Hedges should be looking lush and healthy after the recent sunny weather, but gardeners need to keep a close eye on them in June to ensure they stay green. Plants release water through their leaves to stay cool during summer, and this can place considerable stress on hedges because their dense foliage increases moisture loss.
Why Hedges Struggle in Summer
Many gardeners try hosing down their hedges to stop them drying out, but this does not actually help as the water tends to evaporate before it can reach the roots. If hedges cannot retain any water in their soil then they will become stressed out, turn brown and their leaves will even fall off so you end up with big bare patches around a garden.
The Simple Solution: Mulching
However, the gardening experts at World of Hedges have shared that it is easy to keep hedges safe from high temperatures, as all you need to do is mulch the ground now in June before it can lose water. They said: "Mulching is one of the best ways to protect your hedges from the heat. Mulch helps retain soil moisture, which is essential during hot weather. Apply a layer of mulch around your hedges, keeping it away from the base of the plants. This will help to prevent roots from overheating and will also help to keep the soil moist."
Mulching is a simple gardening technique of spreading a material around a plant, and in summer, it is usually done to slow water evaporation. It helps keep the soil moist so the roots can stay hydrated and will even keep hedges cool so their leaves do not lose any moisture during scorching hot weather.
Benefits of Mulching Now
Taking the time to mulch now will stop hedges from becoming stressed out, so they stay as bushy as possible and keep growing their beautiful green leaves all summer. It can even protect hedges during heatwaves or droughts so you do not need to worry about hovering around your hedges with a hose all the time.
What is the Best Mulch to Use on Hedges?
The absolute best mulch for hedges tends to be wood chips, as it greatly helps slow down water evaporation and is long-lasting so you will not need to keep replenishing it. Wood bark can often last a year or even longer without breaking down, so you will only have to mulch once to keep your hedges protected throughout the summer.
What is fantastic about wood chips is that not only does it keep hedges watered for longer, but once it decomposes, it will add more organic matter to the soil, which will feed your garden.
How to Mulch Hedges Properly
You can buy wood chips at gardening centres and even some supermarkets, then all you have to do is spread a five-centimetre deep layer along the entire hedge line. Leave a small gap around the base of each hedge plant, as piling too much mulch on the stems will release too much water, which could cause it to rot. Make sure to deeply water the mulch once you are done, and your hedges should stay a rich green and well-maintained throughout the rest of the summer months.
