(First post) Planting a native woodland, East Sussex

[spandit]

They look quite densely planted (depending on what they are!) - I assume you'll thin them out a bit in the next few years?

 

Wonder if it would be better to plant them at a thinner density to start with then replace any that die rather than cutting down / pulling out healthy trees? (Not sure if you'd get a mosaic of different aged trees then, or if the replanted ones just wouldn't grown due to lack of light...)

 

Just a thought, probably best ignored!

 

I'm not going to uproot them all now! They're at 2m spacing and I'm hoping it will encourage them to grow straight. A lot of the other bits are spaced more but we were running out of space.

 

Light at the end of the tunnel now - reckon another 200 and we'll be nearly there...

[Matthew Storrs]

Are you random planting patterns or lines of some kind?

Iv just finished planting 1200 trees provided by the woodland trust as you are doing. I preferred random spacing as set lines look a bit like a solar panel farm, plus its only an amenity wood so unlikely to require extraction any time soon.

I planted mine at 2.5meter spacings on average with the odd glade in amongst.

[spandit]

Tried to plant random but it ends up in straight lines anyway. I have planted the mix more or less at random, though. It's not really enough wood to worry about extraction too much - at widest point it's probably about 50m thick.

[woodyguy]

Personally I'm a fan of planting fairly close. You get quicker canopy closure and hence less weed competition. Those that take off will grow straight and tall. Yes you'll cut a few down, but these will probably coppice anyway. Gappy plantings can take a lot of years to look like a wood.

[Matthew Storrs]

I planted mine in groups of species as opposed to an oak here a beech there. Usually groups of between 8-25 trees which I tried to make merge in as naturally as possible. The reasoning being that the group can grow up together at the same speed as opposed to slower growing species being shaded out by neighbouring quick growers.

[woodyguy]

I often put three of a species in a triangle. At 2m spacing, in 20 years time they'll need thinning to the best one but helps them grow straight and gets canopy closure quickly.

[spandit]

A lot of the whips looked pretty similar and not having the same numbers of each, I just mixed them up and grabbed at random.

 

Ironically, I can now identify whips a lot easier after planting hundreds of the buggers

[codlasher]

@spandit. I am sorry but I can't remember if you are planting any Douglas fir....?

If you are and they get away in years four onwards you may suffer the usual Douglas l e a n which is caused by a combination of rapid growth from then on and the strong South Westerly winds at this time of year and because the ground is wet. It may pay to have some stakes to hand to pull them later. Some of mine have done just that and I'm going to try and upright them before the ground hardens. Unless they are in a sheltered spot it is a common thing to happen:001_tongue:

codlasher

[spandit]

No. Scots pine but no fir

[Matthew Storrs]

No. Scots pine but no fir

 

The Scots pine the woodland trust supplied us were tiny 20cm. Also did you get shrub guards for them, I didn't put the standard tubes on them- ithe local nursery I use agreed shrub guards are far more suitable.