It is all hedging at this time of year….

Last year, a certain well known garden presenter who needs remain nameless gave some appallingly bad advice regarding planting yew hedging.  On the basis that if you tell someone NOT to do something they almost certainly WILL, the advice shall remain unrepeated here.  So here are the quick yew hedge planting pointers he (or she) should have concentrated on and that apply equally to almost all other hedging plants as well:

1. By all means take out a trench to plant your hedging if you want to provided the ground is well drained.
2. Feel free to improve the soil as much as you like provided the ground is well drained.
3. Water your plants well and whenever you feel like it provided the ground is well drained.
4. Plant the largest bare root stock you can afford provided the ground is well drained.

The eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted a pattern here…. when planting hedging, it is quite important to think about drainage.

If you have poorly drained ground (sticky grey, blue or yellow clay) the good news is that you have rich soil.  The bad news is that it does not drain.

So please, save yourself a lot of hard work and a load of grief.  Watch our film on how to plant a country hedge (link on the home page) even if you are planting the smartest yew.

1. On badly drained soils always plant small plants
2. On badly drained soils always plant in a slit, not a trench
3. On badly drained soils, improve the soil after planting and when your hedging is growing away, buy adding a mulch of well rotted organic matter and letting the worms carry it down to the roots for you.
4. On badly drained soils only water newly planted hedging if there is a danger that the soil will dry out completely. When you do water, soak the plants and then DO NOT WATER for a couple of weeks afterwards.

The reasoning is simple enough. If you dig a hole (trench) in clay it not only fills with water when it rains, but as the surface water from the surrounding ground tries to find an escape, it runs into your hole keeping it full.  That you put lovely porous compost in when planting only gives it the consistency of sponge  in a bath of water.  The roots of hedging plants (like almost all plants) need to be able to breathe. A trench in clay means they will probably drown.

So plant hedging on clay the easy way and dig as little as possible!

Tags: Hedging, planting, Watering, Yew Hedge