Reinstating Hedgerows

[Stubby]

1 minute ago, gary112 said:

Fu&&in idiots

To be fair its the same bloke each year who has the contract to do the hedgerows on the farm side of the shoot . Really should have said something to him but did not know exactly when he was coming until it was too late .

[gary112]

11 minutes ago, Stubby said:

To be fair its the same bloke each year who has the contract to do the hedgerows on the farm side of the shoot . Really should have said something to him but did not know exactly when he was coming until it was too late .

We got one round here that thinks his trimmer does road signs aswell cos every year he shaves em down a bit

[Guest Gimlet]

8 hours ago, Woodworks said:

For plants try Perry Hale nursery near Honiton. They were also good for advise 

I use Perry Hale for all my hedge whips. Always very good quality at a good price. 

 

I think plastic spiral guards are hateful things. Time consuming to apply, awful to remove especially when they've gone sun brittle (they don't UV degrade, they just break up and l;eave fragments of plastic waste everywhere) and many species don't thrive in them. Crab apple tends to get a fungal rot inside plastic spirals and they inhibit side shoot growth in hawthorn. 

If the hedge line is to be fenced on both sides I wouldn't bother with guards.

[Commando]

I use Perry Hale for all my hedge whips. Always very good quality at a good price. 
 
I think plastic spiral guards are hateful things. Time consuming to apply, awful to remove especially when they've gone sun brittle (they don't UV degrade, they just break up and l;eave fragments of plastic waste everywhere) and many species don't thrive in them. Crab apple tends to get a fungal rot inside plastic spirals and they inhibit side shoot growth in hawthorn. 
If the hedge line is to be fenced on both sides I wouldn't bother with guards.

Cheers Gimlet that’s music to my ears! As I say I can whack any rabbits hard and hopefully keep an eye on the integrity of the fence. Only sheep so no cattle or horses.

[dumper]

I have planted hedges for last 40 odd years one of the best was notched into the ground, and heavily mulched with old straw fenced with stock mesh to keep people and livestock away then beaten up twice, you can do a lot of planting for the cost of guards and stakes,if it’s really dry run a tanker down the line late in the day, I think lack of water kills many plants

[Guest Gimlet]

I don't do a lot of full hedge planting. Mine tends to be infill restoration when I'm hedge laying. But I laid some hedges for a client last year who's been reinstating the historic hedgerows on his farm that have been grubbed out since the 1960's. He swears by rotavating the hedge line a month or so before planting. Says they get a much faster start. He would seem to be right because I've laid hawthorn-heavy mixed native hedge for him that were less than ten years old. He doesn't use spirals either and there was very little mortality. 

 

 

[Will C]

Cell grown plants and tubex easy wrap seem to give better results over bare root and spirals. The guards go on quicker and remove complete, most can be reused for a second planting.