A good hedge does more than look neat. It adds privacy, reduces noise, frames the garden and acts as a windbreak, and a two metre wall of glossy foliage does the job of a fence with considerably more charm. Whether you are after a formal boundary line or a looser screen, a healthy hedge comes down to the right plant choice and steady care through the year.
The encouraging part is that planting a hedge is a single weekend job for most suburban yards. This is the process we walk customers through every week: measure the space, match a plant to it, get the spacing right, prepare the soil properly, then look after the row hard through its first summer. Do those five things in order and the plants handle the rest. The difference between a hedge that closes over in two years and one that limps along with gaps forever almost always comes down to decisions made before a single hole is dug.
Step 1: Measure the space and set a target height
Walk the boundary with a tape measure and note three numbers: the length of the run, the width of bed you can give the plants, and the height you actually need to block the sightline. Stand where you want privacy, look at what you are screening and estimate honestly. Most second storey windows need 3.5m to 4m of foliage; a neighbour's patio usually needs only 2m to 2.5m. Screening higher than you need means more pruning for the rest of your life, so aim for the real number rather than the biggest one.
Width matters just as much. A viburnum hedge wants a bed at least a metre wide, while clumping bamboo or a narrow photinia can screen from a bed of 50cm to 60cm. Check for underground services, irrigation lines and concrete footings before you commit to a position.
Planning the layout
Decide how much ground you can allocate before you fall in love with a variety, because different species need very different amounts of room. Note the sun and shade at various times of day, since a hedge that is bright at 9am and in deep shade by noon will thicken unevenly. Then settle the shape: a straight run reads formal and is quickest to trim, while a gentle curve follows the contours of the block and suits a natural garden. Measure the area accurately and mark it out with pegs and string before ordering, so the plant count matches the ground rather than the other way around.
Understanding growth rates
Growth rate is the single figure that decides how long you wait and how often you climb a ladder. Fast species such as sweet viburnum, lilly pilly and leyland cypress can add close to a metre a year and will obscure an unsightly view within a couple of seasons, but they ask for regular trimming to hold a shape. Slow, fine-leaved plants like box develop into long-lived, dense and beautifully formal spectacles, but they demand patience. Match the pace of the plant to how much privacy you need immediately and how much maintenance you genuinely want, and you will be happy with the hedge for a decade. Our roundup of fast growing hedges for Aussie gardens compares the quickest options side by side.
Step 2: Choose your hedging plant
Before you plant, ask yourself four questions: how tall do I want it to grow, how wide can it be, do I want it evergreen or flowering, and how much pruning am I willing to do? The answers narrow the field fast.
Viburnum: the fast all rounder
Sweet viburnum is the workhorse of Australian screening, putting on up to a metre a year with big, soft, glossy leaves, and it is excellent for noise and wind screening. Sweet Viburnum starts from $10.95 and suits screens of 3m to 4m. For a tidier, more compact version, Viburnum Dense Fence from $16.95 branches densely from the base and holds a neat 2.5m to 3m. Our guide to viburnum odoratissimum in garden design covers both in detail.
Photinia: colour and cold tolerance
Where winters bite, photinia shrugs off frost that browns off softer species, and every prune brings a flush of bright red new growth. Photinia Red Robin from $19.95 is the classic for a 3m to 4m screen, while Photinia Thin Red is bred for narrow beds where you cannot spare the width. The photinia care guide goes deeper on feeding and timing the trims to catch that red flush.
Lilly pilly and murraya: the polished choices
Native lilly pillies give fast, dense cover with coppery new growth and fluffy white flowers, and murraya adds orange blossom perfume to a formal hedge. Both respond beautifully to regular trimming, and both are proven performers in Australian conditions. Read the lilly pilly care guide to match a variety to your climate and height, and our step-by-step on how to plant and prune Lilly Pilly 'Resilience' if that is the variety you have settled on.
Box: the classic formal hedge
For low borders, parterres and topiary, nothing beats box. English Box is slow growing but neat and tidy, holding a crisp edge with two trims a year, and Japanese Box is the faster, more heat tolerant alternative for warmer states. Our English box and buxus care guide explains how to keep the base dense as the hedge ages.
Bamboo and conifers: height in a hurry
For 4m to 6m of screening from a strip of ground, clumping bamboo is unmatched. Alphonse Karr Bamboo from $36.95 gives striped golden canes and stays politely in its clump; our guide to bamboo for screening explains the difference between clumping and running types. In cooler zones, Leighton Green Conifer from $19.95 builds a dense evergreen wall, and Pittosporum Silver Sheen Dream from $16.95 offers a softer, shimmering alternative.
Step 3: Get the spacing right
Correct spacing is what separates a dense hedge from a row of individual shrubs. Closer spacing closes the gaps sooner but costs more; wider spacing saves money and takes an extra season or two. Planted too tightly, shrubs compete for nutrients and grow weak and uneven; planted too generously, you are left with a sparse hedge and permanent gaps. As a rule, space plants at roughly a third to a half of the final hedge height. These are the spacings we recommend most often.
Quick facts
| Sweet viburnum | 1m apart, screens 3m to 4m tall |
|---|---|
| Viburnum Dense Fence | 60 to 75cm apart, 2.5m to 3m tall |
| Photinia Red Robin | 75cm to 1m apart, 3m to 4m tall |
| Lilly pilly | 75cm to 1m apart, 2m to 5m tall |
| Murraya | 50 to 75cm apart, 2m to 3m tall |
| Box | 20 to 40cm apart, 0.3m to 1m tall |
| Clumping bamboo | 1 to 1.5m apart, 4m to 6m tall |
| Leighton Green | 1 to 1.5m apart, 4m and beyond |
To take the guesswork out, punch your fence length into our hedge calculator and it will tell you exactly how many plants to order.
Step 4: Prepare the soil
A fortnight before planting, dig over the whole strip rather than individual holes, breaking up compaction to a spade's depth. A straight trench beats a line of separate holes because roots then spread uniformly along the run. Clear every weed first so nothing competes for nutrients while the plants establish.
Work in compost or aged manure at about a bucket per metre; organic matter improves structure, feeds soil microbes and holds moisture through the first summer. A soil test is worth the small cost, since most hedging plants want a slightly acidic to neutral pH, and you can correct with lime to raise it or sulphur to lower it before anything is in the ground. In heavy clay, add gypsum and mound the bed 10cm to 15cm above grade so roots never sit in water, because poor drainage and root rot kill more young hedges than drought does. In sand, extra organic matter is what carries the row through January. Water the prepared bed and let it settle.
Step 5: Planting day
Run a string line 60cm or more off the fence so trunks have room to thicken, then mark your spacings along it. Dig each hole twice the width of the pot but no deeper, tease out any circling roots, and set each plant so the top of the root ball sits level with the soil. Backfill, firm gently and water each plant with at least a full watering can, even if rain is forecast. Finish with 75mm of mulch across the bed, kept clear of the stems, to suppress weeds and lock in moisture.
The first year
Watering: deep soak twice a week for the first month, then weekly through the first summer. A dry fortnight in January is how most young hedges are lost. Watch the weather rather than the calendar: a wet week means you can skip a watering, a hot dry one means an extra soak.
Feeding: apply a controlled-release fertiliser in early spring and again in midsummer or mid autumn. Fast growers are hungry growers, and liquid seaweed or compost tea between feeds helps root health.
Pruning: resist the urge to let plants race to full height. Tip prune lightly every time growth extends 20cm to 30cm, which forces branching low down and prevents the bare legged hedge that no amount of pruning fixes later.
Pruning for shape and density
Hedges love being pruned, but timing and technique matter.
When to prune
Give the hedge a light trim every six to eight weeks through the growing season, from spring to early autumn. Save any hard prune for late winter or early spring, and only if the hedge has become overgrown or sparse. A meticulous schedule tied to the plant's growth cycle is what produces a genuinely uniform face.
How to prune
Always cut just above a node, where a leaf meets a stem, to encourage new growth, and use sharp, clean tools so stems are not crushed. Trim the sides slightly narrower at the top than at the base: that taper lets sunlight reach the lower branches and prevents a leggy hedge with a bald bottom. Do not cut into old bare wood on slower-growing varieties, because many will not reshoot from it. Start shaping early rather than waiting for the hedge to reach full height, since regular shaping from a young age is what builds density.
Ongoing maintenance
Watering: water deeply during dry spells. Once established, most hedges are fairly drought tolerant, especially natives like lilly pilly.
Mulching: top up mulch every few months to maintain moisture and reduce weeds, keeping it clear of the trunks to prevent collar rot.
Pest and disease watch: check lilly pillies for psyllids and treat with eco-oil or a neem-based spray at the first sign of pimpled new growth. Keep an eye out for fungal issues in humid or shaded spots, and thin congested growth to improve airflow.
Frequently asked questions
How far from the fence should I plant a hedge?
Keep trunks at least 50cm to 60cm off the fence so plants can thicken evenly on both sides. Bamboo can sit slightly closer because its canes stay vertical.
How long until I get full privacy?
With good soil preparation and water, fast species like sweet viburnum and lilly pilly typically close over in two to three years from 200mm pots. Bamboo can screen in 12 to 18 months.
Is tubestock worth it for a long hedge?
Yes. Tubestock costs a fraction of advanced stock, establishes quickly and usually catches up within two seasons, which makes it the smart buy for runs over 10m.
Should I trim a new hedge in the first year?
Lightly, yes. Regular tip pruning from the start builds density at the base, and a dense base is the whole point of a hedge.
Ready to plant?
Browse our full privacy and screening range, compare the quickest options in fast growing plants, or keep the budget in check with tubestock. Advanced sizes are available for instant screening. Run your numbers through the hedge calculator and your whole hedge can be on a truck this week.
