Pruning a hazel hedge to increase density

[waterbuoy]

Evening all

 

Part of our boundary is a mixed hedge which faces onto a single track road - the other side of this is the foreshore and then the sea.

 

Most of the hedge is impenetrable rhododendron and similar, but a short section of it is hazel - photos below taken in January.  This part of the hedge is relatively 'transparent', even when in full leaf.  I'm hoping to prune it to encourage fresh growth to increase density of cover etc.

 

Having previously researched this I concluded that February would be a good time to do this.  However, I managed to reconfirm that gravity still exists at the start of the month and broke three ribs whilst skiiing.  I'm close to being mended just now, but catkins have begun to form on the hazel.

 

My questions are as follows:

 

1  Is it still OK to prune the hedge just now, or have I missed the window?

2  If pruning now is OK, any suggestions as to how this should be done to encourage fresh growth to increase density?

3  If pruning now is not OK, when should I plan to prune it?

 

Thanks in advace.

 

 

[waterbuoy]

Thanks - it also leaves a rather large hole in the hedge which allows passers by to look in to the front of our house!   I agree ref if the laying doesn't work then no harm done, but am currently on page 36 of the hedgelaying pics threaded and fear I may be catching the bug!

[Ledburyjosh]

cutting it at 10' would just mean loads of growth starting at 10'.

if you want low down density, the cuts need to be made low down. 

 

3 options

1. Coppice it

2. Lay it

3. Thin it, remove the thickest stem right down low, repeat every year or 2

[Muddy42]

Yes its fine to cut it now.  I wasn't clear what height you wanted the hedge to be?  Assuming just head height, I'd start by cutting the high bits off, that should encourage sprouting lower down. You could create some gaps in the hazel and transplant 'impenetrable' and evergreen rhododendron?  You can make a rhodo bush by simply placing a heavy log over a small rhodo branch, roots will sprout where the branch is in contact with wet ground.

[Guest Gimlet]

On 27/02/2023 at 19:37, waterbuoy said:

Evening all

 

Part of our boundary is a mixed hedge which faces onto a single track road - the other side of this is the foreshore and then the sea.

 

Most of the hedge is impenetrable rhododendron and similar, but a short section of it is hazel - photos below taken in January.  This part of the hedge is relatively 'transparent', even when in full leaf.  I'm hoping to prune it to encourage fresh growth to increase density of cover etc.

 

Having previously researched this I concluded that February would be a good time to do this.  However, I managed to reconfirm that gravity still exists at the start of the month and broke three ribs whilst skiiing.  I'm close to being mended just now, but catkins have begun to form on the hazel.

 

My questions are as follows:

 

1  Is it still OK to prune the hedge just now, or have I missed the window?

2  If pruning now is OK, any suggestions as to how this should be done to encourage fresh growth to increase density?

3  If pruning now is not OK, when should I plan to prune it?

 

Thanks in advace.

 

 

Here you go. Saw this today. Here's a prime example of what happens when you top hazel.

You can see how multiple stems have erupted around the pruning cut with most of the leaf growth now concentrated high up with little or nothing lower down.  

 

 

 

[Mick Dempsey]

1 hour ago, Gimlet said:

Here you go. Saw this today. Here's a prime example of what happens when you top hazel.

You can see how multiple stems have erupted around the pruning cut with most of the leaf growth now concentrated high up with little or nothing lower down.  

 

 

 

Well yeah, but it’s March, there’ll be plenty of low leaf on the outside stems later in the spring.

[Guest Gimlet]

40 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Well yeah, but it’s March, there’ll be plenty of low leaf on the outside stems later in the spring.

But the bulk of the leaf will be up high on those new stems, as there are many more leaf nodes there now than there are lower down, which is the opposite of what the OP wants. 

 

Hazel is a woodland tree by nature so it's instinct is to race upwards to the sun, which is why it is coppiced to produce straight, fast-growing and pliable sun-shoots. It you lop hazel it will try to regain that lost height in the fastest way possible, which is to produce new sun-shoots at the point where it has been cut. It will leaf up to a certain extent lower down, but they will be single leaves attached directly from the main stem without laterals. Once the new subdivided upper stems leaf up too they will shade out those lower single leaves and low level leafing will steadily diminish as the tree forms its own canopy. 

 

Laying is the best option since all vertical growth will be from laterals, not the main leader, so many more of them will be produced on the main stem that would otherwise have been bare except for single leaves had the leader not been pleached and they will produce much more leaf where you need it. 

 

I've made that sound long winded but I hope you know what I mean.  

Edited March 22, 2023 by Gimlet

[Mick Dempsey]

It’s an edge of the woodland tree by nature, it’s soon outgrown by ‘real’ trees in woodland. 
 

 

 

The leaf will appear wherever there’s light, laying is the best option, but coppice (not topping) hazel will provide a summer screen.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Mick Dempsey

[waterbuoy]

Thanks both for the input

 

I had another look at the hazel section at the weekend - it is less than 3m out of a total hedge length of close to 60m, the majority being rhododendron and similar evergreens.  It is nothing like a typical hedge, more of a boundary melee of greenery.  I also now realise that topping it is likely to be a disaster!

 

After previous input to this thread I think I have decided that whilst laying it as a formal hedge is within my capabilities and would be an interesting exercise in itself, it isn't necessarily going to provide what we are looking for in the short-medium term - ie a relatively dense screen about 8' high. 

 

I'm therefore intending to do a mixture of both approaches which were suggested - ie coppice and laying.  The more suitable branches I will lay as pleachers (most likely those which point out towards the road and would otherwise have to be removed).  The taller, more established limbs I will coppice in the hope that this improves the screening effect.

 

I only have three stumps to work with so options are limited!

[headgroundsman]

I would do a combination of laying, layering and coppicing. If you are unsure about layering it is where a flexible rod is brought into contact with the soil where it will root. It can then be severed from the main plant if required