HEDGING INFORMATION SHEET
Buy Hedging Plants
Native trees and Hedging
Hedgerows are important to all wildlife, providing food, nesting
sites and shelter for birds, small mammals and insects. An established hedge
(after 3 years or so), can be increased in interest
and wildlife value by planting additional climbers to weave through the hedge
plants. Honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima)
for moths, butterflies, bees and birds - thrushes, robins, tits and blackbirds
will feast on the berries and seeds. Wild Clematis provides food and nesting
material for birds, moths and bees. Planting one native tree will help wildlife
in some way.
Planting a Wildlife Hedge
Before planting, make sure the soil is
as weed free as possible. We recommend spraying with a Glyphosate
based herbicide prior to planting.
For a new hedge we recommend planting
a double staggered row. 30cm (12”) between the plants and 30cm to 45cm
(12”-18”) between the rows Roughly 7 plants to a
metre, although for a less dense hedge you can plan for 4. The best method is
to peg out a line and plant the first row. When this has been completed, move
the line over and plant the second row, but planting in between the plants in
the previous row.
The planting depth is indicated by the
soil mark on the plants, none of the roots should bend
upwards or be exposed above the soil. To suppress weeds and help maintain the
moisture in the roots, mulch the base of your hedge after planting. Trim off
half the deight of the hedge and for the first two
years remove half the new growth.
If you are not able to plant as soon as you receive the
hedging, then heel in the plants by digging a small, narrow trench and laying
them in at a 45 degree angle. For the short term, say a day, make sure you keep
the plants in the cold and make sure the roots are covered. If the roots dry
out the plant will die.
Cut your hedge regularly once
established. Never cut during the nesting season (1 March to 1 September). Best
time is in February for the wildlife.
Choosing your plants
First
of all, you need to consider what sort of hedge you are aiming for - is it
going to be a wildlife hedge, a security hedge or barrier, for example. If you
are planning to plant a wildlife hedge you need to bear in mind that this will
not be regularly pruned and so will grow tall, and so you need to ensure you
have the space for it - a single row hedge could grow to be as much as 5 ft
wide when fully mature after a number of years; a double row hedge even wider!
If you want a hedge primarily as a barrier against intruders you might want to
consider predominantly thorny plants. If, on the other hand, your hedge is just
serving as a boundary or divider then you an quite
happily trim it every year - but at the expense of fruits and berries for
wildlife. The most wildlife-friendly hedge includes Hawthorn as the bulk of its
make-up. Again, opinion varies as to how much Hawthorn to include, ranging from
25% to 75%. However much hawthorn you decide to incorporate, plant up the rest
of the hedge with around four other species in varying amounts. It is a good
idea to look at other native hedges in your surrounding area to see what plants
they consist of and then plant the same in your hedge so that you are keeping
your plants native to your local area. If you have no hedgerows nearby to
compare, then the following are all native hedgerow plants:
Cratageus monogyna (Hawthorn)
Euonymous europaeus (Spindle)
Rosa canina (Dog Rose)
Prunus spinosa (Blackthorn)
Malus sylvestris (Crab Apple)
Coryllus avellana (Hazel)
Carpinus betulus (Hornbeam)
Acer campestre (Field Maple)
Rosa canina (Dog rose)
Ligustrum Vulgar (Wild
Privet)
The hedge can be of one
variety, with just a few or even one native tree, this
will be of some wildlife value. Incorporate hedgerow trees (such as Crab Apple,
Field Maple and Hazel) intermittently in the hedge, which you can let grow a
bit taller than the hedge.
We supply native hedging bare-rooted from 1 November to 1 April,
we can supply as late as to the end of May as we have cold store facilities,
although these plants cannot be guaranteed. We provide hedge packs of 25 plants
we will also provide a ready mix of native hedge plants by the metre, please
Email or fax for prices.
Woodgrow Horticulture Limited, Burton Road, Findern, DERBY, DE65 6BE
Tel: 01332 517600 Email:
sales@woodgrow.com