Planting hedges: step-by-step for a natural privacy screen
Whether for a view-blocking privacy screen or a design element for the garden: learn how to plant hedges properly with our guide.
24.10.2023
Overview: planting hedges
Where applicable, remove turf and weeds, and loosen the soil
Spread compost or planting soil
Mark the course of the hedge with a guide line
Dig the planting trench, and insert hedge plants at the correct spacing and depth
Fill up the planting trench, mound up earth around the plants, water well, and add bonemeal and mulch on top.
Cut back long plant stems by one third to one half
You can plant a hedge all year round in a planting container. However, if there’s frost or hot spells expected, you should delay planting. The best times to plant hedges are spring and autumn.
You can plant a hedge all year round in a planting container. However, if there’s frost or hot spells expected, you should delay planting. The best times to plant hedges are spring and autumn.
How far a hedge needs to be from the fence depends on its optimal growing conditions. Plan for sufficient distance so that the hedge can be trimmed and maintained without difficulty. For fences that run along a property line, observe the minimum distances set by the authorities.
How many hedge plants you use per metre is determined by the type of hedge. Essentially, you can use three to four plants per linear metre for hedges up to about 100 centimetres in height, and two to three plants for hedge plants up to 250 centimetres in height.
How deep you should dig to plant a hedge depends on the size of the plant roots. Basically, dig a spade’s width deeper and wider than the root balls or root masses actually are.
You get your hedge to grow densely by encouraging the hedge to branch. For deciduous shrubs planted in the spring, you can immediately shorten long stems by one-third to one-half. For a hedge of conifers, wait until next year to do this pruning.
Planting hedges: preparation
Before planting your hedge, it’s best to plan where it will run as precisely as possible. When doing this, also take into account the size the hedge plants will reach in the years ahead. The following points cover all the key info you need to bear in mind.
Observing the required distance to the boundary line
If you want to plant hedges to enclose your property, consider the necessary distance to your neighbour’s boundary. Official distance requirements exist for hedges, and these differ from state to state. So before you get down to work, find out from your local public order office the minimum distance hedges must be from the property line in your municipality and what else needs to be kept in mind.
Often it also depends on the planned size of the hedge. In most federal states, for example, hedges up to two metres tall must be at least 50 centimetres away from the boundary. If you want to plant even taller hedges, a distance of one or even two metres from the property line is often required. Are the properties already separated from each other by a fence? Then the official requirements usually still apply. However, if you want to plant a hedge in a case such as this, the distance to the border, not to the fence, also applies.
Did you know? The distance of hedges from the property line is measured where the trunk closest to the border comes out of the ground. That means a hedge’s distance from a neighbouring property or the public road may appear smaller depending on you how late you trim your hedge.
Maintaining distance from other plants
If you want to plant hedges as space dividers or to enclose a seating area, official requirements are not an issue. It is nevertheless advisable to maintain appropriate distances from your other plants. As well as ensuring that the plants do not interfere with each other’s growth, this means you have enough space for optimum hedge maintenance. So to decide on hedge spacing, be guided on the one hand by the applicable boundary distance for hedges in your municipality, and on the other by the optimum growth conditions for neighbouring plants. Specimens that require a lot of light, for example, should not be placed in the shade of the newly created hedge.
Step-by-step instructions for planting hedges
Do you want to plant bare-root hedge plants? Then place them in a bucket or tub of water about an hour before planting the hedge. This will prepare the hedge plants as best possible. If you have hedge plants in pots, it is sufficient to immerse them in water until no more air bubbles rise, immediately before planting the hedge. Then you can start work.
Materials and tools needed to plant hedges
Do you have everything thought out and planned? Then you can roll up your sleeves and start working. You will need the following materials and tools to plant a hedge:
spade or digging fork for heavy soil
Garden hose with spray attachment
Hedge plants
Wheelbarrow
Bonemeal
Coarse bark mulch
Planting soil
Wooden stakes
Tape measure
Guide line
Depending on the location, first remove any turf that is present. Now loosen the soil and remove any unwanted weeds at the same time. Then apply compost or planting soil to a thickness of a good two centimetres. This layer will automatically get mixed with the dug-out soil when the planting holes are dug later.
First mark where you plan for the hedge to go. To do this, use wooden stakes and connect them using the guide line. Check the course of the hedge using a tape measure, making sure it’s positioned at the required distance from the property line as well as from other plants.
Now dig out a planting trench with a spade or digging fork. This should ideally be a spade’s-width deeper and wider than the root balls or root masses of your hedge plants. If the planting distance is 50 centimetres or more, it is better to dig individual planting holes rather than a planting trench. In both cases, also loosen the soil of the dug-out areas after digging.
Now you are ready to plant the hedge. To do this, first remove any cloth from root-ball plants. Then place or lay the hedge plants in the planting trench with the correct spacing and at the correct depth. If you are planting a hedge of beech, do not position the plants too deep in the ground; beech trees don’t even like soil being mounded up on them. A piece of wood cut to the right size is a good way to achieve the correct planting spacing. Alternatively, you can mark the locations with sand.
Fill the planting hole up about halfway, then straighten and align the freshly planted hedge. It is best to use your guide line for orientation and also look at the hedge from a bit of a distance to really achieve optimum alignment of the plants. If you have planted a bare-root hedge, water it afterwards.
STIHL tip: Before covering the roots of the hedge plants with soil, mix the dug-out soil with some bonemeal as well as compost or planting soil.
Now completely fill the planting trench with enriched soil, tread it down gently and also create a mound of soil around the plants. After the planting work is done, water the hedge plants generously so that they can grow in the best possible way. After watering, rake bonemeal and coarse bark mulch into the soil for optimum fertilisation of the hedge plants.
When planting hedges of deciduous shrubs in the spring, the last step is to shorten long plant stems by one-third to one-half using a hedge trimmer. For intricate work as well as particularly thick branches, use secateurs. Pruning stimulates branching in deciduous hedges, so the hedge quickly becomes dense enough to block the view. For autumn plantings, do not perform this step until you are doing hedge maintenance the following spring. Finally, rake up the clippings and dispose of them properly.
After planting a hedge, regular hedge maintenance will ensure that it can grow healthily for a long time and keep free of hedge diseases.
Planning hedge planting: natural made-to-measure privacy screen
As a natural alternative to fences and walls, you can plant hedges to enclose your property as you wish. Depending on which hedge types are suitable for you, you can create a custom-made boundary with comparatively little planting effort. From a decorative knee-height hedge to a view-blocking, natural privacy screen several feet high, there is plenty of variety in the hedges you can plant.
This variety means it’s also possible to use hedges to subdivide your garden individually. Consider this especially if you are newly planning and creating your garden or want to completely redesign it.
When should I plant hedges?
The best time to plant hedges depends on the particular hedge you want to put in place. Generally, bare-root, deciduous woody plants are best planted between mid-October and mid-November. Alternatively, the spring months of March and April are also good for planting hedges of this type.
If you want to plant evergreen hedge plants or conifers, do this either shortly before budbreak in April or, alternatively, after new growth stops in late August. This gives the fresh hedge plants enough time to grow well before winter.
Would you like to be as free as possible in deciding when to plant your hedge? Then perhaps a version in a planting container is the right choice for you. Because in containers you can plant hedges at any time of year.
The only things that should stop you planting in a container are frost or expected periods of hot weather. To avoid watering stress, spring or autumn are ideal. A planting container is ideal if you want to retrospectively repair a hedge that has holes. You can initially let the hedge plant grow in the container, and then plant it out later.
Your hedge maintenance equipment
Which hedge should I plant in which location?
To thrive and become the ideal view-blocking privacy screen, hedge plants need the location that is best for them, so you should make your choice of hedge plants with this in mind.
You can also plant low-maintenance hedges, such as yew or rhododendron, in a shady location. However, few hedges planted in full shade grow to be view-blocking and healthy.
If you want to plant hedges in a sunny location, there are many types of hedges you could consider. Depending on the height you want, you can plant hedges of cypress or arborvitae, or a number of other options.
For garden borders, boxwood hedges are as popular as they are practical. That’s because, when properly maintained, box grows to form a very successful view-blocking screen.
Planning the width and height of hedge plants.
A final planning point concerns the width and height of your future hedge, as this is how you determine how many plants you should plant per linear metre of hedge. Depending on the size and type of plant, you may need two to three, three to four, or even four to five plants per running metre.
For hedges up to 100 centimetres tall, it’s best to plan for three to four plants per linear metre; for hedges up to 250 centimetres high, you’ll need around two to three plants per linear metre.
STIHL professional tip: For free-standing hedges, only count the first hedge plant once for the first metre. For example, if you plant four hedge plants per running metre, you will therefore need five plants for the first metre and only four plants for all further running metres. This corresponds to a planting distance of 25 centimetres.
Do you want to plant bare-root hedge plants? Then place them in a bucket or tub of water about an hour before planting the hedge. This will prepare the hedge plants as best possible. If you have hedge plants in pots, it is sufficient to immerse them in water until no more air bubbles rise, immediately before planting the hedge. Then you can start work.
