DescriptionPlanting InstructionsAfter CareDelivery & Guarantee
Native Common Alder Hedge Plants - Delivered by Mail Order from the Nursery with a 1 Year Guarantee
Black or Common Alder, Alnus glutinosa, is the native British Alder. It is very hardy and thrives on wet, waterlogged soil that most other trees couldn't grow on, although it does require a sunny position. Common Alder makes a decent country hedging plant.
Common Alder is not ideal for short hedges under about 2 metres; it is too vigorous. It can reach a height of 25 metres if it grows freely as a tree.
The plants on this page are young saplings, ideal for planting as hedging or in woodland projects. You can also buy Common Alder trees in large standard sizes here, which will give you instant impact as a garden specimen.
Browse all of our other Alder varieties here.
Common Alder hedge plants are only delivered bareroot, during winter (Nov-March).
Choosing a size: When you are ordering Common Alder plants for a hedge, we generally recommend that you use plants that are graded at 40/60cms or 60/80cms. They are cheaper than the larger 90/120cms plants, easier to handle and they will establish well in poor conditions. Use larger plants if you want a taller hedge quickly, or for instant impact. All our hedge plants are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).
Spacing a Common Alder hedge:
Plant Common Alder hedging at 3 plants per metre, 33cms apart.
You can also plant Common Alder at 5 plants per metre in a staggered double row,
with 33 cms between each plant along the row and 40cms between the rows.
Plant Common Alder hedging at 2 plants per metre, 50cms apart.
General description of Common Alder plants:
Native Alder is a vigorous plant with quite dark green, blunt heart shaped leaves that turn pale yellow in autumn.
Note on Alder roots: Alder has invasive roots that can break old water pipes and damage the foundations of old buildings or walls. 30 metres away from vulnerable structures is a safe distance to plant Alder. New build, concrete foundations are not at risk.
History & uses of Alnus glutinosa
Although it is fairly short lived in the wild (about 120 years), it will last much longer when it is coppiced and it was an essential tree during the industrial revolution for three main reasons:
- The wood is very rot-resistant and was used for any jobs where the timber would be constantly wet.
- It was quite grease proof, easy to carve and light weight - perfect for making clogs, which were the equivalent of today's steel toe capped boot.
- It made gunpowder grade charcoal and picked up the name Black Alder as a result.
Common alder is found over most of Europe, Russia, North Africa and parts of Asia. It is also known as Smooth Alder.
Growing Common Alder plants:
Common Alder trees will grow well in very wet conditions with full sun. They are hardy and wind-resistant. They will tolerate very poor soils and urban pollution, but if your site is dry and drought prone or chalky, we recommend using Italian Alder instead.
They will not grow if the site is shady or chalky.
Prepare your site before planting:
Native hedge plants like Common Alder are very tough. The only essential preparation is to kill the weeds in a strip a metre wide along the planting site: improving the soil should not be necessary. If your soil is exceptionally poor and dry, then digging in some well rotted manure and/or compost is worthwhile.
Watch our video on how to plant a country hedge for full details. The instruction to cut the plants in half after planting only applies to thorny native hedging and plants in the conservation hedge mix: this isn't necessary for Common Alder.
Remember to water establishing plants during dry weather for at least a year after planting.
Hedge Planting Accessories:
Prepare your site for planting by killing the weeds and grass with Roundup weed killer.
You can buy a hedge planting pack with sheets of mulch fabric and pegs to hold it down.
If you are planting in an area with rabbit and/or deer, you will need to use a plastic spiral guard for each plant, supported by a bamboo cane.
If your soil quality is poor, we recommend using mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of new trees and shrubs.
You can also improve your soil with bonemeal organic fertiliser and Growmore.
After you have planted your Common Alder hedge, the most important thing to do is water it in dry weather. You will also need to weed around the plants. Watering should be thorough, so the ground is soaked. Let the soil almost dry out before watering again. Watering & weeding will be necessary for at least a year after planting.
Trimming Country hedge plants: From the winter after planting onwards, your young hedge should be trimmed lightly once every winter, until it is mature. When it is fully grown, you can clip it at anytime.
Special notes on caring for Common Alder hedges:
Common Alder is a very tough hedge plant that shouldn't need special attention once it has established. If you didn't use a mulch fabric, it is beneficial to mulch around the base of the hedge each year with well rotted manure or compost.
Hygiene & Diseases:
Dead, damaged or diseased wood can be pruned off as soon as it appears.
Disinfect your pruning tools between every cut if there is any sign of disease.
Burn or dispose of any diseased material, do not compost it.
Read our full terms and conditions here.
Delivery: The basic delivery charge for orders of bareroot plants is £9.49 + vat, which increases to £12.55 + vat if you add any pot-grown plants, standard trees or fruit trees to the order.
Because couriers sometimes experience delays, we schedule delivery by week, not by day. Therefore, please plan your planting day for the weekend at the end of the delivery week or for the week following delivery, at the earliest.
You can choose the delivery week that suits you during checkout and we will email you the day before your plants are due to arrive.
Payment: We do not charge your card until we begin to prepare your order for packing.
Guarantee: If any plants die within a year, we will replace them. We only ask that you follow our planting & growing instructions and sent us clear photographs of the dead plants in situ, so we can help to make sure that the replacement plants succeed. You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.
Please note that our guarantee is void if there is a hosepipe ban in your area: your newly planted hedging must be watered in dry weather while it is establishing. The best way to water is very thoroughly every few days: at least once a week if there is no heavy rain.
Our nursery has been supplying container grown and bareroot hedging plants to gardeners, farmers and town planners since 1949. Our website started in 2003, so we do understand the concerns that you may have about buying hedging plants online. If any of your plants are damaged when they arrive or if you are otherwise not satisfied with your order after you inspect it, please repackage it and contact us. We will give you a refund or send replacements and send a courier to come and collect the unwanted plants.
Your 12 Month Guarantee
If any plants die within a year, we replace them if you have followed our instructions. You only pay for
the delivery of the replacements.
Place an order for £250 excluding VAT and delivery and we deliver it for FREE!
Bare-root Plants are only delivered in the winter season, from November to March. Pot grown plants can be delivered all year round
Advantages of Bare-root plants:
You pay less for the same size plants.
You can carry and plan them easily.
You only plant them in winter, so they need less maintenance after
planting. The rain will water them for their first few months.
You get the biggest selection: Many trees are not sold pot-grown.
They are "asleep" in winter - this is the best time to transplant any tree.
They use fewer fertilisers & fungicides, less water and fuel in their production & delivery.
Advantages of Pot Grown plants:
Pot grown plants can be delivered & planted all year round.
Plants with tender roots & larger specimens must be delivered in pots.
Plants in pots can be kept for months longer if there is a delay in planting.
Our Advice to You:
If you can't wait to get planting, order Pot grown plants now.
If you are not in a hurry, order bare-root plants for delivery this winter. Simply add them to your basket and choose a winter delivery date that suits you during checkout.
This will reserve your plants before they sell out.
We won't charge you until the day before delivery, so cancelling your order is always easy.
If you are only ordering chemicals and other small items, delivery is £3.50
Our delivery charge for most bareroot plants is £9.49 + VAT.
If your order contains any standard sized trees, fruit trees or pot-grown plants, then the delivery charge is £12.55 + VAT in TOTAL.
If you live in the Scottish Highlands or the Isle of Wight, there will be an extra charge of £15 + VAT on top of the appropriate basic charge, as listed above.
If your order is over £250 exc. VAT, there will be no delivery charge.
If you are uncertain, just add items to your basket which will calculate the basic shipping charge for you.
