Hedgelaying pics

[Guest Gimlet]

Beech is fine to lay. Inclined to be a bit on the stiff side. Not brittle exactly, but not that flexible.

Because of this relative lack of flex compared with more common hedge species, beech has a habit of trying to lift back up again. It's also easier to lay earlier on in the season when it's still a bit sappy. It'll be harder in mid winter, especially if it's very cold.

  

 

There's no benefit in rushing to lay a hedge when its young. I'd observe the usual rule of thumb with hedge laying: it's ready when it's 8 feet tall. You could possibly reduce that to 6 feet with beech but IMO you want stems at least 2 1/2" thick minimum. And I'd want them thicker than that.

Once cut, your pleachers won't get a lot bigger, or not for a very long time. The plant puts all it energy into side shoots and new leaders, so if the framework of your hedge is undersize it'll pretty much stay undersized and you end up with a rather insubstantial sticky hedge.  

 

With a fairly slow growing species like beech, you're unlikely to lay it again for a very long time, if at all, assuming it's a garden hedge, therefore be patient and make sure you've got sufficient structure before you start.

 

   

[organic guy]

Gimlet

Many thanks for your comprehensive reply. I will pass on to the neighbours and see if I can get them to leave it alone.

What is your mix of species in your area, I think of Dorset as been lighter soils than here in the Thames valley, but I suspect the livestock areas are as much clay as we are.

[Guest Gimlet]

In my immediate area it's loam on chalk. we do have some heavy clays in north Dorset and some clay on top of chalk. Wild species are predominently hawthorn and maple. Both do extremely well. Blackthorn does all too well also..

 

I've just ordered a mix for a client. It will be 60% hawthorn and the rest an equal mix of maple, hazel, crab apple, guelder rose and bird cherry.

That is a garden hedge, so I aimed for good seasonal interest, good dense foliage for privacy, plenty of blossom, berries for birds, and I've kept it to species with a similar habit so the hedge will look uniform and tidy. I've avoided anything invasive and would have left out hazel, as it will bolt ahead of the others, but it's a restoration of an old hedge line and there are some hazels there already, so I've added a handful to my mix to maintain the distribution along the hedge. 

 

All of the above should do well on medium heavy soils. Bird cherry perhaps less so if it's very heavy. 

For garden hedges on your soil, I'd have thought hornbeam would be marginally better than beech.

[organic guy]

The said hedge is 15 miles away in the Cotswold water parks, so overlying gravel.

[Guest Gimlet]

As long as you've got a reasonable depth of decent topsoil on top of the gravel and it's not strongly acidic, I would have thought anything would do well there. Again, look around to see what wild species are most common.

If it's very gravelly and dry, planting a new hedge will need good preparation and loads of organic matter. 

Edited November 20, 2020 by Gimlet

[Brill]

Some of mine

[Brill]

Some more

[Dorset Hedgelayer]

Decent size pleach and heel, all done 

Edited December 3, 2020 by Dorset Hedgelayer

[nepia]

Could I trouble you to talk us through that because it looks to me like you've dispatched a nice multi-stemmed ?hawthorn tree (I'm guessing from the colour of the stump wood)!?  I'm wrong of course but don't know why.

 

Thanks

[Guest Gimlet]

Stems division occurring too far off the ground to lay individually in that style I would reckon. 

Lay the lot or lay none of it. Often a dilemma with very overstood stuff,