Hedge not growing - Thuja Plicata

[Curlybrunette]

Hi,

Wondered if anyone could help. Our back garden backs off to a really busy road so lots of road noise. I wondered if planting a hedge would help it's such a noisy road I very much doubt it

Anyway, I researched hedges and found this The hedge is to grow against a fence, and it's quite shady as we have some huge trees in the garden. I thought these would be ok as it says sunny to full shade.

I planted them last June, they were about 45cm ish. I planted them 2m apart and since June they've done nothing. Not grown, not died, not withered, nothing.

I soaked the roots in water before planting, planted with compost and slow release plant food and watered really well for the first few days. They've been left to fend for themselves since then.

Can you advise anything? If it was that they weren't getting enough sun or water I would have expected that they'd have died or at least withered, but really they look exactly the same as when they went in.

Thanks :-)

I'm not sure about that specific hedge but I planted a hedge a few years ago and it didn't do anything until its second year, and even then, it wasn't until its 3rd+ year that it really took off.
Hopefully it's busy laying its roots

Great thanks maybe I need to be more patient.

I researched and this one said it grows 2-3 feet a year, I convinced myself within 4 years it would be super high and I'd have a silent garden

” and watered really well for the first few days”
That might where you went wrong - newly planted shrubs and trees need to be watered regularly after planting, especially in mid summer when we had some long, hot days (well in the southeast anyway). They wouldn’t have done much growing over winter, but now spring is almost here, they might start to get a move on, hopefully!

If they're still alive then not watering will hopefully mean they've put all their energies into some nice deep roots and fingers crossed you'll see more growth this year.

I put in a clematis armandii last year and am hoping for a growth spurt this year after a very disappointing start.

We have a thuja hedge, it's great as it's evergreen and very thick. But the darker the place it is planted the slower the growth, watering the first days you are lucky it hasn't withered away. As long as the root system is not established all plants need help/water.

Ours is a hedge not single plants beside each other, I don't know which you are after, but our plants are about 50 cm apart in order to fully close.

They often don't really like being moved when they are growing. Hence why trees are usually planted or moved in the winter months when they are dormant. Imagine they will start to grow better this year.

In my experience, conifers can take a good 18 months to establish themselves before they really get going.

Thanks everyone, I do need to be more patient then, and maybe plant some more if I ever want to have a closed hedge!

I find the first year or so plants tend to sit doing 'nothing,' but I think that is the stage they concentrate on the root system. A year or so after they take off with growth.