Hedges: Can you plant 6' cedar hedge trees and trim down to 5' w/o killing them?

We are new to the Board - great community BTW!

We are planning a hedge for our house, and like cedar hedge trees - we found a great price for them here in Victoria but they are 6'-6.5' tall, and we planned a hedge that is 5' tall.

Can you trim the new trees down from 6' to 5' without hurting them?

And if you can, should we do it right away, allow the trees to root first, or do it over a period of time?

And lastly, how close to each other can we plant them? We have seen a diversity of opinions but think 12"-18" is the average. Is that correct?

Thanks for your help!

 

Why not get smaller, cheaper plants?

 

I would also suggest to plant smaller ones if available. spacing for 'cedars' is usually 24 inches from center to center. Thats what I do for thuja occ. and Thuja occ. Smaragd, the two most common ones here.

 

Thanks for the suggestions - Our purpose for the hedge was to keep our 16-month-old son inside our yard, given that he just acquired "fresh wheels" and is now avidly exploring everything he has in sight. Thus we need something that will present at least a visual barrier now.

Also for some weird market reason the smaller trees are more expensive than the big trees in the places that we have looked at due to seasonal promotions.

Are the bigger trees adversely affected by such reduction in height? But maybe as you indicate it is best to be patient and let the hedge grow into its own.

If we got 4' or 5' trees, how long will it take them to grow into an adequate size to fill-in the hedge?



And which species is best for a tight hedge?

Thanks.

 

Why is it so important to plant a 5ft. rather than 6ft? There's not that much difference, unless it's a question of blocking a view. A cedar hedge should be trimmed back a little each year to help it bush out. We planted a 6ft. cedar hedge 3 years ago, each tree 2ft. apart. We trim it back a little each year and it is now filled out into a nice thick hedge. We fertilise it every Spring and it is in good soil with plenty of peat moss.