Planting Hedges and Screens

Planting hedges and screens are phenomenal alternatives to fences or walls. They’re perfect for enhancing your landscape appeal while serving a highly functional purpose.

Your hedges and screens are going to be there for years. For this reason, it’s worthwhile to do some due diligence to ensure you’re planting them appropriately.

There isn’t a universal set of rules for planting hedges and screens, it can easily vary by plant selection. However, we have listed some common best practices below, separated by informal, formal, and privacy tree plantings.

Informal hedges are hedges you plant without any intention of rigorous training into a continuous, uniform hedge. This includes varieties like Pittosporum, Gardenias, Hydrangeas, and Azaleas.

Formal hedges often include plants like Boxwoods, Ilex, or Privet. Essentially, any variety can be trimmed into hard shapes.

1. First, determine the desired height of your shrub.
2. Next, place a stake about 1/3 of the mature width away from where the hedge will end.
3. Then, use the rule of thirds and plant your shrubs 1/3 as far apart as your intended height. This may sound close, but that’s exactly what this type of hedge is.
   1. Example: If your hedge is 5 feet tall, plant your shrubs about 1.7 feet apart. If they’re going to be 9 feet tall, plant them 3 feet apart.
4. At this point, we recommend digging a ditch along your planting route. Running from your first plant to your last.
5. This ditch should be about twice as wide as the root ball of your plants and just deep enough to where the root ball is slightly above the soil line.
6. Place your plants in the ditch, spaced appropriately.
7. Backfill thedirt around your plants. Afterward, tamp it down with your hands or the front of your foot.
   1. Be careful to keep your plants spaced appropriately while you’re doing this.
8. Apply mulch to encourage moisture retention. 2 inches is generally sufficient.
9. Water your new shrubs regularly to ensure that they establish themselves well.
10. Regular fertilization will promote new growth in your hedges and help them fill in more quickly.
11. Be careful not to over-fertilize, which will lead to the rapid expiration of your shrubs. A fertilizer high in nitrogen, such as 10-8-8, will promote foliage growth.

Planting Privacy Trees is a bit different from planting shrubs. Spacing can vary considerably due to growth habit and root spread.

Like informal and formal shrubs, closer tree plantings will result in faster coverage. However, plant them too close, and they may crowd each other out.

Listed below are some popular privacy trees and their minimum planting distances:

1. Green Giant Arborvitae: 5+ feet

2. Leyland Cypress: 5+ feet

3. Blue Point Juniper: 2-4 feet

4. Spartan Juniper: 3-4 feet

5. Emerald Green Arborvitae: 2-3 feet, 2 feet for tight coverage.

(Don’t see your species listed above? We can help! Contact us)

After determining the appropriate spacing for your species, planting can be done similarly to the informal or formal hedges.

1. Place a stake about half the mature width away from where you want your screen to end.
2. Measure the appropriate tree spacing distance from this first stake and place a second stake. Continue this until you have spanned the length of your planting location.
3. Dig a hole, or dig a trench.We recommend a trench for closer plantings and individual holes for further spacing.
4. Now that your trees are planted water them regularly to ensure they establish themselves well.
5. Mulch is important for long-term success.

6. Regular fertilization will promote new growth and will help them fill in the gaps.

   1. Err on the side of caution so you don’t over-fertilize. A nitrogen-rich fertilizer, such as 10-8-8, will help to promote foliage growth.
   
   
   
   

1. If a formal hedge is your end game, trim off about half the new growth's length every year. This will encourage the plant to grow densely. It may take slightly longer to reach its mature size, but it’ll look much fuller.
2. For a straight line, try staking your start and end spot first, and then run a piece of flagging tape or string across to keep your line as accurate as possible.
3. To ensure your plants’ success, provide winter protection during their first couple of growing seasons.
4. A 4-5" layer of mulch will provide some insulation for the base of the plant.
5. A blanket or piece of burlap can be used over the top of the plant during hard freezes. Simply drape it over the plant and lay stones (or anything heavy enough to hold it in place) on the edges. Make sure it covers the entire plant. Then, remove it during the day to allow the plant to receive sunlight. Do this for the entirety of the hard freeze. It may seem like a pain, but nobody enjoys replacing hedge plants and starting over from scratch.

6. If you want your screen or hedge to fill in even faster, stagger your shrubs (shown by the diagram below). This will take up more space but is the best way to create a full hedge quickly. This works well with both trees and shrubs.

Remember that with some prep work, your hedge and screen dreams can go off without a hitch!

Thank you for reading! Be sure to Contact Us with any questions you might have.