Nourish your plants
Fertilise hedges
- Details
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No sooner have we planted shrubs that we would like to see them grow as quickly as possible, and that’s a normal reaction. Even if we cannot accelerate time, we can give shrub optimum conditions to grow.
The right fertiliser
All fertilising matters are not suitable for shrubs, far from it. If the shrubs’ growing period (as from the end of March) has not started yet, use organic fertilisers (blood meal or bone meal). They have the advantage of acting over a long period of time and being slowly released. They are called ‘slow-release fertilisers’ because their action plays on endurance.
As they are based on natural matters, you are not likely to overdose (however respect the given dose!) and they are more complete than chemical fertilisers. They are slow-releasing fertilisers. They are not directly assimilated by the plants and must degrade first. As these fertilisers must biodegrade in the ground first, it is useful for the soil to be in close contact with it. Bury them a few centimetres deep or hoe the soil after broadcasting them. For this reason, it is best to supply them as early as possible, as from the end of November up to February.
In season
When the hedge is growing, slow releasing fertiliser is not adequate to encourage your plants to grow. As an alternative, it is possible to use chemical fertilisers. They act quickly but the risk of overdosing is quite high, even for a hedge. Place a few pellets at the base of each shrub and hoe to make them go into the soil. Slow releasing fertilisers are better than powder-form fertilisers. Be careful: after the 15th of August do not supply any fertiliser to your hedge as this would keep it growing for too long into the autumn.
The other fertilisers
Plants manure, manure or home-made compost can be applied directly at the hedge’s base to encourage its growth. But these particular fertilisers must be applied at the right time that is to say between the end of February and before May. They can burn the roots and encourage collar rot of the shrubs! (The collar is the part which separates the roots from the stem). So be careful! - Photos (3)
Fertilise hedges
Shrubs grown in hedges or in the flowering bed like fertiliser but it needs to be carefully dosed.
Author: B&G Media
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Fertilise hedges
You can also bury slow release fertiliser at the bottom of 20cm deep holes, at the vertical point of the branches.
Author: B&G Media
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Fertilise hedges
Coated fertilisers, in pellets or marbles forms must always be protected from sun and bad weather.
Author: B&G Media
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