Hedge laying - in May

[treebloke]

It is probably about the worst time to do it from the plant health point of view, made worse by the lack of rain we've had over the last month of so.

 

Almost every answer so far has mentioned nesting birds which I am aware of, this of course also applies to trees, shrubs and all places where a bird could nest including the Blue Tits currently nesting in the crane on my Unimog which is now grounded until they have fledged. I am sure we find work with trees between March and November so wheres the difference between felling, thinning, reducing, coppicing, pollarding trees and doing what is basically trimming a hedge. What I am looking for if there is one is, is there a biological reason?.

 

Let me ask the question a different way, assuming a hedge has been surveyed and found there are no nest's and neither are any birds building nest's is there any reason why it could not be laid during the month of May.

 

I have never heard of a law that say's you cannot work on a hedge between March and September. I know it should be avoided but that is not law.

 

With regard to telling him to get lost, he has asked a question, he has not asked me to destroy or interfere with any nest's. If I find a reason why it cannot be laid then so be it.

 

I have sent an e mail to the hedge laying asso but their office is closed until 21st May, must all be busy laying hedges:001_tt2:.

[Daniël Bos]

depending on the species and the size of the stems it may be a bit more tricky then when it's dormant. The bark sperates a lot easier at this time of year, so when you bend over the pleachers and they're cut a bit thick, the bark lifts and tends to crumple a bit. The key is to have the cut a little on hte long side so the "bend" has a larger radius.

[Jonny69]

I have a client who wants his hedge laid now, I have explained it's not the season but he is adamant he wants it done.

 

Apart from the obvious potential bird nest issues is there a reason why he can't get it done now.

 

The only concern to have is.....................is the hedge considered a hedge.

 

i.e is it over 20m in length? and is it attached to/on agricultural land?

 

If it is then you are required to comply with the Hedgerow Regulations 1997.

 

An extract here;

 

"Application of Regulations

 

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3), these Regulations apply to any hedgerow growing in, or adjacent to, any common land, protected land, or land used for agriculture, forestry or the breeding or keeping of horses, ponies or donkeys, if—

 

(a)it has a continuous length of, or exceeding, 20 metres; or

 

(b)it has a continuous length of less than 20 metres and, at each end, meets (whether by intersection or junction) another hedgerow.

 

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), a hedgerow is also one to which these Regulations apply if it is a stretch of hedgerow forming part of a hedgerow such as is described in paragraph (1).

 

(3) These Regulations do not apply to any hedgerow within the curtilage of, or marking a boundary of the curtilage of, a dwelling-house.

 

(4) A hedgerow which meets (whether by intersection or junction) another hedgerow is to be treated as ending at the point of intersection or junction.

 

(5) For the purposes of ascertaining the length of any hedgerow—

 

(a)any gap resulting from a contravention of these Regulations; and

 

(b)any gap not exceeding 20 metres,

 

shall be treated as part of the hedgerow."

 

Google it if you want to read the whole document.

 

Hope this helps

 

Jonathan

[Daniël Bos]

 

(3) These Regulations do not apply to any hedgerow within the curtilage of, or marking a boundary of the curtilage of, a dwelling-house.

 

 

 

Hope this helps

 

Jonathan

 

That's what I go by if times are tough and there's custom, If it's part of a private garden, you can pretty much do whatever you like....

[treebloke]

The only concern to have is.....................is the hedge considered a hedge.

 

i.e is it over 20m in length? and is it attached to/on agricultural land?

 

If it is then you are required to comply with the Hedgerow Regulations 1997.

 

An extract here;

 

"Application of Regulations

 

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3), these Regulations apply to any hedgerow growing in, or adjacent to, any common land, protected land, or land used for agriculture, forestry or the breeding or keeping of horses, ponies or donkeys, if—

 

(a)it has a continuous length of, or exceeding, 20 metres; or

 

(b)it has a continuous length of less than 20 metres and, at each end, meets (whether by intersection or junction) another hedgerow.

 

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), a hedgerow is also one to which these Regulations apply if it is a stretch of hedgerow forming part of a hedgerow such as is described in paragraph (1).

 

(3) These Regulations do not apply to any hedgerow within the curtilage of, or marking a boundary of the curtilage of, a dwelling-house.

 

(4) A hedgerow which meets (whether by intersection or junction) another hedgerow is to be treated as ending at the point of intersection or junction.

 

(5) For the purposes of ascertaining the length of any hedgerow—

 

(a)any gap resulting from a contravention of these Regulations; and

 

(b)any gap not exceeding 20 metres,

 

shall be treated as part of the hedgerow."

 

Google it if you want to read the whole document.

 

Hope this helps

 

Jonathan

 

 

Jonathan, do these regs only apply to the removal, not the trimming or laying. Bob

[blazer]

Almost every answer so far has mentioned nesting birds which I am aware of, this of course also applies to trees, shrubs and all places where a bird could nest including the Blue Tits currently nesting in the crane on my Unimog which is now grounded until they have fledged.

 

Best 'nest' I have had was in the early 70's working on the main 132kv transformer supplying the Isle of wight, with a nest on it. We shut down one side and had to wait untill mum flew off to start work and stop when she came back with food for the chicks.

[Jonny69]

Jonathan, do these regs only apply to the removal, not the trimming or laying. Bob

 

The RSPB: Conservation: Hedgerow Regulations 1997

 

Have a read, removal has to be applied for.

 

Laying and trimming are considered 'proper maintenance' as far as I can make out.

 

Nesting birds is a whole other issue, as long as you are not disturbing any then I cant see a problem with cutting what ever time you like.

 

As far as tree biology is concerned late summer (July, August) and mid winter (Jan, Feb) are the best times to work on any woody shrubs/trees.

 

Jonathan

[Quickthorn]

What I am looking for if there is one is, is there a biological reason?.

 

Let me ask the question a different way, assuming a hedge has been surveyed and found there are no nest's and neither are any birds building nest's is there any reason why it could not be laid during the month of May.

 

 

I look at it this way: each tree in the hedge has dug into its stored reserves to provide the energy it needed to put on this year's growth, so these stored reserves will probably be at their lowest around this time of year. Any operation that removes large amounts of the plant will remove foliage etc that would have started to replenish these reserves; also, and maybe more importantly, the plant will try to replace lost material with new shoots, which will dig in again to stored energy reserves at a time when they are at their lowest.

 

As far as hedgelaying goes, I think Rover has given the best answer: in spring, the cambium becomes jelly-like, and so the bark can buckle and come away from the stem as you try to lay each pleacher. If that happens, there's a good chance that the pleacher will die.

[Daniël Bos]

Just wondered if you did that hedge or not Treebloke? If you did how did it go, how's the regrowth etc?

[phirow]

NHLS - Home page RULES NOT LAW. LAND OWNERS WHO ARE IN THE SCHEME, HEDGE LAYING UP TO 30th APRIL CAN FINISH IF STARTED! HEDGE SURVEY EVERY MORNING IF A NEST IS FOUND (NEW) YOU MUST STOP.

If your customer is not in the scheme then they are ok. The hedge does recover, please don't forget that suburban hedges are trimmed and cut hard back ANY TIME OF YEAR.

I have found that a few CONSERVATIONIST forget to turn the page in the rule book