Hedging advice please?

bluep

I've never planted a hedge before...but we've bought a new property with a very unshieled front entrance on a corner plot. Currently the front garden is broken up bits of slate/shale with a weed barrier underneath. There's soil underneath than - although it's not boggy/waterlogged, it did look quite soggy.

1) If I take back the shale/slate and the weedproofing by half a meter all around the inside of the small front wall (about 50cm high) would that be enough? Shoudl I mix in new top soil/stuff from the garden centre? Is it best to add a bit of gravel to help with the drainage? Do I need to see if the soil is acidic/alkaline or are most hedging plants not bothered?

2) Should I dig down quite far in order to get the soil a bit looser?

3) What kind of hedging is best? I was hoping for soemthing like a Red Robin or Cotoneaster or even an Escallonia (but I don't think this does well in cold winters...) - something fairly fast growing with colours or flowers but fairly hardy...

4) The front is north facing so it should get a fair amount of sun but we are near the Peak District so fairly cold winters, usually a bit of snow.

Anyone used https://www.hedgesdirect.co.uk ? They seem to have a huge range. Total meterage of walls is 8.5m so I was thinking it will cost in the region of £150-200 for plants 60-90cm (open roots rather than potted) with a fairly tight distribution per metre plus extra for bonemeal and rootgrow.

Davesnave

Most hedging plants won't be bothered by soil pH within the normal garden ranges, or by run of the mill soil.

I can't really advise on your 'soggy' soil as that's a subjective term. Just dig over the strip and decide whether there was a need to incorporate something else at that point.

For example, my last front garden had 3" of topsoil and the rest was thick clay like potters use, so under those circumstances a lot of work was required before I could plant anything. If it had been normal claggy clay soil, I'd have just dug in something like composted bark and grit to open it up a bit.

As you dig, it would be beneficial to add some slow release fertilizer, like bone meal.

If you have some harsh winters, avoid escallonia and go for something tougher, like the cotoneaster. That's what I have on my frontage now and it established without losses.

Hedges Direct are just one of half a dozen on-line nurseries. I haven't used them, but on-line is usually cheaper than going local when buying bare-root and I've had no problems when using other suppliers.

Your main difficulty is that the bare root season is at an end now, especially with the warm winter and spring, so plants are breaking dormancy. You should ring whoever you choose to check availability of stock, and whether they will still send it out.

SailorSam

I used that hedgedirect a few years ago Blue. I wanted something that was going to encourage wildlife so got a mix of hedge plants and small trees. I got mine as bare roots and planted them around the Christmas time and they've all done well. I took loads of cuttings last Autumn and most seem to have taken so the other side of the garden can have them. Another part of the hedge i made up with fruit and berry bushes from the £shop, i had loads of fruit last year, i've made cuttings from them now.

connaught07

Very recently used Hedges Direct to purchase Common Laurel bare root for a project very similar to your. The service from Hedges Direct was spot on, quick tracked delivery.

I 2nd the comment to use bone meal / root grow etc.

Davesnave

I didn't recommend RootGrow.

[STRIKE] Products like RootGrow are endorsed by the RHS, who no doubt have their reasons.[/STRIKE]

UPDATE: I've just been reading the latest copy of 'The Garden' and I see that the latest British Standard for tree planting no longer recommends the use of RootGrow -type products, so no doubt the RHS will be withdrawing their support for it.

I used it on a beech hedge and there as no difference in growth between the part where it was applied and the part planted after I ran out.

That was the last time I bothered with it.