Humans use plants for a host of ornamental purposes, and the privacy hedge is an excellent use of plants. Our horticulture culture heavily relies on using plants to hide us from view, or blocking a view of something we don’t want to see. And we have an obsession with using evergreen conifers to accomplish this. There are good ways to utilize plants for privacy and ways we need to improve our horticultural practices to ensure they survive and thrive in their purpose.

Typical Hedge Strategy and the Resulting Pitfalls

The standard strategy for a hedge in the southeast is to plant a row of one species in a 5-, 7-, or 10-gallon size, in a straight or staggered line across the landscape. It doesn’t matter if it goes from a flat area to a rolling hill; or full, blazing sun to a shaded forest edge. It is just picking a species, getting a bunch of them, and planting them between you and the offending view/landscape/road.

There are a few typical issues that happen from this strategy: one or two of the shrubs in the row die leaving an awkward gap; one part of the hedge is smaller than the rest; or a section of the hedge starts dying and this dieback creeps down the line. The pitfalls are not on the plants’ end; it is we humans that usually create them. When plants are stressed and have been inappropriately sited, then they

How to Improve Our Hedge Culture

Plants are alive; not just landscape features. You should be choosing your hedge species based on the soil type, water availability and sunlight amount, as well as the horticultural merits of the plants. When you only choose your hedge based on its looks and don’t consider the site conditions, the plants can struggle and/or die.

Proper Planting

The next most critical error folks make is not properly planting the plant. Plants need to have their root balls broken up before planting and need to be planted at the proper depth in the soil (i.e. where the trunk starts to flare out to the roots). Make sure to find the true root flare in the pot, as sometimes nurseries will repot the plants too deep as they put them in larger pot sizes. Any stakes need to be removed at planting as well. Make sure to look closely at your plants to make sure there aren’t any materials attached to them.

Acknowledging and Addressing Soil Types

Another issue is not taking into account the soil type. Whether a site has a lot of clay or sand in the soil will affect how plants get established and handle periods of stressful weather (e.g. droughts, heavy rainfall, etc.). Just digging a proper hole and mulching the trees can make a huge difference, in most cases. In the case of heavy clay, it is critical to amend the whole planting area, NOT just in the planting holes, with organic matter, like compost or pine bark fines (NOT sand). This breaks up the clay in a long-term, sustainable way that will build healthier soil structure for hedges.

Acknowledging and Addressing Site Conditions

The typical planting strategy also does not always take the site conditions, like

A hedge of Ilex ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ surrounds Juniper Level Botanic Garden, creating a barrier to slow down deer and weed seeds blowing on the wind. Hollies make a great hedge and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. There is a holly for every situation in the landscape. Photo by Amanda Bratcher

topography or light availability into account. Plants planted at the height of a slope are going to have vastly different amounts of water available to them than plants lower on a slope. This can make or break a hedge during a drought. Whether an area is where water drains to during rain will also affect plant performance. Some species prefer sun or shade to grow their best, and will perform differently (i.e. be smaller, have broad leaves, be a different shade of green, flower more or less, etc.) depending on how much sunlight they get.

Properly Space Plants for Their Future Growth and Size

Finally, crowding the trees or shrubs is the easiest mistake to make; because we want to fill in the space fast, but it is easy to forget plants are alive. Humans suffer

Thuja ‘Green Giant’ is a common privacy hedge, but they can be susceptible to some foliar fungal pathogens and are commonly underestimated for their size. They can become very tall and large rather quickly, so properly spacing them is very important. Photo by Amanda Bratcher

from the “puppy syndrome,” where they can forget that plants will get bigger from their initial purchasing size. They just look so cute and cuddly in their pots. But this “fill-in quick” philosophy can be an issue with the plants we choose as privacy hedges because they are chosen for their vigorous, typically evergreen habits. What can happen is the plants become too dense and can crowd each other out, leading to uneven growth, unhealthy growth, thinning and issues with survivability during times of stress. Plant plants far enough apart that they will grow to touch, but not so close that their canopy would be right on top of each other.

Favorite (and Sometimes Overused) Hedge Species in North Carolina

Thuja ‘Green Giant’, the Green Giant Arborvitae

Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese Cedar

Ilex x attenuata ‘Fosteri’, Foster Holly

Loropetalum chinense, Chinese Fringe Flower

Some other Species to Consider for Hedges in North Carolina

Camellia ssp., Fall- and winter-flowering Camellias

Osmanthus fragrans, Autumn Tea Olive

Chamaecyparis obtusa, Hinoki Cypress

Vaccinium corymbosum, Blueberry

Viburnum ssp., Viburnum