One for dean.

[David oakman]

I was reading the thread on native trees and it got me thinking about my woods i stopped the gamekeepers from planting laural and lonicera in the woods and started planting more hazel. what do you think is there a place for evergreen shrubs non native in our woods.

[Dean Lofthouse]

Many estates now will not tolerate Laurel or Rhodies, I know there is a grant available for Rhodie removal as I applied for one but it was miniscule.

 

Whether there is one for Laurel I don't know but both are very invasive, I have cleared about 1 acre of the stuff and it's kind of hard work.

 

I would not plant any of it, simply because it takes over.

[David oakman]

That was quick dean. i agree but the worst is the lonicera it just spreads and looks a mess, the keepers did not like it when i stopped planting these but if you coppice native shrubs you get a similar effect.

[Dean Lofthouse]

Lonicera is very good at attracting wildlife, hence the reason the keepers wanted to plant it.

 

Next year on our shoot we are going to plant a few acres of corn on the cob, one of the farmers grew some this year and we wondered where all our pheasant had gone. We found them when he started to harvest it

 

I asked the estate manager if we could plant some Laurel in a small copse and he refused point blank. We have 3500 acres and not one laurel, rhodie or Lonicera.

 

I planted some privet, hazel, blackthorn and elder over the last 6 years but I snuck some hybrid willow in on a high bird drive, surprised no-one has noticed them yet

[Andy Collins]

Trouble is the keepers like the laurel, rhodies and other evergreen shrubs as it creates a warm understorey for the game birds to shelter in. Hazel isnt too bad if the coppice rotation is maintained cyclically. Those woods that are used for shoots are worth more if the birds want to stay in there, a neglected wood becomes cold, and the birds will move out. When cutting a coppice, I half-cut the haw and blackthorn and lay it over, birds love the shelter it provides, and it stays alive as its not cut through.

[MattyF]

i dont see the problem with linicera it looks nice and birds love it....laural just looks crap though like a badly planted 80's garden imo!but saying that i know where there is a large copse of it at the end of one of the drives, this year its really taken off and grown almost together and for the first time there is a lot more birds on that drive ,the pheasants seem love it!