The purpose of the hedge

Planting hedges of various heights can perform many functions on the site. Low shrubs serve a decorative purpose and visually limit the path, flower bed or lawn in front of the house.

The middle ones can fence off the playground, which will save small children from running out onto the road. The same they can partially retain dust.

Tall ones will hide you from the prying eyes of neighbors and passers-by. Well, the primary task of the green fence is, of course, a beautiful view of your local area. Let’s consider each type separately.

low hedge

The best shrubs for such a hedge will be:

• columnar juniper;
• barberry;
• dwarf forms of jasmine.

They are great for decoration. Such plants form a dense wall and are not whimsical.

middle hedge

Such a fence in the country will perfectly fit into the landscape of any site. Having a height of one and a half meters, it will help to enclose the territory. The best shrubs for this hedge would be:

• fruitful;
• coniferous;
• blooming.

Sometimes a protective function is also laid in it, adding wild rose or barberry.

high hedge

It grows up to two meters and above. More commonly referred to as an evergreen hedge, due to the use of spruce and fir. Such a fence will delight the eye all year round. They also use berry bushes or fruit trees, such as viburnum, berry apple tree.

fast growing hedge

If you don’t want to wait up to five years for seedlings to grow, this is the option for you. Siberian hawthorn, turf, shrub willows, all these shrubs can grow from 50 to 100 centimeters in a year.

Landing

Plants for hedges should be chosen based on your preferences regarding the shape, height and purpose of the green fence. Having decided on the type of plants for hedges, we move on to the most important part, planting.

When planting, young shrubs and trees about 4 years old are selected. The crown of seedlings should be uniform, the roots are not overdried. This will allow the seedlings to take root in a new place.

The bookmark is carried out in dry soil in the spring, and frost-resistant plants can be planted in the fall. It is better to choose a place away from buildings. The planting distance must be chosen for specific plants.

When choosing coniferous trees, you need to take into account the pits should be twice as large as the rhizome, and its bottom is fertilized with compost and silica. Having slightly compacted the earth after instillation, a small irrigation ridge is formed.

In deciduous trees, it is necessary to wash the roots for several hours and cut long or damaged parts. When digging, you should also fertilize the bottom and sprinkle with earth. Tall trees need to be reinforced with a stake that will support the tree tied to it.

Medium shrubs are placed in the holes and slightly compacted. For a larger shrub, a trench half a meter deep and one meter wide is prepared, the bottom of which is mixed with fertilizers and slightly loosened.

After planting and watering, it will not be superfluous to sprinkle with peat or sawdust to retain moisture in the soil. Pruning will also help the plants take root better.

Shaping and cutting

To maintain the decorative shape of a straight-topped hedge, it must be trimmed frequently. If it is not possible to trim bushes regularly, it is better to choose a triangular or round shape, for which rare haircuts do not greatly affect the shape.

In the year of planting, the shoots are significantly shortened, bought with a bare root in a bundle, can be cut in half. Plants in containers are trimmed by one third. This stimulates the growth of new shoots.

For the next two years, we are engaged in the correct formation of the hedge frame. Pruning should be repeated once or twice a month, throughout the season. This is how we achieve the density of the inner frame.

Having chosen the shape of the future hedge, every year we cut four centimeters higher than the previous time. As a result, new forks are formed and the growth of new shoots increases.

The next step is forcing in height. Pruning is done seven centimeters higher. The side shoots are also pruned. Pruning a couple of times per season, we achieve active growth and foliage compaction. Then it remains only to maintain the chosen shape with a regular haircut.

Tools

Now consider the types of tools for caring for a hedge. It all depends on financial possibilities. The market for garden tools is constantly updated with new types of electric and gasoline hedge trimmers. Each type has its pros and cons.

Electric ones can also be autonomous, with batteries, which increases their mobility. Being no less powerful than gasoline, they are much quieter and lighter. And with a large length of the fence, even an extra hundred grams will make themselves felt.

The brush cutters also differ in the types of blades (rotating cutter and non-moving blades). Choose a tool that suits your type of hedge. If it is low and narrow, it makes no sense to buy powerful gasoline hedge trimmers.

Hedges, for all their laboriousness of execution, are an excellent solution to the issue of landscaping the site. For a person who is just starting to get acquainted with landscape design, it will not be easy to choose and plant seedlings for a hedge correctly.

It is important at the very beginning to weigh your capabilities and not overestimate your strength, so that in the future you will not be disappointed with the result obtained and not upset with the time spent. But if you follow all the tips and learn little tricks, you get a really beautiful and perennial hedge.

hedge photo