Poor hedgerow - suggestions and adviace please - pics included

Cuchulain

Ok my boundary hedge was a disgrace, ivy grown over dead trees, briars two inches thick.....the lot. I got a guy to come in a clear down all the crap to a managable height and remove uneeded stuff. Its looking pretty bare out there.

So on my walk yesterday I seen numerous saplings sitting pretty on the side of hedgerows (at the side of the road), mostly around 2-4 foot high (dont ask me what type, but they came from the hedge nearby). My questions are

1) Is it possible to dig out these saplings and plant them in my horror hedge?
2) How big of a "circle" should i dig around the base to make sure roots stay intact?
3) Whats the best time of the year for doing this?

Some pics of my hedge at the mo.

1) The Hedge 1 - http://i35.tinypic.com/14jyvpl.jpg
2) The Hedge 2 - http://i36.tinypic.com/2057ara.jpg

If somebody could throw an eye over these trees to help identify them....we used to have another tree the same as "Unknown tree 1" but it died, i think this one looks on its last legs also.
3) Unknown Tree 1 - http://i36.tinypic.com/2iu5ly9.jpg
4) Unknown Tree 2 - http://i34.tinypic.com/33etzlf.jpg
5) Unknown Tree 3 - http://i36.tinypic.com/15zqy54.jpg


Sorry Im a little wet behind the ears with this sort of stuff

Nonmonotonic

Who stole my post?


OK This came from DIY

newbie2

Cuchulain wrote: »

1) Is it possible to dig out these saplings and plant them in my horror hedge?
2) How big of a "circle" should i dig around the base to make sure roots stay intact?
3) Whats the best time of the year for doing this?


3) Unknown Tree 1 - http://i36.tinypic.com/2iu5ly9.jpg
4) Unknown Tree 2 - http://i34.tinypic.com/33etzlf.jpg
5) Unknown Tree 3 - http://i36.tinypic.com/15zqy54.jpg

1. Not really possible. AFAIK the removal of saplings from hedgerows on a public by way is illeagal.

2. Depends on what tree species it is. the bigger the rootball the better.

3. Autumn - October/november


unknown tree 1 = Don't know. lots of base growth leads me to believe that it has a healthy rootball but the top growth is suffering. Recommendation is to chop down. OR layer

Unknown tree 2 = Don't know. there looks like a lot of ivy has grown over it. The main ivy stem has been cut so all the leaves will eventually turn brown and drop off. the stem is a biggie though and will probably never drop off by it's own accord. My recommendation is to remove the tree completly. OR layer


unknown tree 3 = looks the same as number 2.

In fairness the best thing you could do to improve the hedgerow is to create a "layered Hedge". this is where you take the large trees and shrubs and slice halfway into the trunk, bent the tree until you snap it and it lays down onto the rest of the hedge. In the spring when the weather starts getting warm you'll get lots of vertical growth. This'll make the hedge fill out a little bit more and make it look a lot better. the first few weeks though it'll look like sh!t, but that's to be expected. I'd google layered hedge to get a better idea of when to do this - but I suspect early spring is the best.
Good luck

The Sweeper

Hmmm Hugh Fearnsley Whittingwhatshisname had an episode of the River Cottage where he got a chap to come in and layer a hedge that was casting far too much shade over his cottage, creating damp inside the cottage and letting moss run wild.

This chap knew his stuff, but layering a hedge is a truly brutal-looking process. If you're really lucky, there might be a clip on the river cottage site or on youtube relating to it?

Nonmonotonic

.....and somewhere in a parallel universe
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055356433