300m hedge help

i think the fence will cost less than £1500 materials and labour.

 

If you plant 4' yew you won't need any sort of fence (grazing animals won't eat Yew, either they know its poisonous or they don't like the taste ), but you will need to stake the Yews (but I would have thought that Bamboo canes will be enough).

People could push through between 4' Yews, but it would have to be a very deliberate act, it would be clear that that was a boundary!

The savign on a fence might increase the budget for the hedge plants ?

I don't think chicken wire will help with wind suppression, but it will cause the hedge to push against it as it grows (unless it is well clear of the plants) and that will interfere with growth and cutting of the hedge. Its another thing to have to maintain, and ultimately remove, too.

For something other than Yew you will need to prevent animals eating the hedge. I don't think you would have a problem with Beech (say) that was 3' - 4' tall to start with, but if you are in any doubt a rabbit-proof hedge (or deer-proof if you have that problem) may be necessary

if the site is windy that will stress the plants when they are young, and reduce the rate of growth. To counteract that you would need a wind reducing barrier - I think its called "para-web" or something like that. Strips of plastic an inch or so wide, with a similar width gap, so that the wind is "filtered".

"if i go for yew at 80cm should i plant single or double row? "

Absolutely no need for double-row planting of a Yew hedge.

 

how do i know if the site is windy or not? surely when its windy - its windy

im definitely going for yew.

 

can anyone tell me how to check the pH of soil? anything else i need to check to see if it is suitable for yew hedge? any tips would be appreciated.
does anyone know of a good hedge installer located in central scotland? in ayrshire to be exact.
thanks

 

you can buy a ph kit for a few pounds from most garden centres ... they have instructions and it's simple to use

contact these guys:
Help save native habitats and promote biodiversity in the UK

they are a semi charity organization that assist with conservation charities .... they will advise as to someone who can plant the hedge without you getting ripped off ...

but saying that, it is not difficult to plant a hedge and you could get several quotes from different landscapers in the area .... search google for landscapers

a good landscaper/gardener will plant those in quick time, especially if he uses one of these:

 

i spoke to the guy at the nursery i was considering and he said that the yew at 90-120cm for £4 was bare root and he didnt offer any guarantees like some other nurseries do. anyone got a view on this? i was led to believe bare root was only for small (short) plants. also he said that the plants would be packed into bags 5-6 per bag. is the german ebay a better deal given that they are potted?

thanks

 

Sorry but no way would I plant a hedge with a post-hole-borer. The plants will sit-and-wait trying to grow out of the cylinder of loose soil into the surrounding soil.

If you have beautiful loam, or a very sandy soil, its probably fine. Here on clay I would get a JCB in, dig a trench (4' wide) to the depth of the top soil (about a foot deep here), put the excavated soil to one side, then dig up the sub-soil (another 12" to 18" depth) and just "plonk" it back into the tench breaking it up as best I could, then incorporate well rotted manure or some other organic matter on top of sub-soil and then replace top-soil for the excavated pile created earlier. "Double-digging-by-JCB" if you like! If you can't easily get the manure/compost onto the sub-soil (i.e. below the replaced top soil) then putting it on top and rotavating it in will do.

It may be beneficial to leave the trench open and plant straight into that, back-filling from the excavated pile, but don't leave the trench open for any length of time - in Winter the exposed trench will get cold and trap-in the cold for when the plants are planted, and in Summer it will get dry, and the plants will be stressed through having less water available round their roots.

 

Cheap and cheerful. Probably fine, but likely to need more TLC in dry spells etc.

Well ... plants with less developed root systems, rather than "small" per se. The larger plants I have bought bare-root have had very "organised" root systems, almost as though they have been grown in a restricted channel of ideal soil. Field-grown will have lots of cut-roots which will take longer to re-establish or may, in extremis, cause the plants stress and lead to their death. Although ... they may cut the roots with a spade the year before, to force them to regenerate, so that when they lift then the following year they have fresh, short, roots near the plant. I still think that £4 for a 4' Yew is "too cheap".

Normal for bare-rooted

I think bare-root [trees and shrubs] establish more quickly than potted. I only buy potted when I have to plant April-Oct and cannot wait for the Winter-season.

All the large Yews I have bought (UK sourced) have come from Holland

 

kristen - is awesome! im left in no doubt when i read your posts!
i have asked the nursery to send me a couple of samples and i will plant them now and see how it goes, atleast that way i will have some experience for november. i never planned to use a post hole borer, i have a jcb and will be using that

 

I think that's an excellent idea

If they are cracking plants then lots of folk reading this forum will want them at that price, so it will be a good marketing opportunity for the Nursery :thumb:

 

If you were in any doubt, spend a few minutes going through her blog (link at the bottom of her posts)!!

 

I planted a 200 mt hedge about 5 years ago. the council stipulated that it would contain Hazel Holly and Acer Campestre at 60% 10% and 30% at 250mm spacings. Only problem was rabbits they enjoyed the Holly very much.

Can't give any feed back because I have not been back there since.


Trevor

 

well this was a long thread to read through in one go, along with checking out the backgroung photos and info on the site!! I'm still not working after scalding my left hand, so this has been very interesting.

Yew is going to look very in keeping with the 'park' setting. The only query I would have had was about the use of the open space outside the hedge line.
i.e. I'm assuming it's not grazed by sheep or cattle? Yew being poisonous and all that!

 

...Also, would just like to add that even when clipped once a year in August, a Yew hedge is perfectly presentable. The rondel at Sissinghirst is done once...obviously it takes a few of them a few days with strings etc., but your hedge won't be of these proportions! (scroll down for actual photos!)
LANDSCAPE DESIGN + MORE: RONDEL

Another thing to add...don't make the mistake that some ppl new to planting a hedge make and decide to leave it until it gets bigger to clip! Give it a light trim each year at least to encourage good bushy growth and a tight hedge.