Monthly Archives: October 2009

Hawthorn Hedging – Tip No 4

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We are having a nice warm autumn with just a few cold nights. If you are thinking about planting a hawthorn hedge this winter, now is a really good time to strike a blow for the good guys and go after a few weeds. Perennial weeds like bindweed, docks, thistles, dandelions, ground elder and the rest behave just like any other deciduous plant as they head towards winter and dormancy (which is the plant equivalent of hibernation). They build up their food reserves to see them through the winter and to fuel the surge for growth that happens in Spring.

A well planted hawthorn  hedge can take care of itself, once it is established and it will shade out almost all weeds.  But newly planted hawthorn is a completely different matter – the combination of a weed infestation and a dry spring can decimate Britain’s most durable native hedging plant. So now really is the time to get out your systemic weedkiller (any one containing glyphosate is fine) and, following the instructions, water or spray it on the area where you intend to plant your hedge.  We would always recommend using a watering can with a fine rose as you can control exactly where the weedkiller goes.  It will be taken by your weeds,  from the surface of their leaves, deep into their root systems as sap fall and leaves die. And it will kill them. This is probably the best time of year to go after deep rooted perennial weeds.

Do it in haste or repent at leisure.

Hawthorn Hedging – Tip No. 3

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Another hawthorn tip for those of you who planted your quickthorn (same as hawthorn) whips last year.  Hopefully you followed our instructions and cut each plant back by half when you planted it.  Equally hopefully, they all survived the weird winter last year and the very dry April.  (Second dry spring in a row for those who are counting).

If they did both of the above, then each little stick should by now have somewhere between two and five side branches and be beginning to make a little hawthorn bush.  If they are, here is tip number 3 for hawthorn beginners.

Be brave and cut those side branches (some of which are probably 30-40 cms long back by half again. Don’t do it exactly now, but don’t forget to get the shears out between the end of November and the beginning of March.

If you do this, then each branch will behave in the same way as the original stem did last winter. In spring, between two and five dormant buds will break into growth below each cut.  So your (average) 3 branches per plant will produce 3 side branches each and the little bush will have all the making of a thicket.

Which is what you want in the best hawthorn hedge.

Edible Hedge Plants – Sustainable Hedgerow Living in the News

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Always good to get a mention in the papers.

The most recent was by Elspeth Thompson in the Sunday Telegraph, talking about edible hedge plants.  Always unbiased, we think it is an excellent article, which apart from mentioning Ashridge Trees as the place to buy your edible hedge plants covers the main basics of foraging. So you get an insight into what varieties to plant, a step by step guide on how to plant an edible hedge, pointers to good recipes and so on.  If you want to read more, you can find Elspeth’s edible hedging article here.

And if you are already a commited forager why not publish your favourite recipe(s) as a comment here; we would love to have some to add to Charles Simon’s Hedgerow Jelly….

Hedging – Plants with Feet of Clay

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It is all hedging at this time of year….

These yew hedge planting pointers apply equally to almost all other hedging plants as well, certainly anything that needs a well drained soil.

  1. You can dig a trench to plant your hedging if the ground is well drained.
  2. You can improve the soil as much as you like if the ground is well drained.
  3. You should water your plants well and often if the ground is well drained.
  4. You can use the largest plants you can afford if the ground is well drained.

You have spotted a pattern here: when planting a hedge, it is important to think about drainage.

If you have heavy clay soil (sticky grey, blue or yellow), the good news is that you have richly fertile soil.
The bad news is that water does not drain well through it, which some plants have a problem with.

So please, save yourself a lot of hard work and a load of grief.  Watch our film on how to plant a country hedge (link on the home page) even if you are planting the smartest yew.

  1. On badly drained soils, always plant small plants.
  2. On badly drained soils, always plant in a slit, not a trench.
  3. On badly drained soils, improve the soil after planting and when your hedging is growing away by adding a mulch of well rotted compost/manure and letting the worms do the work.
  4. On badly drained soils, only water newly planted hedging if there is a danger that the soil will dry out completely. When you do water, soak the plants and then DO NOT WATER for a couple of weeks afterwards.

The reason is this:
If you dig a hole or trench in clay, it fills with water when it rains and the surface puddle water on the surrounding ground tries to run into your hole, keeping it full.
The fact that you backfilled the hole with lovely, porous compost when planting only gives it the consistency of a sponge in a bath.  The roots of almost all hedging plants need to be able to breathe underground.
A trench in clay means they will probably drown.

So plant hedging on clay the easy way and dig as little as possible!