Hedging

[Logrod]

I want to stick some hedging in on a forest boundary with a road to prevent people trespassing (the woodland has no public access but I've had a number of incidents over the last few years with people camping, fly tipping and some damage. There is some fencing (sheep netting) but it's getting old and is obviously being climbed over / broken through in some places. I could replace the fencing, but it a long wriggly boundary that goes up and down a lot so not easy/efficient to stick in decent fencing. I've been thinking of putting in hedging both as a way of preventing ingress and also as a way of improving the wildlife habitat, probably some hawthorn and blackthorn (I think I can find a way to use the sloes ) but open to ideas on what people think would work best / fastest. The woodland is in N Wales so fairly damp, and the forest at the boundary is a mixture of coniferous plantation and mixed broadleaf.

[woody paul]

You will never stop everyone getting in with what ever you use. Hedging will be slow to make a good enough barrier, if the boundary is in and out and up and down Chestnut paillings 4 foot high would be you best bet but not cheap.

[Hiluxr]

I would look at what other species are growing well locally for choice of hedge. It will need protection from fencing for the first few years, otherwise people will just keep going through.

If the original is beyond repair, how about post and barbed wire

[john k]

Do your trees come all the way to the boundary? Bear in mind that if you plant your hedge underneath them in the shade it's unlikely to flourish! I've seen a few examples of this recently, and it's just a waste of time and money.

[coppiceer]

I would plant Robinia pseudoacacia. They are fast growing, will grow anywhere and, if kept trimmed, as a hedge will have the most fearsome thorns of all.

[hedgesparrow]

Muury Mcclean Abigdon oxfordshire does very good plants. hawthorn balckthorn burging buckthorn and robina. can get plants 90cm to 120cm so will be tallish but will need spirals and canes to protect from deer and rabbits

and a good barrier plant 5 to the mtr staggered row. also what you can do is whilst they are growing make a dead hedge in front stake every 18inches front and back fill with brash ideal if you can get some thorn from a laid hedge bind tops with wips one good hedge until the real one has grown and a ideal wildlife haven

[Logrod]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Yes I'm aware that the hedge would take time to grow and I probably will end up sticking some extra posts and some barbed wire in in the meantime, but I'd been thinking of hedging even before the security issue cropped up as I prefer it from an aesthetic point of view and hopefully could spread the work over a few winters.

 

John K - how far back from the boundary would I need the trees to be? I'm thinking of coppicing some anyway (to reduce risk of falling across fence/highway)

 

Coppiceer - I had false acacia in the garden and surrounding forest when I lived in central France but it was a tad dryer there than N wales - would it still survive/thrive? and how would it be looked on in terms of "nativeness"?

 

Hedgesparrow - thanks for the link and also for the idea of the dead hedge which would probably work well.

[coppiceer]

Coppiceer - I had false acacia in the garden and surrounding forest when I lived in central France but it was a tad dryer there than N wales - would it still survive/thrive? and how would it be looked on in terms of "nativeness"?

 

You didn't say it needed to be native. It was introduced into this country in the late 18th century by William Cobbett. Everything that you need to know is in his book : "The Woodlands".

 

A "dead Hedge" would provide a good quick temporary barrier whilst your new hedge was establishing. It would be going brittle and rotting away just at the time that your new hedge was starting to be a practical deterrent.