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A helpful guide on how to plant a emerald cedar hedge

To view our video tutorial on how to plant your cedar hedge click here.

Items you will need

Before you begin planting you cedar hedge you will need the following items:

   • Shovel
   • Rake
   • Drip line hose
   • Fertilizer
   • Watering can
   • Gloves

Pre-Planting instructions

Keep plants in a cool shady area. If available, cover rootballs of unpotted plants with wet burlap to reduce drying. Plant as soon as possible.

Preparing the soil

You always want your trees to stand in a little bit of a crown or slightly raised up. This way excess water will drain away from the trees and will not pool around the root ball. You may have to dig out some of the dirt and add new soil to be able to accomplish this.

Removing you trees from their pots

To take the pot off your tree grab the tree with one hand and lift it to your waist or cradle it over your knee. Then with your other hand firmly hit the rim of the pot with the palm of your hand. Always use caution when lifting as the trees can be very heavy.

Placing your trees in the ground

When placing the tree in the ground you don't want to burry it too deep. Generally you want to keep the top of the root ball 1 Inch above the ground. This will allow water to run off and will prevent you from choking you tree when you apply bark mulch.

Spacing distance of your trees

When spacing your hedge, leave a 3/4 Inch - 1 Inch space at their widest point. This will allow your trees to grow into a nice solid hedge within a few years.

Do not top your trees until they reach your desired height. If you top them before this, they will slow their growth upwards and will start to grow together instead.

Watering your trees

Water all trees & shrubs at least twice a week for the first growing season.

Drip Lines:

It is very important to water your trees. One of the best methods for watering cedar trees is to use a drip line. Drip lines consist of a hose with small holes every 12 Inches. To use a drip line you just tuck the hose under the base of your trees for the entire length of you hedge. Once you have laid out the drip line you can bury it with bark mulch.

If you do not have access to a drip line then try these alternatives:

Soaker hose

1 or 2 deep watering are better than many light watering.

Hand Watering

Water at the base of the tree.

A rule of thumb is to use 1 gallon of water for every 1 foot of growth.

Sprinkler (overhead watering)

This method is the least effective as it does not focus on the roots of the trees. It also promotes pest problems by constantly wetting the foliage.

Applying bark mulch

Once your hedge is planted you can finish up by applying 1" to 1" 1/2 of bark mulch. It is very important not to burry the root ball in bark mulch as you can choke your trees and kill them.

We hope that these tips will help you create a beautiful living hedge for many years to come!