How-to Guide
How to Plant a Hedge: Spacing and Bare-Root Technique
The short answer
Plant a hedge as a single row spaced about 30-60 cm (1-2 ft) apart, choosing the tighter spacing for smaller or slower plants and the wider spacing for vigorous ones. For a thicker, denser barrier, use a staggered double row with the rows about 45 cm (18 in) apart and 90 cm (3 ft) between plants along each row. Bare-root hedging is cheapest and establishes well, but it must go in while dormant (late fall through early spring).
Dig a trench along the whole line rather than separate holes, loosen the soil on both sides, and soak bare-root plants for about an hour before planting so the roots never dry out. Set each plant to its original soil mark, firm in, water thoroughly, and mulch.
Spacing
- Single row: space plants 30-60 cm (1-2 ft) apart depending on size and vigor.
- Denser barrier: plant a staggered double row, rows ~45 cm (18 in) apart, plants ~90 cm (3 ft) apart along each row.
- Buy small bare-root whips — they establish faster and cost far less than large potted plants for a long run.
Planting a bare-root hedge, step by step
- 1Time it right — Plant bare-root hedging while dormant — roughly late fall to early spring, whenever the ground isn't frozen or waterlogged.
- 2Prepare the strip — Dig over and weed the ground about 30 cm either side of the hedge line, then dig a trench slightly wider than the roots so they can spread.
- 3Soak the roots — Keep bare-root plants covered until the moment they go in, and soak the roots in a bucket of water for about an hour first — dried-out roots kill bare-root plants.
- 4Set at the right depth — Plant each to the soil mark left on the stem from the nursery; don't bury the stem deeper than it grew before.
- 5Firm, water, mulch — Firm the soil around the roots, water in well, and mulch to ~5-8 cm (2-3 in), keeping mulch off the stems.
✔ Keep the new hedge well watered through its first growing season, especially in dry spells — a run of plants competes with itself and dries out fast.
Sources
Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.
- Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) — Hedges: planting — Space hedging plants about 30-60 cm apart in a single row, or in a staggered double row 45 cm apart with 90 cm between plants; plant bare-root hedging while dormant into prepared, weed-free ground.
- Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) — How to grow hedges (growing guide) — Prepare the ground either side of the hedge line, keep bare-root plants' roots from drying out, plant to the original soil mark, water in, and mulch the base.