Hedges

carnagesri

I bought my house back in Sept and It's on a 1/3 acre site. I want to plant a hedge at one side of my house between myself and my next door neighbour. There is currently just a wooden fence between us.
Basically I would like advice on what to plant. I'd be looking for something that would hold up to the frost within reason and be relatively easy to maintain.
It's a pretty long site so I would want something reasonably priced as well. Any suggestions would be welcome along with the time of year to plant the hedging. Thanks in advance

magicbastarder

beech or hornbeam would be good choices, or you could plant a mixed native hedge.
any time in the next few months would be good for planting, you can get the plants for probably a euro each, plant a foot apart. for denser hedging, plant a second staggered parallel line alongside.

carnagesri

Thanks for that. Anymore suggestions?

POCKET.ROCKET.

I would agree with the above re Beech and Hornbeam.

Both hold their leaves during the winter months, easy to trim, and look neat and tidy almost all year round. Only need trimmed the once per year, can be renovated if they get out of hand.

You could also consider Hawthorn or at a push Privet.

Bare-rooted stock can be planted from November to early April.

Stock grown in liners (pots) can be planted at anytime of the year, but you would have to ensure they receive plenty of water in the first few years during the summer/ dry periods.

I would avoid any conifer, plus I think that you are no longer allowed to plant conifer hedging in the countryside. Plus they are a pain in the ass to keep trimmed (twice a year).

I would also avoid Escalonia hedging as it is struggling to hold up during the recent cold / winter periods.

Funsterdelux

I'd agree on the above suggestions. The more variety in your hedge the better the habitat for wildlife.

I remember hearing from somewhere you can tell the age/health of a hedgerow by how many different types of trees are growing in it!

Oh and the beech will give great colour in the winter too.

magicbastarder

ideally, if it were me, i'd plant a mixed native hedge, but it would look a bit more untidy. dunno if you'd be willing to put up with that, or if you've neighbours who might object.

Squiggle

carnagesri wrote: »

Thanks for that. Anymore suggestions?

futureforests have a good range of bare root hedging and are well priced - they also have pictures of the various types of hedge on sale. I have bought from them without any problems.

uptowngirly

Sorry to hijack the thread, but was wondering what ye would think of using eucalyptus as a hedge?

We're currently at the pp stage and if it goes through, I'll want to plant the border first as hedging doesn't grow overnight! Our neighbours will be his parents, so don't want anything thorny as that wouldn't go down so well me thinks!

My other thoughts were fuschia or laurel. Am I way off the mark?

(site is in North county Dublin on a farm - soil has fairly good drainage, well rotovated, not incredibly stony)

boatbuilder

Eucalyptus...beautiful trees imo. I planted three of them as stand alone specimens. In my experience, the first year or two with eucalyptus is very important (wind protection, staking, mulch, fertiliser) but after that, they will do really well and the leaves are amazing to see in winter.

Saw a mature one planted beside the lake in Dublin zoo recently.

magicbastarder

i've never seen eucalyptus used as a hedge; i've seen one example of it tried as a hedge, but that turned into a row of trees rather than a hedge. i've no idea if that was the fault of the eucalyptus or the owner.

uptowngirly

To be honest, I think that in all likelihood they would end up as a row of trees (albeit planted very close together!)

I agree though - they are beautiful and quite fragrant too. They're a little different as well, which I like Good to know about the care needed for the first couple of years - well worth it definitely, but would want to make sure I did it right.

Would holly trees look ridiculous interspersed with the eucalyptus - actually seeing it written down, it looks very christmasy!!

IpreDictDeatH

Beech holds its leaves alright, and it looks lovely in winter, but it does get sparse looking. Thats only a probem if you're lookin for full cover year round. Maybe consider prunus lusitanica? WE use them all the time on jobs and never have a problem with frost etc...

http://www.google.ie/images?hl=en&rlz=1R2SKPB_enIE359&wrapid=tlif129526268484110&q=prunus+lusitanica+hedge&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=4iM0TZ_xDqOqhAfGzMyVCw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=2&ved=0CCkQsAQwAQ&biw=1362&bih=570