PLANTING A HEDGEROW

Photo: Even neglected native hedging can be restored after thirty years with carful hedge laying techniques.

We all have boundary features such as a wall, a hedge or a wooden fence. A fence may be useful to keep out the neighbour’s dog or to stop someone looking into the house but they are a bit barren when it comes to housing wildlife and plants wildlife value. A dry stone wall has an important place in a wildlife garden especially as it gets established, enabling plants, algae and insects to inhabit the cracks.

A mature hedge also provides a thriving community teeming with insects and animals. At the same time, it gives you privacy, protection from the wind and garden security. Fences and walls might not be as high maintenance as a hedge but if you plant the right type of tree or shrub for your site you will only have to cut it back once or twice a year- what better exercise could you need? Now is the time to start looking at bare rooted stock. You will find this at a fraction of the cost of pot grown plants, making the process far cheaper. There are the usual favourites grown for flowers such as escallonia, privet (ideal stick insect food - we still have some to give away if you are interested), berberis and griselinia. Then there are the slower growing shrubs such as the box, lavender or pyracantha. If you have the room though it is definitely worth considering planting a native mixed hedge.

MIXED HEDGE

First find the plants. Bare-root shrubs are favourable but if you are not in a rush then consider collecting seed to sow this year that will allow a hedge to be planted next year.

Use native species, which are commonly found in our countryside hedgerows. A valuable wildlife hedgerow is species-rich. This is planted using 70% hawthorn and 30% of at least 4 other species selected from blackthorn, holly, wild rose, buckthorn, field maple and hazel. Add an occasional tree such as silver birch, rowan, bird cherry or field maple.

Plant a single row or if there is room, a double staggered row. For an effective wind break, the hedge will need to be as thick as possible.

Suppress weed growth for the first few years and water well in the first summer.

Once established, management is the key to success. For a thick hedge prune every 3 years and at an angle to ensure it is wide at the base. Cut a different section every year in rotation. Cut November - February.If the hedgerow is tall and gappy then hedge laying will extend its life, this is an acquired skill, but the main aim is to chop halfway through a main branch of a tree or shrub and than bend it over in to a gap. The side shoots then grow up to fill the spaces (I apologise for oversimplifying the hedge laying process!) This method will eventually encourage a thick bushy base and improve its security value.

Horticultural.