Advice please. Planting a mixed hedge

[Will Ayers]

Hello all

 

I don't often post on here but I've just been asked to quote for a job that is a bit unfamiliar to me, and I wouldn't mind some of your lovely advice!

 

I have been asked to plant a mixed hedge on the clients boundary. The soil is fairly heavy clay and there is currently grass right up to the wire fence. I understand how to quote for the materials, plants, stakes, guards and plastic sheeting. and I know I'm going to have to hire in some machines to prepare the ground but here is where I get stuck, I am unsure what exactly I should be using to get the ground ready. Do I need to remove turf before rotavating the whole lot, or can I just turn the soil in with grass attached? Or just strip the grass off with a machine and plant straight in to soil? Or both!!? And is 3 plants a mete enough or should I go for 5?

 

The hedge is going to be roughly 100m long so it's not overly huge I was thinking 3 days with two guys to get it looking good. Is this achieveable?

[Matthew Storrs]

Removing turfs will remove the competition from the grass for the time being until it grows back .

Iv just completed a hedge planting job in very poor/thin soils. My method- remove all turf along planting line with a digger, at the same time digging over the soil to about a foot depth, I then planted a double staggered row at 5plants per meter, spiral guarded them and then applied a 4 inch mulch mat of woodchippings.

100meters took 3man days to plant and guard, pit planting as opposed to notch as the plants were 60/90cm. I then had to stock proof fence it.

Spiral guards are only really needed if you know there to be rodent/rabbit problems.

Edited December 1, 2013 by Matthew Storrs

[Matthew Storrs]

I should add, if you have plenty of time to prepare the ground- all the better. You could plough a strip and plant into the edge of the furrow and then back fill as you go along- probably the cheapest easiest method.

[Will Ayers]

Cheers for the advice Mathew:thumbup1:. I have done alot of hedge planting before, but from the operatives side rather than planning, and most of the ground prep work was done before i got there so im new to that side of things. i dont think i could get any big machines in with the poor access. i am looking to get a quad and trailer and whatever pedestrian machines i need. do you think i could get away with simply lifting the turf, laying out my weed suppressant sheet and planting through that?

[agg221]

I would look at hiring a rotovator - a BCS or similar.

 

You say it's mixed, but what is the mix, and how well do the relevant species do in the area? If they are native (hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel etc) then they will be fine in heavy clay and I would just mulch and leave. If it is something a bit less tolerant then I would look to rotovate in something to improve the soil structure/drainage as required.

 

I'm never sure on weed suppressant sheets - they work well but the plastic type either needs clearing up afterwards, which never gets done, or it stops the base of the hedge from ever looking decent once the inevitable happens and it starts to get exposed as the hedge thickens. On balance, I think I prefer 4in of bark as a mulch, particularly if what you are planting is tall enough (e.g. 90cm) to get away and allow spraying off of weeds without touching the foliage if required.

 

Alec

[niftysteve]

ive just prepared a trench for some landscapers i drive diggers for the spec from the hedging supplier was to dig a trench 300mmx300mm spread a thin layer of general purpose compost in the bottom then replace the clay with decent top soil

we used 10 compost and 7.5 tons of soil for a 63m long trench

they will fit a weed membrane and plant the hedge through it

[niftysteve]

Cheers for the advice Mathew:thumbup1:. I have done alot of hedge planting before, but from the operatives side rather than planning, and most of the ground prep work was done before i got there so im new to that side of things. i dont think i could get any big machines in with the poor access. i am looking to get a quad and trailer and whatever pedestrian machines i need. do you think i could get away with simply lifting the turf, laying out my weed suppressant sheet and planting through that?

 

if you can get a quad in then you could get a micro digger in save the back ache

[John Shutler]

will ive planted a few hedges, the last was with 3m western red cedar.

we planted 300m of 2m western red cedar 3 years ago, we pulled a trench through with a mini digger after scraping off the turf and planted in a mix of decent soil and compost. we then covered the area beneath the hedging in woodchip to prevent competition and improve the water retention

[Will Ayers]

We're putting in whips of hawthorn, blackthorn, field maple and hazel. 60-90cm. I said about mulching it rather than sheet and the customer said they would rather have the protection offered by the sheet. They have had some problems with earlier planting being swamped with weeds. I'll try and push for the mulching though as it works out cheaper and easier than wrestling with that blooming sheet on the side of a windswept hill. I've been looking at the rotavators for hire. I've seen some big ones but are they man enough to turn the turf in?

[Will Ayers]

Quad is a bit lighter than a mini digger. I wouldn't want to smash their lawns on the way in. A quad would make no mark at all