Suggestions for a native hedge

Hi everyone,

We currently have a rather sad and weather-worn wooden boundary fence that we're contemplating replacing with a native hedge, but not knowing much about them I thought I'd ask what people think of the idea.

The fence is about 42 feet (12 metres) long.
The soil is quite a heavy clay, although it has been improved in places with organic matter.

I've done some Googling and established a list of suitable shrubs to create a hedge, including:

• Guelder Rose
• Holly
• Spindle Tree
• Elder
• Dogwood
• Wayfaring Tree
• Blackthorn
• Hawthorn
• Wild Cherry
• Field Maple
• Dog Rose
• Hazel

My main question is how practical a proposition is this, and roughly how thick (wide) will the hedge become (this is something that our neighbour is bound to ask)?

All advice and useful information is gratefully received.

Tony.

 

Hi Tony

Welcome to the forum , you are still in time to buy bare root native hedging which makes it a lot cheaper £ .

With a hedge its up to you how high and what depth but I would say a meter width is best , dont worry about the neighbor its your garden and it will take a while to grow so they get used to it plus just say anything that grows over the boundary you will keep trimmed.

If me I would have a Google and buy a ready mixed "native hedge" and this will take out all the worry of choosing , I would go with one that has a 30% hawthorn mix which will give it more structure and strength

You just need to prepare the soil , you have mentioned heavy clay so it would need a good spade depth to break it up and mix in some compost etc what you don't want to do is create little planting pockets as this will act as a reservoir and hold the water over winter which for a newly planted hedge would make it struggle.

Hope this helps

Spruce

 

What about a Beech hedge,it makes a nice hedge ,you get the green in the summer month's and in the winter it holds it leaves which have turned brown.Grow to 2 mts high and about 1 mtr wide.But don't let it get any higher then 2 mts as you could end up with problems from your neighbor.

 

Welcome to GC Tony.

As Spruce has already said, it's up to you what size you let the hedge grow to. If you want to keep it small, say under a metre wide as Spruce suggests, you will probably need to cut it a couple of times a year once established.
If this is the size you're looking for, some of the plants on your list would be better at producing a more 'compact' hedge than others. I'd go for holly, blackthorn, hawthorn, field maple and hazel, all of which will produce a good thick hedge which can be kept relatively small.

If you want a much larger, more 'open' hedge, then pretty much anything on the list will do. This type of hedge would probably only need cutting once a year, preferably in the winter. For this you'd need to set aside a whole day, as some of the growth will be thick enough to require the use of secateurs or loppers.

Unless you have plenty of room to allow for a really large hedge, I'd avoid elder, cherry or dog rose, all of which are fast growing plants which produce rather lanky, open growth not really suited to regular cutting.

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner

And please accept the award for longest pause between joining and posting

I'd lob a few more edibles in there for wine/jam making if it were me, Wild Service Tree, Medlar, Damson

 

Although a mixed hedge has been suggested I always find they look scruffy. The individual plants grow at different rates and if you want to keep it trimmed you'll find yourself cutting it back several times a year.

Field Maple, isn't that the one that throws up suckers everywhere?

I like the idea of the Dog rose, it will give flower colour during spring/summer and hips later in the year. It is also available in semi-evergreen form.

 

Sorry for not responding sooner but I've been away for a few days.

Thanks everyone for your replies, plenty of food for thought there!
I'm thinking it will be a fairly informal hedge, plenty of interest throughout the year and to the local bird life.

A reasonably low maintenance hedge would also be of benefit. Although I've got no issue with carrying out a regular trim on our side, I know our neighbours won't, and I don't want to be in there every month or two to keep it under control.

 

Hi

Most hedges only need a cut twice a year "if" and some just the once.
It will be a good couple of years before that happens.

You have about 6 weeks left for bare root plants, then the price will jump up as you will have to buy grown in pots.

 

Plus some Crab Apples and maybe some Mirabelle Plums (the latter can be used both as hedging and allowed to grow as trees).

What my local nursery sells as native hedging http://www.hedging.co.uk/acatalog/product_10798.html

 

A nice row of variegated hollies grown as a hedge takes some beating in my book