Pleached Screen installation & care guide

Pleached Screen trees are individually trained trees installed at one-metre centres to create a continuous elevated screen, with clear space below the foliage.

This guide covers installing and caring for your Pleached Screen.

Please make sure whoever is installing your Pleached Screen reads this guide before installation begins and follows the instructions throughout.

Before You Start

Handling Guidelines

• Safe lifting: Use both handles to lift the bag. Avoid lifting the tree by the trunk.
• Weight considerations: Pleached Screen trees can weigh up to 45 kg when wet. One or two capable people can carry them around the site, or use a dolly or wheelbarrow.

Installing Your Pleached Screen

In-Ground Installation

Pleached Screen trees can be installed in individual holes or in a continuous trench. Individual holes are usually the simpler option, while a continuous trench may be easier where machinery or site conditions suit it.

Site Prep Tips

• Plan ahead: If practical, prepare your holes or trench before your Pleached Screen arrives. This gives you time to identify underground obstacles, check drainage and confirm the required screen length.
• Extra soil: If you’ve removed large plants or roots and don’t have enough soil to backfill, bring in good-quality topsoil.
• Check drainage: Pleached Screen trees need free-draining soil. Check drainage at several points along the installation area, especially at the lowest points. Fill the holes or trench with water and check again after a couple of hours. If water remains, improve the drainage first and follow the WET HEAVY SOIL installation detail below.
• Root control: For vigorous-rooted varieties such as Ficus tuffi, consider installing a 600–900 mm deep root barrier where roots need to be kept away from pipes, paths or other structures. Install the barrier before placing the Pleached Screen trees.

INSTALLATION DEPTH ADJUSTMENTS

• Well-drained soil: Set the top of the rootball level with the surrounding ground.
• Heavy clay soil, wet sites or high water tables: Raise the rootball about one-third above ground level. Cover the exposed sides of the rootball with soil, sloping it down to the surrounding ground. Keep soil away from the tree trunks. See the WET HEAVY SOIL diagram.
• Light sandy soil or when installing your Pleached Screen across a steep site: Dig slightly deeper and set the rootball just below ground level. Keep soil away from the tree trunks. See the DRY SANDY SOIL diagram.

Installation steps

• Dig individual holes 400 mm deep × up to 600 mm wide, or use a continuous trench 400 mm deep × 400 mm wide where machinery or site conditions make that easier. Adjust the depth where needed according to the installation depth guidance above.
• Set aside enough soil for backfilling. Loosen compacted soil at the bottom and sides of the holes or trench with a spade to help roots grow into the surrounding soil.
• Don’t add extras such as gravel, compost, manure, water crystals or fertiliser to the holes or trench. Gravel can worsen drainage problems. Compost and manure break down over time, which can cause the tree to sink, and may be too rich for new roots. Fertiliser can damage roots at this stage, so apply it on top later.
• Prepare the rootball: Water it well while still in the bag. Cut two sides of the bag to gently free the rootball.
• Position the trees: Place the rootballs in the holes or trench at one-metre centres, keeping the trunks upright and the frames level and facing the same way, so the framed foliage meets to create a continuous elevated screen.
• Adjust the trees until they are aligned, then backfill halfway with the soil you set aside and pack it gently around the rootballs. Water to settle the soil, finish backfilling, then slowly apply up to 20 litres of water per tree as the initial watering.
• Stake your Pleached Screen: See the staking guidance below.

In Containers or Planter Boxes

Where Pleached Screen trees are being installed together to form a continuous screen, install them at one-metre centres.

• Large containers: See Specifications for the minimum internal container dimensions required for 45L Pleached Screen trees. Use a quality container mix under and around the rootball. Do not add gravel, compost, manure, water crystals or fertiliser to the container at installation. Follow the relevant installation steps above.
• Open-bottom planters: Use free-draining garden mix or topsoil under and around the rootball, and make sure the soil below the planter also drains freely. Do not add gravel, compost, manure, water crystals or fertiliser at installation. Follow the relevant installation steps above.

Staking

Stake Pleached Screen trees after installation to keep the trunks upright while the roots establish, and secure the frames so they remain level and aligned. The framed foliage can catch the wind. Both trunks and frames should have little to no movement.

• Fence or wall support: Where suitable, secure the frames to a horizontal wire attached to the fence or wall.
• Stake-and-wire support: Install stakes, such as Waratahs, on the sheltered side of the screen and run horizontal wire between them to support the frames.
• Individual tree staking: Where needed, use traditional tree staking with two 1.8 m stakes positioned about 100 mm from the rootball and secure the trunk loosely with soft ties.
• Check regularly: Make sure stakes, wires and ties remain secure and are not rubbing or damaging the trees. Adjust them as the trees establish.
• Remove support when established: Temporary staking can be removed once the roots are well established and the trees remain upright and stable without support. Timing will vary with the site and growing conditions.
• Frames: Leave the bamboo frames in place while the trees establish and the foliage develops. They will gradually break down over time and can be removed later if no longer needed.

Watering

Deep watering is important while Pleached Screen trees establish, particularly through the first one to two summers and during dry or windy periods after that.

Keep the root zone moist but not waterlogged. Check the soil regularly rather than watering to a fixed schedule, as requirements will vary with the variety, soil, season and weather.

For multiple Pleached Screen trees, we recommend dripper irrigation with emitters placed in each rootball. Container-grown trees will need permanent irrigation management because they rely more heavily on supplied water.

As a general guide during establishment and warm, dry weather, water deeply every two to three days. Ficus tuffi may require up to 15 litres per watering in some conditions, while other varieties may need around 5–10 litres.

Check the soil about 50 mm below the surface. It should feel moist, not dry or soggy.

Feeding and Mulching

• Fertiliser: In spring and summer, apply a complete slow-release NPK fertiliser over the rootball area. Follow the product application rate and water it in after applying.
• Mulch: Apply a 50–100 mm layer of organic mulch, such as bark, over the rootball and surrounding soil to help retain moisture and suppress weeds. Keep mulch away from the tree trunks and do not use fresh grass clippings. Refresh the mulch as needed, particularly after feeding in spring.

Trimming

• Evergreen Pleached Screens: Lightly trim up to four times from spring to autumn to maintain the shape and encourage dense growth, even if you are allowing the screen to grow taller or broader.
• Deciduous Pleached Screens: Shape in winter, with a light trim in spring or summer if needed.
• Training and stem growth: Where needed, tie suitable new growth into the frame to help maintain and fill the screen. Remove unwanted shoots that develop on the clear stem.

Ongoing Care

Continue to monitor watering, staking, feeding and trimming as your Pleached Screen establishes and matures.