A few things to keep in mind while maintaining your perfect hedge.
Hedges can be a natural and more appealing alternative to fences. They act as a boundary line and offer amounts of privacy, all the while looking natural and gorgeous. Looking to put in a new hedge or just take care of the one you already have? Here are some things to think about.
Evergreen or Deciduous?
Hedges can be generally split into two categories: evergreen and deciduous.
Evergreen hedges will keep their green leaves year-round, though you will notice an obvious lack of growth in the winter months. If you’ve planted an evergreen, always trim them at the end of winter. Dormant buds will be waiting to go wild once spring hits. Get ahead of it!
Deciduous hedges will have their leaves change color in the autumn, before shedding them and remaining bare throughout winter.
Which hedge you choose will come down to a few things. Do you want privacy year-round? Then evergreens are the way to go. Do you maybe want a break of hedging during winter? Then deciduous is for you.
Carve an Angle
It may be tempting to craft a perfectly straight, box shaped hedge. However, it’s important to leave the top of the hedge slightly narrower than the bottom, otherwise sunlight won’t be able to reach the lower branches. This ensures a thick, healthy growth all over.
If you are having trouble reaching the tops of tall hedges, here’s a little tip. If you carve an angle into the plant, you can then lean over this angle and reach your hedger further back. You can have fun with these angles and turn them into something unique, like this zig zag.
Put Down a Tarp When Trimming
When you are cutting back your hedges, put a tarp down underneath.
The leaves will fall onto it, and you can simply drag them away.
This will save you from spending time raking up fallen leaves and branches.
Fill in the Gaps
It is important to have the hedge growing equally in all areas. Otherwise, you will end up with holes or bald spots. If you do find gaps in, you hedge it may not be getting enough sun.
Trim back the branches surrounding the troubled area to let the sun fall upon it. If the gap is rather large, there is a way to jumpstart growth in that area.
Take two branches and cross them across the gap. You can use bamboo shoots to hold the branches in place. Trim the tips of the shoots to encourage growth.
Water in the Morning
Water your hedges in the early morning while it’s cooler. There is less sunlight which means less chance of the water evaporating before it gets through the soil and to the roots.
When watering you hedge, aim the stream directly at the base of the hedge, soaking the soil and feeding the roots.
Watering the leaves directly won’t do much for the hedge. In fact, you could be inadvertently damaging the hedge by creating a damp environment for fungus to grow.
Contact an Expert
With this help you should be on your way to beautiful hedges. If you're after any further assistance looking after your hedges you may want to get in touch with a professional. If you’re living in the Toowoomba area, get in touch with us here at 1 Green Thumb Gardening on services@1greenthumbgardening.com.au.
