By Stephanie Pratt, InstantHedge™
Photographs courtesy of Instant Hedge
A hedge is an essential component for almost every garden. These living walls are invaluable for their ability to provide privacy, noise reduction, habitat for wildlife, garden design, and a lovely green backdrop for the whole garden.
There are three ways to achieve the hedge of your dreams, with the different methods working better for different timelines and budgets. Read on to find out which method best fits your needs.
1. Start Small
The first method is the most traditional and is well suited to projects with small budgets and plenty of time to wait for a finished product. It involves starting with small plants, sometimes even just 1-2 year old seedlings or rooted cuttings. These are planted at varying distances, either in a straight row or staggered for added density. They are affordable and easy to plant since they are so small, but it will require waiting around 5 years for a finished hedge.
2. Middle of the Road
Some prefer to start with larger plants, anywhere from 3-8’ tall. Doing this reduces the waiting time toward a finished hedge. The disadvantages are a higher cost and the fact that the trees or shrubs have typically been grown for use as individual landscape plants, not as hedges, which can mean the plants lack lower branches or a less-than-ideal shape. This will usually mean intensive pruning to re-shape the plants into a suitable form for hedges. They can be a challenge to plant as they may have large root balls and be heavy.
3. InstantHedge™
This is the newest, most cutting-edge way to plant a hedge. These plants are pre-finished, so there is no wait time for a mature hedge. It does have a higher starting cost, but it is the only good option for projects that need to be finished as quickly as possible. The pre-finished nature also means that no intensive pruning or shaping is needed, removing the risk of damaging the hedge with incorrect pruning. InstantHedge™ is grown in Oregon using patented technology. It is the only source of these pre-finished hedges in the U.S., although it is a popular concept in Europe.
Hedge plants of all sizes and InstantHedge can be purchased from your local garden center or online at coniferkingdom.com.
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