Living Walls™ need regular care to establish well and stay healthy over the long term. Good watering, feeding, trimming and weed control will help maintain healthy growth, density and appearance.
This guide covers the routine care your Living Walls™ hedge will need after installation.
We’ve grown your hedge for you — here’s how to care for it.
Living Walls™ need deep, consistent watering while they establish, particularly through their first two growing seasons from spring to mid-autumn. Once established, they may still need additional water during prolonged dry or windy conditions.
Deep watering encourages roots to grow into the surrounding soil and helps build long-term resilience.
Drip irrigation is ideal. We recommend, and can supply, 13 mm flow-regulated landscape drip line delivering approximately 2.2 L/hour every 300 mm, or about 7.3 L/hour per metre of hedge.
Lay the drip line over the rootball, close to the trunks, and secure it with irrigation pins. Connect it to your hose or irrigation system.
Avoid relying on sprinklers or leaky hose for regular watering. They can water unevenly, wet the foliage unnecessarily and make it harder to control how much water reaches each hedge length.
For shorter hedges, consistent hand watering can also work well. Individual drippers are generally a better option for hedges installed in containers or planter boxes and are available from garden supply retailers.
While establishing, water deeply one to three times a week, depending on the variety, soil, season and weather.
As a general guide:
・100L hedge: approximately 7.5 L per metre — about 1 hour using our recommended drip line
・70L hedge: approximately 4–5 L per metre — about 30–40 minutes
・25L hedge: approximately 2.5 L per metre — about 20 minutes
These are starting points rather than fixed rules. Water more often during hot, dry or windy weather and less where the soil remains moist. Nearby tree roots can also increase the amount of water your hedge needs.
Check the soil rather than relying only on a watering schedule. It should feel moist about 50 mm below the surface — not dry and not waterlogged.
Dense hedge foliage can shed most rainfall before it reaches the root zone. In our own trial, only around 2% of rainfall penetrated through the foliage of a dense hedge. Check the soil after rain rather than assuming the hedge has received enough water, and continue irrigating if the soil below the surface is dry.
Hedges in containers and very free-draining soils may dry out more quickly and benefit from permanent irrigation.
Container mix that becomes excessively dry can also become difficult to re-wet, so maintaining consistent moisture is particularly important.⬆︎
Regular feeding helps maintain healthy growth and foliage.
Use a complete granular NPK fertiliser, such as Nitrophoska®, Nitro Blue or Triabon®, following the product directions.
As a general guide, feed in early spring and again in mid-summer. Apply approximately 50–100 g per metre of hedge, spread evenly over the root zone.
Keep fertiliser away from trunks and foliage and water it in after application.
Once an in-ground hedge is fully established and has reached the size you want, feeding can generally be reduced to once a year in early spring. Hedges growing in enclosed containers or planter boxes will usually continue to benefit from feeding twice a year.
After feeding, apply approximately 50 mm of organic mulch over the root zone.
Mulch helps retain moisture, suppress weeds and improve the soil as it breaks down. Keep mulch clear of trunks and lower stems, and refresh it as needed.
For more detail, see Feeding Your Hedge for Long-Term Health.⬆︎
The formative trimming needed to create a dense hedge has already been done for you. That is one of the advantages of starting with a Living Walls™ instant hedge.
How often you trim will depend on the hedge variety, the season and the finish you want.
Most evergreen hedges benefit from trimming two to three times during the growing season from spring to mid-autumn. Regular light trimming helps maintain dense, even growth and a tidy shape.
If more substantial corrective trimming is needed, spring is generally the best time, when plants are actively growing.
If you are allowing your hedge to grow taller, continue to trim the top lightly. This encourages denser, more even growth as the hedge gains height.
• Flowering hedges: trim after flowering where you want to preserve the flowers.
• Fruiting hedges: trim after fruiting where you want to preserve the fruit.
Where practical, trim on an overcast day or later in the day rather than during very hot conditions. Check for active bird nests before trimming.
• Hand shears: useful for smaller hedges or where you want greater control over individual cuts.
• Powered hedge trimmers: practical for longer hedges and regular maintenance.
Trim the sides first, then the top.
For taller hedges, tapering the sides very slightly towards the top can allow sunlight to reach the lower foliage and maintain density towards the base.
Use string lines if you want a particularly straight finish. Once the hedge has reached the size and shape you want, regular trimming of the new growth is usually enough to maintain it.⬆︎
Weeds and grass compete with your hedge for water and nutrients, particularly while it is establishing. Keep the root zone reasonably clear during the first couple of years and continue to control competitive weeds as needed.
A layer of mulch is one of the simplest ways to suppress weeds while also helping retain soil moisture.
Keep mulch clear of trunks and stems and top it up as it breaks down.
Herbicide can damage your hedge if spray contacts foliage, green stems, shoots or suckers.
If chemical weed control is needed:
• choose a product suitable for the weeds and situation
• follow the current label directions
• spray only the weeds
• avoid contact with the hedge
• apply in calm conditions to reduce drift
• use a spray shield or physical guard where helpful
Take particular care with systemic herbicides such as glyphosate, as spray contacting green hedge tissue can be absorbed and moved through the plant.
If you are unsure which herbicide is appropriate, ask your garden supply retailer or spray professional for advice.⬆︎
Good watering, feeding, drainage, trimming and general care help keep your hedge healthy and resilient. As with any garden plant, occasional pests or disease can still occur, and light damage is often cosmetic rather than a threat to the hedge.
An occasional look through your hedge and nearby planting is usually enough to notice pests, leaf damage or changes in vigour before they become serious.
If something does not look right, our Pest & Disease Troubleshooting guide explains what to check first, common pests and diseases, treatment options and when professional help may be useful.⬆︎
