set back from the boundary by enough to maintain both sides, avoids a decade of arguments. Check the deeds if you are unsure.
Choose bare-root if the season allows.Bare-root whips are available roughly November to March, cost a fraction of pot-grown plants, establish faster because the roots are not circling in a pot, and are far easier to plant in quantity. There is no good reason to buy pot-grown hedging in January.
Prepare a trench, not individual holes.Dig a trench along the line, at least 600mm wide, loosening the base. Uniform soil along the whole run is what gives a uniform hedge, and it is the step most people skip.
Improve the soil moderately.Fork compost or well-rotted manure into the base and the backfill. Do not create a rich pocket the roots refuse to leave, and do not add fertiliser to bare-root plants at planting.
Set the spacing by species and by how fast you want it.As a general guide, three plants per metre in a single row for most hedging, or five per metre in a staggered double row 300 to 400mm apart for a denser, faster hedge. Larger species such as laurel and beech grown as a big hedge go wider, at two to three per metre.
Plant to the same depth the plant grew at.Look for the soil mark on the stem of a bare-root plant. Too deep rots the stem; too shallow dries the roots out. Firm gently with your heel and check the line as you go.
Mulch generously and keep it off the stems.50 to 75mm of bark, compost or wood chip along the whole run, kept a hand's width clear of each stem. Mulch suppresses the grass and weeds that would otherwise out-compete a new hedge for water, which is the biggest single cause of poor establishment.
Protect against rabbits and deer if you have them.Spiral guards for rabbits, taller tubes or a fence for deer. One night of rabbit browsing can undo a whole planting, and it is much cheaper to prevent.
Water through the first two summers, generously and infrequently.A good soak once a week in dry spells beats a daily sprinkle, which encourages shallow roots. New hedges die of drought in their second summer far more often than in their first, because people stop watering after year one.
Cut back at planting for a dense base.Most deciduous hedging benefits from being cut back by around a third at planting, and hawthorn and blackthorn by more. It feels wrong and it is the difference between a hedge that is thick at the bottom and one that is bare there forever.

Tips

Buy from a hedging nursery rather than a garden centre. The plants are better graded, far cheaper in quantity, and supplied at the right size to establish.
A mixed native hedge — hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, field maple, dog rose, holly — costs the same as a single-species one, supports vastly more wildlife, and looks better in a rural setting.
Order early. Good bare-root hedging sells out by midwinter.

Common mistakes

Planting pot-grown in summer to get going faster — Summer-planted hedging needs constant watering for months and often fails anyway. Bare-root in the dormant season is cheaper, easier and more reliable.
Digging individual holes rather than a trench — It produces uneven growth along the run, and the hedge is judged by its weakest section.
Planting on the boundary line — You cannot then maintain the far side without going onto a neighbour's land, and every future dispute starts there.
Not cutting back at planting — Unpruned whips grow upwards and leave a permanently bare base. The initial cut is what makes them branch low.
Stopping watering after the first summer — Roots take two to three years to reach beyond the planting trench. Year two is when most losses actually happen.

If it doesn't work

Patchy growth along the run

Cause: Uneven soil preparation or uneven watering — Fix: Improve and mulch the weak sections, water them preferentially, and replace failed plants in the next dormant season.

Bare at the base after two years

Cause: Not cut back at planting, or growing too fast upwards — Fix: Cut the leaders back hard in the dormant season to force low branching. It costs a year of height and gains a permanent base.

Plants dead by the second summer

Cause: Drought — watering stopped too early — Fix: Replace in the dormant season, mulch heavily and commit to two full summers of watering.

Stems chewed at 300 to 500mm

Cause: Rabbits or deer — Fix: Fit guards immediately. Damaged plants often reshoot from the base if protected.

Questions people ask

When is the best time to plant a hedge?

November to March, using bare-root plants, with the earlier part of that window the best because the soil is still warm and roots begin to establish before spring. Avoid planting into frozen or waterlogged ground.

How many plants per metre?

Three per metre in a single row suits most hedging species. Five per metre in a staggered double row gives a denser, faster hedge for more money. Large-leaved species such as laurel need fewer, around two per metre.

How long until it is a hedge?

Three years to look like a hedge, five to be a proper screen, with fast species like hornbeam and laurel at the quick end and yew and box at the slow. Anything that gets to full height in two years will need cutting twice a year forever.