Category Archives: Hedging & Tree Jobs

I will be adding to this over the next week or so.

Yew Hedging

If you are planning on planting a yew hedge this autumn, now is the time to start preparing the ground. Mark out the area you are going to plant – bareroot yew hedge plants are always planted in a single row in a trench about 60 cms wide – so that is what you are going to weedkill.

Weeding

Ugh! However, this is the number one month for weed seeds ripening, falling to the ground and waking up in Spring.  It really pays to at a minimum hoe (and preferably hand weed) borders, rose beds, veggie patches and the like.  Get your weeds before they get you.  Collect them up and either take them to the dump or burn them.  DO NOT put them on the compost heap – we had a gardener when I was a lad – Mr Carter – who used to say (in a broad Kentish accent) “One yur’s seeds is suvun yur’s weeds”….

Apply a non residual weed killer (any one containing Glyphosate is fine) following the manufacturer’s instructions anytime between now and the middle/end of September. The sooner the better as it works best on plants in full growth and you also get a chance to spray a second time to get the stubborn b*****’s like bindweed.

If you do not like chemicals, then lay ground cover fabric, black polythene, old carpet, broken down cardboard boxes (anything that will keep out the light and stop plants growing through it. That will kill anything except Japanese knotweed and horsetail by the time you get to planting in November.

And that is it – the hard digging happens later.

If the soil is soft enough for you to push a spade in full depth then you do not need to dig the ground at all. If it harder than that, then dig over short strips and rotavate long ones. Remove large roots and big stones.

There are a number of (relatively) early flowering trees and shrubs that prefer to be pruned immediately ofter planting as it gives them more time to produce new wood on which they will flower next year.  The list includes Deutzia, Kolkwitzia and Philadelphus.

Trim/clip back Privet, Pyracantha and the hedging Viburnums (such as V. tinus Eve Price).

Please don’t forget to water the trees and hedges you planted over the winter and into the spring – it really makes a difference.

You should also keep both newly planted trees and hedging clear of weeds.

And keep an eye out for caterpillars at this time of year.  There are one or two processionary moths that can create an infestation in a couple of weeks and thousands of caterpillars can strip young hedge plants (beech hedging is a favourite) in a few days. Either kill them with a proprietory spray, or blast them off with a pressure washer if you do not like using poisons

Fruit needs a bit of attention at this time of year. Fruit trees grown against walls should have any really vigorous side shoots shortened or they become lop-sided.  You can also tue in new growths on espalier and fan trained fruit.

Your blackberries, boysenberries, raspberries etc will all be producing new canes (on which they will fruit next year).  These will need to be tied in, but try to do it in such a way as to make sure you do not cut them out by mistake later in the year when you remove the old canes….