Instructions

What does the Hedge Navigator offer?

With the Hedge Navigator you can plan and design mixed hedges that are beneficial for the environment. Your perfect mixed hedge is just a few clicks away. This handy online tool helps garden owners and communities select the best species for their hedge.

Which types of hedges are included?

Mixed hedges with native and environment-enhancing tree and shrub species are hardy, resilient, and provide habitat and source of food for the native wildlife. Mixed hedges with site-appropriate species composition rarely suffer damage from drought, pests, or plant diseases. The Hedge Navigator database therefore contains only native or ecologically valuable tree and shrub species.

In addition to extreme weather conditions, which are occurring more often due to the ongoing climate change, trees and shrubs, particularly those in urban areas, have to withstand various other adverse conditions, such as salt from the roads, and general pollution. Due to this the database contains species known to cope well with the impacts of the salt.

At the moment, the Hedge Navigator contains 160 different species that can be used in hedges. The database is continuously updated and maintained.

Using the Hedge Navigator correctly

Choosing hedges for private gardens and public areas.

Owners of private home gardens can search for their dream hedge in the “House & Garden” category.

Garden professionals and all those who work in maintenance of parks, roadside greenery, residential complexes and public green areas can search in the “Public Space” category.

Criterions for selection: quick & detailed choice

If you want to find the perfect hedge suiting a specific site, you should first sort out the conditions of that site, such as light and shade, soil type and quality, water availability, wind situation, and the local microclimate.

When defining the details, you can apply specific requirements regarding the hedge or the conditions on the given site: you can specify various light requirements, the desired height and intensity of growth, ecological value, climate tolerance or the salt tolerance of the species.

With the help of the quick selection guide you can search for hedges for various special applications, such as hedges for windy sites or screening privacy hedges for playgrounds and schools, and all that with just one click.

Personalised lists

 

If you click on the suggested species in the selection menu, you will find a detailed description of the selected shrub or tree species. You can save this information sheet as a PDF file, save it temporarily as your list of favourites (“add to list”), or print it out before heading to the garden centre.

You can view the species that have been shortlisted for you and that you have added to the list by clicking on the “watch list” in the right side of the page.

Choosing the right hedge

When choosing tree or shrub species for a hedge, always think ahead and plan everything carefully to make sure your hedges will grow well, get all they need to look great, and remain healthy for decades and fulfil their potential in delivering all the important ecosystem services.

Before you start planning any specific types of shrubs or their varieties, take your time for a detailed survey and considering all the conditions on the site and the potential specific requirements.

The site, the soil and the actual planting and maintenance of your newly-planted shrubs have a major impact on how your hedge will establish itself and grow.

The site

Every location has its specific conditions in terms of the light, temperature and wind exposure. Not all shrub species or varieties are equal in coping with these conditions – every species has its individual ideal combination of these conditions, its so-called “ecological range”. It is therefore very important to survey the site before planting, and get to know its specifics.

Soil and substrate

Great attention should be paid to the root area. The above-ground part of the bodies of all plants (and woody plants in particular) may only prosper if there is enough space and good conditions for their rooting underground.

Healthy root growth depends on sufficient rooting space. The substrates, meaning the soil or any other materials in which the plants grow, may vary greatly. Specific properties, such as soil type, its grain size (sandy, loamy or clayey), permeability for water, humus and nutrient content, structure and pH (from acidic to alkaline) are the characteristics that define a soil. When it comes to soil, shrubs also have their specific ecological optimum in which they cope, or ideally thrive.

This needs to be carefully considered mainly in urbanized areas where other aspects also play a role in the sum of conditions: pollution by road salt, compaction of the surface which may become sealed and impermeable for water – these are just some of the adverse conditions, in urban spaces, such as streets, which must be taken into account.

Transport and planting

Careful transport and professional planting make for good starting conditions for any trees or shrubs. Appropriate care for the young plants is essential for them to develop well and thrive in the following years. (See also “Planting and care instructions”).

Choosing the right species and varieties

Once the site factors are determined, you can move onto choosing the right species and varieties for your hedge.

At this point you should ask yourself the following questions: What is the function I want my hedge to fulfil? Should it be a privacy hedge, a low hedge or a free-growing wild hedge? See hedge types for more information.

How tall should the hedge be? Aesthetic requirements, such as special colour of the blooms or of the leaves in autumn should be also taken into account.

Habitus, or the growing shape, and tolerance to pruning are also very important factors. Habitus can be e.g. upright, columnar, broadly branching or densely bushy, you name it. All this may have a significant impact on the appearance of your hedge as it grows and matures.

The future, of course, plays an important role too: global warming should be taken into account for shrubs, especially in streets or in built-up areas, which are considered sites with extreme conditions for any plant: only shrubs that demonstrate a high tolerance to climate and to salt should be planted there.

Together for a healthy tomorrow.