Ficus Tuffi Hedge

How To Grow A Ficus Tuffi Hedge NZ

This series of articles explores all the aspects needed to grow a Ficus Tuffi hedge in New Zealand.

Ficus Tuffi Hedge Spacing

Ficus Tuffi make amazing hedges (both formal and informal) and to create an outstanding hedge The Plant Company recommends spacing them 50 cm apart. The faster you want the hedge to fill in, the closer they should be planted is the general rule. With this planting regime they will close in quickly and also push each other upwards as they compete for light. The result is a fabulous hedge every time.

You can go out to 75 cm if the budget is tight but that will often result in a gap at the bottom between plants which is hard to fill. The gap results from the natural vase shape with which these plants grow. In this situation opt for smaller grade sizes and plant more of them rather than going with bigger plants as this will make the money go further and produce a better result in the longer term.

If 25L grades (or bigger) are purchased which are 1m tall and lush, you can space these 75 cm apart without issue. These grades have generally been manicured to ensure they are bushy to the base and will therefore branch and fill in more easily.

How To Grow A Ficus Tuffi Hedge?

Ficus Tuffi make amazing formal hedges (i.e., trimmed) and to create an outstanding hedge, space plants 50-70 cm apart. The faster you want the hedge to fill in, the closer they should be planted. Similarly, space plants closely if you want a dense hedge quickly (i.e., 50 cm apart).

It is important to understand that the hedge is generally pruned in winter with about 10-15% of the exterior vegetation removed. The amount removed depends on how much you need to contain the hedge. The best Ficus Tuffi hedges are trimmed again during summer. The notion being that the trimming is little and often to keep the plants dense and lush. That said, they still look good with once-a-year trimming.

The hedge width can be anywhere from 50 cm to 1.5m for Ficus Tuffi. Narrower hedges will take more regular trimming than wider ones, however. Work out the maximum width you want the hedge to grow to before trimming as you plan the planting. Trimming is generally 5-10 cm back from that outer width and allowing for a centre of at least 30 cm.

How To Grow A Ficus Tuffi Pleached Hedge?

Ficus Tuffi make amazing pleached hedges. The key is to get the right plants from the start and have some patience. If your budget allows, purchase 25L or larger grades that have been standardised. The nursery will have grown these with a clear and straight stem that is about 50-70 cm tall, and a bushy top. Don’t panic if they have don’t have standardised trees, the key is a straight trunk. Space plants anywhere from 50-80 cm apart using a string line and a spirit level to get the plants perfectly aligned. Once planted, find the tree that has the tallest amount of clear stem and use this to set a new string line at that height. Now trim off any branches that are below the string line on the other trees. You can do this several months down the track if you want them to grow some more as trimming will slow the plant down. If your budget does not allow the bigger grades, you’ll need to persist with training it up a stake, and progressively trimming off the branches.

The pleached hedge is generally not trimmed (i.e., hedged) until it has been in the ground for six months. The hedge is generally pruned in winter with about 10-15% of the exterior vegetation removed. The amount removed depends on how much you need to contain the hedge. The best Ficus Tuffy hedges are trimmed again during summer. The notion being that the trimming is little and often to keep the plants dense and lush. That said, they still look good with once-a-year trimming.

The hedge width can be anywhere from 50 cm to 1.5m for Ficus Tuffi. The Plant Company usually recommends 75 cm as the trimmed width. Narrower hedges will take more regular trimming than wider ones, however. Work out the maximum width you want the hedge to grow to before trimming as you plan the planting. Trimming is generally 5-10 cm back from that outer width and allowing for a centre of at least 30 cm.

How To Grow An Informal Ficus Tuffi Hedge

Ficus Tuffi make amazing informal hedges (i.e., minimally trimmed) and to create an outstanding hedge, space plants 50-75 cm apart. The faster you want the hedge to fill in, the closer they should be planted. Similarly, space plants closely if you want a dense hedge quickly (50 cm apart).

The hedge can be trimmed as little or as much as you want given it is the informality you are wanting. Sometimes, however, it is the natural shape of the plants that clients are after but still with the hedge closing in to a large extent. In these situations, The Plant Company recommends spacing plants 1.5 m apart, though they will take longer to close together in this situation.

When Is The Best Time To Trim Ficus Tuffi?

Ficus Tuffi can be trimmed at any time of the year, though winter is the time recommended by The Plant Company. It is the new growth that makes the plants look amazing, so cutting out the older growth to make way for the new growth in spring is the goal. All you need is a good pair of secateurs and you can be as aggressive as you want. The plants will sprout new buds from stumps as long as they are not diseased.

When Ficus Tuffi are grown in pots they are often clipped every 2-3 months. This keeps them dense and helps make them shapelier.

Ficus Tuffy Hedge

A Ficus Tuffy hedge is exactly the same as a Ficus Tuffi hedge and the series of articles that precedes this paragraph affords everything you would ever need to know to grow a Ficus Tuffy hedge well!