Hawthorn hedge - should I cut it in half?

[Guest Gimlet]

2 hours ago, Nopedigree said:

Could someone please advise how old (trunk diameter?) hawthorn needs to be before laying for the first time? The hedge is 7 years old and currently cut at about 6 foot tall. When it’s time to lay should I leave that summers growth, ie no trimming the year it will be layer in the winter? Finally anyone near Ludlow that lays hedges on here?

 

thanks.

 

NoPedigree

It's less about stem thickness than height. A hedge really needs to be at least eight feet high before laying. The stem thickness of an eight foot+ tree will vary according to local growing conditions but they should be at least 2" thick. 

 

Old hawthorn can sometimes be troublesome to lay. If it has been flailed it can become extremely contorted and twisted and neighbouring trees can fuse together so you end up trimming off more than you'd like. And as it gets older and builds a denser canopy it tends to shed branches at ground level and concentrate its energy on those higher up which get more light (basically turning into a mature tree with a tree trunk), and that can make for a hedge that's gappy at the bottom. A hedge of younger plants tends to produce more side growth at the base. 

Also, as it ages, a hawthorn trunk can become lobed in cross section and the heart wood becomes darker and harder. Invariably it is sod's law that the most deeply inset lobes occur on the side you want to form your tongue (hinge).   

 

My ideal hawthorn hedge for laying would have stems no more than 4" thick and never been flail cut. And if planting whips with the intention of laying as soon as it is mature enough, I wouldn't cut the whips down, so the trees grow more columnar.

 

Just my view. Other opinions are available..

[peds]

On 31/03/2021 at 16:32, spandit said:

Just planted 100 of the 200 40-50cm whips I bought to make a dog resistant boundary along my neighbour's fence, which is in a poor state of repair. Sure I read somewhere that once they're planted, they should be cut in half to make them bushier lower down or is this a myth? Do cuttings ever sprout, with a bit of rooting compound on them?

 

Howdy,

I've just planted a hedge of 230 whips, various species, 30 of which being hawthorn (also fuchsia, cornelian cherry, autumn olive, hazel, various others, planted in clusters of 3-5). I've decided not to cut them now, but a little later in the year. When I do, I'll be dibbing a hole into the ground for each and every twig and dropping them straight in next to the parent plant, with lowest leaves removed.

Meanwhile, a few weeks previous to this, I'll be firing a load of white willow through the wood chipper and steeping it in a pair of 200l water barrels for a fortnight. The water will take on a load of auxin, the hormone that (among other things) encourages rooting, which willow produces in spades (which is why they'll happily grow from cuttings, tencacious buggers, and why some people suggest leaving a stick of willow in your water when taking cuttings of other plants). I'll give the hedge a douse with that twice over a couple of days. I don't expect the success rate to be 100%, but I'm confident it'll be somewhere high enough above zero to be worth doing.