One of the most commonly asked questions and one of the easier ones to answer since it depends mainly on the species of hedge to be planted.
Hawthorn and other “native” hedgerows should be planted at 4 plants per metre overall in 2 rows, 30cm apart. This will develop into a thick hedge with a wide “bottom”. The easiest way to do this is to measure and plant at one metre spacing (marked * below) then to return and fill in with 3 more plants (marked 0 below) between every “metre” plant:
* 0 * 0 *
0 0 0 0 0
Some grant schemes insist on 6 plants per metre. This will increase the cost of the hedge by 50% with no real long-term gain.
Beech and Privet hedges are usually planted at 3 plants per metre they can be planted in a double row as above or in a single row. Laurels and Leylandii should be planted in a single row at 3 plants per 2 metres. Their bushy growth will soon fill the gaps. At the other extreme, a low growing Box hedge should be planted in a single line at 20cm spacing.
Tags: beech, box, hawthorn, hedge, laurels, leylandii, planting a hedge, privet
very helpful as we are having to learn and restoremamverylarge hedge in France. thanks