← All guides · Planting · Updated October 2026

How to plant a root ball hedge in Broadstairs: steps, chalk-soil preparation and the instant-screening option for CT10 gardens.

Root ball hedging gives you a metre or more of established hedge on day one. The plants are field-grown for three to five years, lifted with a solid ball of soil around the roots and wrapped in biodegradable hessian, which you leave on. The technique is genuinely different from bare-root planting: the plants are heavier, the soil-root bond must not be disturbed, and the watering demand in the first summer is substantially higher. On the fast-draining Margate Chalk under most of Broadstairs and CT10, getting the first-summer watering right is what decides whether an expensive yew hedge establishes or fails.

Method

Step 1: Confirm timing, check the conservation area map, and survey site access

Root ball season runs from October to April, when the plants are dormant or semi-dormant and the soil ball suffers least stress in transit. Most UK nurseries dispatch from late October through March. October and November are the preferred months on the Thanet coast: the ground is still warm from summer, which encourages root extension before the cold stops growth, and the autumn rains have usually started, reducing the immediate watering burden. March plantings are workable but leave less recovery time before the first dry CT10 summer.

Before ordering, check whether the planting site falls inside one of the four Broadstairs-area conservation areas: Broadstairs CA, St Peter's CA, Reading Street CA or Kingsgate CA. The s.211 notice requirement applies to trees with a trunk over 75mm in diameter at 1.5m above ground, not to installing new hedging, and hedges and shrubs are normally not covered. However, if clearing the ground for the new planting involves a tree, including one growing in an old hedge, that work may need six weeks' written notice. Check the Thanet District Council conservation area map before starting, and read the conservation area guide if you are unsure.

Root ball plants at 1.0-1.5m height weigh 20-40 kg each depending on species and soil type. A 20m hedge run of yew at 100cm spacing uses around 20 plants and approximately 600-800 kg of plant material. Consider vehicle access to the planting site before ordering: root balls delivered to a front garden are easily handled, but moving them through a house or down a 50-step cliff garden path is a different proposition entirely. On some clifftop properties with no side access, delivery needs specialist handling.

Step 2: Mark the line and prepare the trench

Run a string line along the full hedge position. Drive pegs at 2m intervals and mark the planting positions with spray paint or small canes: root ball spacing for a formal screen is typically 80-100cm centre to centre for yew and hornbeam, 60-80cm for beech. Tighter spacing gives a gapless result faster; looser spacing is cheaper and still closes within 3-4 years on fast-growing species.

Dig a trench the full length of the planned hedge rather than individual holes. The trench should be approximately one third wider than the largest root ball you are planting, and exactly the depth of the root ball with no more: the collar (where the trunk meets the root ball) must sit at the same level as the surrounding soil, not below it. Planting too deep is the single most common installation error: roots in the anaerobic zone below the soil collar invite basal rot.

On the shallow Margate Chalk that underlies most of Broadstairs and CT10, soil depth to solid chalk rock varies from site to site. For root balls up to 400mm deep, check the depth first. Where the chalk is very shallow and the root ball would sit on solid rock, break the chalk base with a mattock and fill the base of the trench with 50-75mm of good topsoil mixed with organic matter before positioning the plants. Backfill soil should be improved: one part well-rotted compost or leaf mould to three parts of the excavated chalk-and-flint soil. The chalk is free-draining and low in organic matter; the organic amendment retains moisture around the new roots through the first dry summer.

Step 3: Handle root balls carefully and never drop them

The soil ball around a root ball plant is held together by fine roots. If the ball is dropped, rolled or struck hard, the soil mass cracks and root damage is significant and irreversible. Lift root balls by the hessian or the wire cage, not by the trunk. Carry them upright, or use a wheelbarrow with padding if the distance from delivery point to trench is more than a few metres. On clifftop sites where plants must be lowered by rope, wrap each root ball in a second hessian sheet before lowering.

Keep root balls moist in transit and between delivery and planting. If delivery is on a dry day and planting cannot start immediately, stand the root balls upright in a shaded spot and water the tops gently: the hessian will absorb and hold moisture for 24-48 hours. Do not leave root ball plants lying on their sides for extended periods: the lateral pressure can fracture the root ball over a day or two.

Step 4: Position root balls in the trench, check depth, and assess the hessian

Lower each root ball into position and check that the collar sits at soil level. A useful reference: look for the original soil line on the trunk, which is usually visible as a slight colour change or a line of soil staining. This should align with the top of your prepared trench. Adjust the depth of the base of each position individually: chalk sites are uneven and individual adjustment beats filling the entire trench to a standard depth.

Leave the hessian wrapping in place. Natural hessian is biodegradable and will break down within 1-2 seasons after planting, causing no harm to root development. It holds the soil ball together during and after planting, which protects the fine roots during the critical first weeks. If the wrapping is polythene or synthetic fabric rather than natural hessian, remove it: synthetic materials do not break down and will constrict roots as the plant grows. Check by touch and by smell (natural hessian smells of jute, not plastic).

If the root ball is enclosed in a wire cage in addition to hessian, cut and fold back the top section of the cage after placing the root ball in the trench, so the top third of wire mesh is removed or folded down below the soil surface. The remainder can stay, as the wire corrodes over the following seasons. On clay or chalk soils with restricted drainage, removing as much wire as is practical without disturbing the root ball is better practice.

Step 5: Backfill and firm

Some planters add mycorrhizal granules to the planting positions before backfilling, sprinkling them around the root ball collar and into the backfill soil. Treat them as an optional extra rather than a substitute for good soil preparation and watering, which matter far more on the free-draining Thanet chalk.

Backfill with the improved topsoil, working it firmly into the gaps around the root ball to exclude air pockets. Use your heel to firm every 100mm depth of backfill: air pockets dry out and cause root dieback in the weeks after planting. Do not compact so heavily that you compact the chalk beneath the root ball, which would impede drainage. The finished soil level should be at or just below the collar, with a slight depression around each plant to channel rainwater inward rather than away.

Step 6: Water in thoroughly and apply a 75mm mulch

Water each root ball immediately after backfilling, using enough water to saturate the root ball and the surrounding improved soil. For a root ball 400mm in diameter, that is approximately 15-20 litres per plant: a standard watering can is 9 litres, so two full cans is the minimum. On a hot or windy day, more is better. The water draws the backfill soil into close contact with the hessian and root ball, eliminating the last air gaps.

Apply a 75mm bark mulch along the full hedge run, keeping it 50-100mm away from each trunk. Mulch on the Margate Chalk is not decorative: it is structural. The chalk drains very freely, so without mulch a shower soaks in and drains below root depth quickly. The bark mulch slows evaporation, keeps the chalk surface cooler in the dry months, and suppresses weeds that would compete for the limited moisture. Replace or top up the mulch to 75mm each spring for the first three years.

Step 7: Stake exposed-site root balls and plan the first-summer watering regime

Root ball plants at 1.0-1.5m height have enough above-ground sail area to be rocked by wind before the root ball is anchored. On exposed sites, particularly on clifftop gardens above Kingsgate, North Foreland or Stone Bay, stake each plant using two low stakes (not taller than one third of the plant height) connected by a soft tree tie, allowing the trunk to flex. This flexing is important: it encourages trunk and root-system development. The stakes should hold the root ball in position, not hold the plant rigid.

Plan a watering regime before the first dry spell, not during it. In CT10 conditions, root ball plantings done in October-November need attention from April onward in a typical year, and from March onward in a dry year. Thanet gets around 615mm of rain a year, one of the drier parts of England, and CT10 summers are regularly dry enough to kill newly planted root balls that are not actively watered. The minimum regime for the first summer: water each plant to field capacity (until water is no longer absorbed into the root zone) every 10-14 days in dry weather, increasing to every 7 days in a June-July dry period. Use a slow-release or drip application rather than a fast-spray watering can, which tends to run off the chalk surface before penetrating. A drip hose laid along the hedge run at mulch level is the most effective approach for a long hedge run. Newly planted root balls need this attention for two full growing seasons, not one.

Root ball vs bare-root: which to choose for a CT10 garden

Root ball and bare-root are both autumn-to-spring planting methods, both dormant-season approaches, and both suit the Thanet chalk well if the soil preparation is done properly. The difference is scale, cost and timing of impact.

Bare-root plants are the economical choice for volume: a bare-root planting costs a fraction of the same length of root ball hedge. For a long field or garden boundary where eventual closure is the goal and time is not a constraint, bare-root wins on cost. The bare-root planting guide covers the technique in full.

Root ball is the choice when instant impact matters. For a Broadstairs holiday-let owner who wants a new yew or hornbeam screen in place before the April bookings start, root ball delivers a visually complete hedge from day one. For a garden in one of the four conservation areas where a newly installed root ball hedge provides immediate character without the three to four year wait for bare-root to fill, root ball is worth the premium. For a clifftop property above Viking Bay where the view from the upstairs window needs screening before the summer guests arrive, root ball yew or beech at 1.2m gives the result from October planting onward.

The cost premium is real: root ball yew at 1.0-1.5m costs many times more per plant than bare-root yew, and you need fewer of them only if you accept wider spacing. If budget is the constraint and time is not, bare-root is the answer. I quote a fixed price after seeing photos or a site visit, and can price both options side by side.

Species for root ball planting on CT10 chalk

Not all species perform equally as root ball specimens. The best candidates for Broadstairs and CT10 conditions are those that transplant well with a soil ball and handle chalk once established.

Taxus baccata (yew) is a very popular root ball species. Yew transplants well as a root ball, establishes reliably on chalk once watered through the first summer, and gives the finest formal hedge surface of any species available in root ball form. Root ball yew is the usual approach when a garden needs a new formal hedge to match existing mature yew. The toxic foliage and berries are a practical consideration where children or livestock access the garden, but not a structural objection for most Broadstairs situations.

Carpinus betulus (hornbeam) is the coastal-climate alternative to beech where salt or wet winters are a concern. Hornbeam root balls transplant cleanly, establish well on chalk, and retain dead brown leaves through winter (as beech does) giving year-round screening. It is a good choice for CT10 gardens with heavier clay-with-flints sub-soils on the chalk, where beech sometimes performs less well than expected. See the hornbeam pruning guide for maintenance from the first year onward.

Fagus sylvatica (beech) makes an excellent root ball hedge where the site is sheltered and the chalk is deep enough to provide good drainage without being so shallow that summer drought is severe. On the most exposed clifftop positions, hornbeam is more reliable.

For informal or mixed root ball schemes on the Thanet coast, Griselinia littoralis, Elaeagnus x ebbingei and Escallonia macrantha are available in root ball form from specialist coastal hedging nurseries. These front-line salt-wind species are covered in the coastal species guide.

One thing to check before ordering: the chalk depth at your planting line

On some clifftop plots, the topsoil over chalk can be less than 200mm before you hit solid rock. A standard root ball yew at 1.0m height has a root ball 300-400mm deep. That root ball will not go into less than 200mm of usable soil without serious modification.

The test: dig a trial hole at the proposed planting line, 400mm deep and 400mm wide. If you hit solid chalk before 300mm depth, you have two options: either break the chalk base with a hired breaker and fill with imported topsoil to the required depth (an extra labour step worth allowing for before ordering plants), or choose smaller root ball specimens (60-80cm height, typically 200-250mm root ball depth) and accept a longer wait to full hedge height.

I carry out chalk-depth surveys as part of planting quotes for CT10 root ball jobs. The five-minute test at the proposed planting line saves the cost of finding out when the first plant is in the ground and the second position is solid chalk.

Sources: Hedges Direct (hedgesdirect.co.uk; UK hedging supplier), "Hedges Direct Supply English Yew Root Balls To Radio Presenter Sam Pinkham" (youtube.com/watch?v=NyWSAcLiYUA); Hedges Direct, "What's the difference? Bare root, root ball, pot grown & cell grown Hedging Plants" (youtube.com/watch?v=7TQdLLxhVHo); Hedges Direct, "How To Plant A Root Ball Hedge" (youtube.com/watch?v=u_jSdxvx46c); Ashridge Trees, "How to Plant Rootballed Yew Hedging" (blogs.ashridgetrees.co.uk); Paramount Plants and Gardens, "How to Plant Root Ball Plants: Step by Step Explanation & Video" (paramountplants.co.uk); Hedges Direct, "A Complete Guide on How to Plant Hedging" (hedgesdirect.co.uk/advice/hedging-planting-advice/how-to-plant-hedging); Royal Horticultural Society, "Hedges: Planting" (rhs.org.uk/plants/types/hedges/planting); British Geological Survey, Upper Chalk Bedrock, SE England; Met Office, Manston climate averages 1991-2020; Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, s.1; Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s.211.