Summer Hedge - Shrub

The best time to plant a summer hedge is from October to April. The trench for the hedge should be 60-80 cm deep along the entire length of the hedge. Improve the excavated soil with compost and manure. Before planting, place the shrubs in a bucket of luke-water for at least one hour. Then divide the shrubs along the prepared trench at roughly 5 per 4.5 m. The top of the root balls should be level with the garden soil (bear in mind that the soil may collapse a little). Once planted, pack the soil around the shrubs, press firmly down with your heel and water generously, until it becomes swampy. Once the hedge grows it will become about 1.5 m wide.

Our Summer hedge consists of Mock Orange (Philadelphus 'Virginal') and the Fraser Photinia (Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin’), the Potentilla (Potentilla fruticosa ‘Goldfinger), Weigelia (Weigelia ‘Bristol Ruby’) and the Golden Privet (Ligustrum ovalofolium aureum). All these varieties have been carefully selected to create a festival of colour all summer long!

The hedge should be watered regularly in its first year following planting. Thereafter it should only be necessary to water during dry periods. In winter cover the ground under the hedges with a mulch of compost and garden fertilizer.

The summer hedge can be cut back twice a year. Prune the Mock Orange (Philadelphus 'Virginal') and the Weigelia (Weigelia ‘Bristol Ruby’) in June after flowering. Cut the Potentilla (Potentilla fruticosa ‘Goldfinger) hard back in the spring. The Golden Privet (Ligustrum ovalofolium aureum) and the Fraser Photinia (Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin’) can be pruned the whole year through. If you prune the Photinia several times a year, it will help it keep its beautiful red colouring, specific to its young foliage. The Summer hedge collection need not be pruned too vigorously to keep its loose natural form.