churchyard Yew Clumps

[wicklamulla]

Hi all,     I have been asked to top these Irish Yew clumps as they are gone a bit wayward and getting close to over head power lines.   They haven't been touched for a few years and look a bit untidy.  They need to be bound up with round fencing wire in order to help them retain their shape and to pull their width in a few inches as one in particular is protruding out onto a footpath and gateway,   it'll also make it easier for me to 'top' them evenly.   I was going to use ratchet straps to initially pull each clump into shape then use galvanised wire and simply wrap the wire back on itself to secure it in position. Should i use fencing gripples,  What say ye?

[Mick Dempsey]

What say I?

 

Where’s the pictures?

Edited July 25, 2018 by Mick Dempsey

[nepia]

I've done exactly that with a few ornamental conifers Ken and it works a treat.  It's good to find some bits of tyre/inner tube etc to protect the stems as they'll ingest the wires if not. I haven't found the need for gripples; I just make loops in one end of the wire, thread the other through and wrap it/tie it off onto itself.

Ratchet straps are good as you can then tie off the wire while it's not under tension but release the ratchet strap into the completed wire assembly.

Use really heavy wire: harder work to set up but lasts so much longer and resists wind gusts better as well as cutting into the stems less.