Privet, hornbeam or a colorful natural hedge: the green fencing only looks attractive if it is maintained and trimmed regularly. You will be rewarded for your efforts with he althy and densely growing bushes without bare spots or yellowed foliage.
How do you properly care for a hedge?
To properly care for a hedge, you should trim it regularly, provide sufficient water, loosen the soil and use organic fertilizers such as compost, horn meal or complete organic fertilizer. Pay attention to cutting bans during the breeding season of birds.
What care do hedges need?
Once the hedge has been created, the maintenance effort is limited:
- During longer dry periods, you should water regularly, especially deciduous plants. This also applies to evergreen shrubs in the winter months, as the plants evaporate a lot of liquid on sunny days despite low temperatures.
- Fertilization is carried out twice a year before and after the growth phase. However, do not fertilize too late in the year, as the bushes will continue to sprout, be surprised by frost and damaged by the cold.
- The leaves of he althy bushes that fall in autumn should be left behind. This mulch layer naturally fertilizes the soil and ensures optimal growing conditions.
- To prevent the soil from becoming too compacted, you should loosen it up occasionally.
Which fertilizers are suitable for hedges?
In order to activate the nutrient cycle, it is recommended to fertilize organically. The following fertilizers are well suited for hedge planting:
- Compost: This improves the soil and ensures an even distribution of air, water, temperature and nutrients.
- Horn meal/horn shavings: These are obtained from the hooves and horns of slaughtered cattle. The finely ground horn meal delivers the nutrients, predominantly nitrogen and phosphate, more quickly than the slow converting horn shavings.
- Organic complete fertilizers: These contain a combination of different biological substances. The nutrient content is tailored to specific plant species.
Alternatively, you can use mineral fertilizers such as blue grain.
Regular pruning
Without pruning, hedges would sprout vigorously at the base but become bare at the top. The bushes should therefore be cut at least once a year from the year after they were planted.
Fast-growing plants such as field maple, barberry or hornbeam even need to be shaped twice a year. So that the lower areas of dense enclosures also get light, a light trapezoidal shape is recommended.
Tip
In order to protect breeding birds and other animals, according to the Federal Nature Conservation Act, hedges may not be heavily trimmed or even reset on the bush between March 1st and September 30th.