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really is the easiest and most accommodating hedge material I know. Whenever we decided we’d like a hedge all I had to do was to prepare the ground, put in a line (I tied knots in my line at nine-inch intervals for sowing broad beans and planting hedges) and then stick in my cuttings. It doesn’t seem to matter at what time of the year one takes cuttings but they should be of hard wood. I generally use cuttings of about nine inches in length, as straight as possible and after taking off all the side branches from the bottom half push that part into the soil.
    The most important thing when taking cuttings is to see that the earth is pressed as firmly as possible against the cutting, particularly the base from which the tiny roots will soon appear. If they find kind mother earth ready to receive them these little roots take heart and venture further, but if they meet a vacuum they become discouraged. In heavy, lumpy soil it is always safer to use sand or sand and peat. Such a mixture makes an inviting reception for the infant roots, but it must be pressed as tightly as possible to the cutting, starting at the bottom. Some people use a small dibber for this but I feel safer with my fingers, as I know what I am doing. For a screening hedge, such as that used round a compost heap, I put in the cuttings in a single row, nine inches apart, but for a wider, more important hedge, say in front of a garden, a double row, staggered, with a foot between each cutting, is better. After watering I press down the earth on each side, then cut off the tops of the cuttings to encourage side growth.
    I find that Lonicera nitida roots with the slightest excuse, in fact it can be a nuisance because if any little piece is left on the bed after trimming the hedge, it will root. I suffered badly from this until we started using a wide piece of hessian on each side of the hedge to catch all the trimmings.
    We made a mistake with our first hedge in not cutting it down more drastically. We were so anxious for it to grow high enough to hide that disgraceful back door that it wasn’t trimmed properly for a long time, merely cut level. The consequence is that it did not grow thick at the bottom. After twelve years it was nearly four feet wide at the top but only a foot in width at the roots. Though we kept it well clipped the nature of the plant is not equal to the strain of supporting so much flesh. It waved about in the wind, quivering like a jelly, and when there was no wind the line was floppy and undulating. To bring it back it had to be cut down to two feet in height, and cut back so that the top is slightly narrower than the base, and it will continue to be trimmed in this tapering fashion. The cutting back process is not pretty. For several months there were only bare branches to be seen, with horrid maimed stumps, and I received many condolences on the death of my hedge. I explained I had done it myself and I was certain the disfigurement was only temporary. It was during the winter that we dealt so drastically with it, and sure enough in the spring tiny leaves began to appear on those bare branches, and very soon it was as green as ever and needed clipping again. None of the other hedges were as bad as this one, as they were trimmed earlier in their youth, but all have a tendency to get too wide at the top and now we are very firm with them.
    Heavy snow is liable to make temporary havoc of Lonicera nitida and some people cut their hedges like a roof instead of flat to avoid this trouble.
    One has always to take the rough with the smooth, and the advantage of a quick growing hedge means the disadvantage of constant clipping. Four times a year is the minimum required and in between it may need a slight hair cut if one wants to be particularly trim for a particular occasion. If one has only a small hedge a good way of keeping it in check is to cover the sides and top with wire netting and trim down to that. It wouldn’t be possible to use an