(First post) Planting a native woodland, East Sussex

[sandspider]

Good work getting all that planted in a long weekend. You'll be looking forward to going back to work!

[spandit]

Good work getting all that planted in a long weekend. You'll be looking forward to going back to work!

 

It was nearly a week! It was lovely to wake up this morning not having to plant trees. Put the 3 remaining shrubs in and corrected a few misplanted trees

[hplp]

Looking at the pictures, it looks like you have made some good decisions. Densely planting is the way to go as it will reduce the time till the canopy closes and thereby reducing weed control costs but also draw the trees up, giving you nice straight stems. Standard commercial forestry is usually planted at either 1.6 or 2m spacing so thats good. You will loose some but at least if you have them densely planted, the others are not too far away. Another suggestion is to keep a eye out as you drive around the local lanes as the road banks are often full of natural regen which make cheap beat up/fill in trees. Thats what I do in Ireland anyway.

 

Have you thought about fertilizer too? As well as the weed matting/weed spraying, its another way to really get them going.

 

H

[spandit]

Thanks - I just hope the roots don't rot as some of the ground was pretty wet. I think the alder should be OK but we'll have to see about some of the others. At least they won't die from lack of watering!

[spandit]

Just been inspecting some of the plantings today. Found a few where the tree had been cable tied to the stake by accident and one upside down one but nice to see some leaves appearing, especially on the cherries. Nothing else doing much at the moment but then most of the mature trees are still asleep so not too worried

 

Glorious out there this morning!

[Hare]

Hello,

 

I've recently bought an old farm with about 11 acres in 2 paddocks. Apart from some great trees around the edges (and some not so great!) there is no woodland to speak of (one of the hedges is about 5 metres thick in places).

 

Anyway, after some discussion with the Woodland Trust, I was approved for a grant under the MOREwoods scheme (https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/help-and-support/) and eventually settled on an order of 1500 trees, of 14 native species. We're on sand here but there is a spring in the paddock where I'm doing most of the planting so it's pretty boggy all year round (someone told me once that you can get days in the UK when it doesn't rain ). I'm going for the following:

 

Alder (350)

Hazel (200)

Beech (125)

Hawthorn (125)

Oak (125)

Sweet chestnut (0 - had originally asked for some but they're out of stock!)

Wild cherry (125)

Field maple (100)

Aspen (50)

Blackthorn (50)

Crab apple (50)

Hornbeam (75)

Spindle (50)

Whitebeam (50)

Scots pine (25)

 

I'm hoping to create some pockets of woodland, mainly around the edges, that will support wildlife (including game cover), provide colour, soak up some water and eventually provide me with a few logs from the faster growing species. In addition to the trees I'm paying for, I've also planted a few hundred willows of different species, with the view of doing some weaving. I might also be planting some ash (which they won't provide due to the dieback) and some sycamore (which isn't apparently native, even though sweet chestnut, which was introduced by the Romans, is...). I'd also like pear because of the blossom and fondness for damp ground. Deliberately avoided birch because they rot so readily and we have plenty around the place so I'd imagine they'll self seed. Most of the species I've selected have counterparts established nearby. Robinia wasn't an option but having read up about on here, I think I'll look into it.

 

Planning on planting the alder at 6' spacings but with a few other species mixed in on the wetter parts. The shrubs and thorns will go along the boundaries or fill gaps in existing hedgerows and I'll dot the odd standard here and there at 3m spacings or thereabouts for the grandchildren to worry about!

 

They recommend spraying with glyphosate but I didn't want to, partly because of the cost but partly because all the water that runs off our land goes directly into a neighbour's lake. I've bought a load of weed matting which is going to be a pain to install but should hopefully give the trees a decent head start!

 

Should I worry about brambles encroaching or will they help to protect the trees (in addition to the tubes/spirals)?

 

I'm sort of dreading it as I know it will look pretty awful for a few years and it's an expensive way of providing firewood but more woodland has got to be a good thing and I'm very jealous of another neighbour's woodland next door.

I live in East Sussex and put 1000 trees in 1.5 metre tubes. The Fallow deer ate the tops of every tree except Silver Birch. Anyone who plants a tree in a grow tube less than 2 metres tall is asking for trouble.The Fallow in East Sussex are so tame as they see so many people. Shooting wont help but they dont seem to like brousing in bramble

Good Luck

Hare

[spandit]

I live in East Sussex and put 1000 trees in 1.5 metre tubes. The Fallow deer ate the tops of every tree except Silver Birch. Anyone who plants a tree in a grow tube less than 2 metres tall is asking for trouble.The Fallow in East Sussex are so tame as they see so many people. Shooting wont help but they dont seem to like brousing in bramble

Good Luck

Hare

 

I think shooting will help a bit! It's going to be a while before they get big enough to poke out the top of the tubes anyway but we don't get many deer here, probably because of all the dogs

[sandspider]

Tasty venison...

 

Spandit, are there other woods / scrubland next to yours?

[spandit]

Tasty venison...

 

Spandit, are there other woods / scrubland next to yours?

 

Yes, there are... I'm hoping some deer do come in (for the first thing you mentioned!)

[spandit]

Well, a few weeks on and the cherry is looking splendid. The hazel is all doing well, the hornbeam is coming into leaf. The alder is being quite slow but the oaks & beech still look like dead twigs. Aspen hasn't budged either. Hawthorn doing well and I think blackthorn is coming up too. Not sure about the rest as I didn't label them...