Hedging Plants

For every hedging, edging and screening pickle, Mother Nature has a solution, and you can find it all at Flower Power. Turn a bare, unsightly wall into a beautiful feature with our range of screening plants. Block out the neighbours quick smart with fast-growing privacy plants and tall hedges. Or create a green fence, edge a path or driveway or divide up your garden with hedging plants and edging plants.

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Hedging, edging and screening plants at Flower Power

Outdoor plants can be more than purely aesthetic. You can use hedges, bushes, trees and bamboo to give yourself privacy, create borders and boundaries, give protection from the wind and disguise unattractive parts of the house exterior or surrounding landscape. 

As a general rule, screening plants break a view, create a small amount of privacy and allow dappled light to come through. It will also soften the effect of wind, but it won’t totally break it. A hedge, such as a box hedge,is dense and provides a total view block out and protects against wind. Many plants can be used for both, though some will be better for one or the other.

How to choose the right screening plants

Using fast growing hedges such as lilly pilly for privacy or box hedge for smaller hedges means you have a living divider that is as practical as it is beautiful. There are a few things you want to look for when choosing your screening plants:

  • Fast growing hedges varieties, so you can start taking advantage of your privacy as soon as possible.
  • A tendency to have densely packed foliage like a box hedge.
  • Plants that enjoy being trimmed. 
  • A mixture of both upwards and horizontal growth to be sure it is tall and thick enough.
  • A variety that will grow taller than you think you need. If you need a two-metre hedge, choose a variety that grows to four or five metres. It could take years to get to its maximum height, and may never get there, but it will quickly reach the height that you need and you can prune the top if is it too tall. Pruning the top will also encourage density.

How to plant a box hedge and other hedging plants

Box hedges are popular hedges made from Buxus plants. There are a variety available including English, Japanese, Korean and European varieties but no matter which box hedge you select, you’ll love their compact, evergreen, modern garden look. Just like with any plant, you’ll need to choose the right variety of plant for the position for a healthy hedge. Consider how much light they will get, what kind of soil there is, how much wind it will get, how cold it gets and how much space there is. 

  • Buy plants as advanced as you can, to get your hedge filled out faster.
  • Add compost, manure or high-quality soil mix to the existing soil before you plant to help feed your plants.
  • For a shorter hedge you can dig separate holes, but if you're creating a larger hedge you may find trench planting faster. But don’t plant too close together or they will compete with each other, use the plant label information to guide you.
  • Add fertiliser when you're planting, and continue to feed them at regular intervals. Mulch will also help keep plants healthy.
  • Water them at the correct frequency and quantity, either by hand or with a drip irrigation system on a timer. 
  • Prune often to encourage growth and density, as well as to create the shape you want.

What is the fastest growing screening plant?

Talk to our expert horticulturalists about the best fast-growing hedges for your situation, but here are a few of our favourite fastest growing screening plants right now:

  • Orange jasmine, also known as orange jessamine or mock orange is a native evergreen shrub with fragrant white flowers in spring and little red berries in summer. It flowers multiple times per year so it is an attractive option. It is usually a good hedge up to about three metres, but it can get higher. 
  • Sasanqua camellia varieties range in size and can grow up to four metres. They have glossy green leaves and bright flowers and are very attractive hedges, but can grow into small trees if untrained.
  • Photinia is an evergreen shrub that is popular because of the bright red new-growth leaves that turn into dark green leaves with dense foliage. They are very hardy and are perfect for hedges. 
  • Lilly pilly is a great native choice, as it is very hardy and beautiful with a tropical look. They have small leaves for good screening, with white fluffy flowers in spring followed by edible berries. 
  • Bamboo is extremely popular as a screening plant. Clumping bamboo is best as a hedge as it can grow extremely high very fast without spreading wildly. If using pots to create movable screens, running bamboo can also be used but avoid putting it into the ground unchecked. As a bonus, they don’t need pruning nearly as often as regular hedges. 

How to trim hedges

After you plant a hedge, you should trim it regularly to form its shape and keep it growing healthily. Once your hedge is established, you should continue to maintain it on a regular schedule. It is best to prune late in the winter so it grows into your desired shape in summer. 

Decide if you want electric hand trimmers, hedge clippers, pruning loppers or a curved saw and make sure that the blades are as sharp as they can be, so as to cut the branches and leaves rather than tear them. 

Start by getting rid of the larger branches sticking out, then neaten up the sides and top. Ideally, keep the sides of your hedges trimmed wider at the base so sunlight can penetrate the leaves at the bottom. 

Of course, if you find that how to trim hedges yourself is too much, call our gardening experts at Flower Power Garden Care for professional help.

For advice on choosing, planting, growing and maintaining your screening plants and hedging, come in-store to your nearest Flower Power store or check out our Gardening Advice section online. 

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