Creating a hedge

[keptenjim]

Could someone please give me advice for creating a hedge along the boundary of a field? What I have there at the moment are some mainly self-seeded ash, chestnut, oak, hazel and various other stragglers. My plan is to cut all these down to about 6 - 8 feet and then fill the in-between spaces with new hazel. My questions are; would the existing trees handle such a radical cut back. Also, what would be the best time of year to carry out this operation? Any more advice would be much appreciated 

[woody paul]

Looks like some lovely metal railing in there, cut everything down to ground level in front of them and plant up behind. 

[AJStrees]

I would agree with woody on that concept. Behind the fence, keep some hedgerow trees, the better condition and better for biodiversity types such as oak, etc.... So you have a hedgerow with hedgerow trees in it, in years to come it will be a thing of beauty. 

[keptenjim]

18 hours ago, AJStrees said:

I would agree with woody on that concept. Behind the fence, keep some hedgerow trees, the better condition and better for biodiversity types such as oak, etc.... So you have a hedgerow with hedgerow trees in it, in years to come it will be a thing of beauty. 

Those hedgerow trees you mention, would you initially cut them down to the 6 - 8 feet that I'm considering so they would actually become part of the hedge? And is there a risk that they could die if cutting them back radically? Also, is there a 'best' time of year to cut them back in the manner I'm planning? 

[AJStrees]

The trees you want to keep are the ones you want to mature and become ancient. You want to keep them in their maiden form. The others would probably be best coppiced and let grow up to then be laid later on. Also don’t forget about protecting the regrowth from deer.

[AJStrees]

There are many a hedge layer on here who have hundreds of years more experience than I though.

[gary112]

As already said coppice everything to ground level except for your mature trees and plant up with new mixed native hedging and then lay it in a few years.Here is one i layed last year  had some nice mature  oaks in it.

[Stubby]

2 hours ago, gary112 said:

As already said coppice everything to ground level except for your mature trees and plant up with new mixed native hedging and then lay it in a few years.Here is one i layed last year  had some nice mature  oaks in it.

This all day long ! End of thread 👍

[AJStrees]

As already said coppice everything to ground level except for your mature trees and plant up with new mixed native hedging and then lay it in a few years.Here is one i layed last year  had some nice mature  oaks in it.

Superb Job Gary.

I would love to come and learn that technique one day or many days. Got miles of hedging to sort out. [emoji106]

[gary112]

6 minutes ago, AJStrees said:

Superb Job Gary.

I would love to come and learn that technique one day or many days. Got miles of hedging to sort out.

Thanks,anytime