What to sow as a boundary hedge?

Comic Book Guy

Hi all,

As part of our planning retention we have to plant a boundary hedge at the front of the house inside a wooden rail fence as well as around the remaining boundary which consists of an agricultural post and wire fence.
We were looking at sowing a native hedge that would grow well and we relatively easily maintained.

We also have to plant some trees through the lawn, again what would you recommend on varietys that would look well.

Many thanks in advance for your replies.

rje66

any more info on location ie geographical ?
very rural or on edge of town?
any neighbouring houses very close?
aspect? will newly planted trees block out evening sun in a few years time?
over head wires?
soil? clay/marsh/good top soil

I know its a planning doc but its good to think of these now.

When submitting doc. try to use proper botanical names and include the sizes of trees eg. Fagus sylvatica 90-120cm = beech suitable for hedging that is 90-120 cm tall

Betula pendula BR 10-12cm = Birch that has a trunk girth 10-12 cm @1m and supplied bare rooted, it would be typically appox 3 (ish)m tall.

I think there are lists on the westmeath co co of suggested trees etc to plant

Hope this makes sense.
PM me if you have a querie.

bazmc35

hi im thinking of doing the same, waiting for mid November for the bare roots cause i need 280. Was thinking of Laurel as a hedge but my hedge is going against a post and wire which cattle and sheep will graze and heard that its poisonous to cattle, any ideas on what to plant would lik something hardy and grows quick..

Oldtree

bazmc35 For a rural setting adjacent to a farm I think that a hawthorn hedge would be best. It will generally be left alone by the animals and will form a stockproof barrier, if maintained correctly, after the fence is gone. Wooden posts typically have a life of ten years or so. it is not expensive to start with larger plants called "1 to 120's" which are 1 meter to 120cm tall, good roots to begin with too, prune back by about a third when planting and maby 3 to a meter. Laurel is poisionous.

I agree with rje66 that we need more info. If Comic Book Guy could post the site layout plan and detail issues surrounding the site then we could help with suggestions.

If you are putting in a planning application then you could put anything more or less on the application, but if you are actually going to plant then care must be taken.

Skrynesaver

Agree with OldTree on the hawthorn for the stock facing boundaries, I like beech for the road frontage and at home we've holly mixed in to the hawthorn as it cheers the place up in winter and is also stock-proof.

Oldtree

ditto with beech for the road frontage, I've green beech for that and a smaller side hedge of purple beech, with jackmontii nearby to shine out from the darker colors.

Holly is an interesting thing in a hawthorn hedge I'd love to see a photo of how it looks and how it grew.

Wild hedges could easily have a base of hawthorn with a mix of ash, hazel, alder, sorbus, crab apple, spindle, blackthorn

Comic Book Guy

Hi All,

Sorry for my initial post and its ambiguity. We have been granted our planning retention so we dont have tosend in a plan or species list to the council.

We simply have to plant a boundary hedge and some internal broadleaf trees throught the lawn to act as a screen from the road etc.

When you suggest hawthorn is that just another name for whitethorn? (might not be conducive to retrieving footballs back from down the line?!).

Was initially thinking of a beech hedge but this might look very monotonous planted around the entire perimeter.

Just in relation to the site itself, the soil is very good Roscommon free draining topsoil. level site but is probably a bit open to the elements to the east.

Before i decide on something should i spray off theis perimeter with roundup or just simply dig out the sod and plant the quicks into it? Would peopple recommend one of those mesh things to stop weed growth or maybe putting down a bit of stone?

Thanks for the replies guys

Oldtree

We are very open here in mayo too.

yes hawthorn is whitethorn.

Without seeing the site it is very difficult to give you specific advice, however I have a green hedge at the road front, so very formal, purple beech for about 10 meters on one side, alder hedge on the other. the sides in the back is a mix of mainly alder with ash, not so formal, and the back back is a right mix of stuff.

I also have a privit hedge and a small zebrina hedge to protect the vegi beds.

The important thing here is to start first with a hedge for shelter before getting on with the rest of the garden.

You can plant whips into it easily and you dont need to bother with a mulch or spraying (nutrient competition is not all its made out to be), The important thing is to keep grass off the plant before snow comes and the weight of it leaning on the grass and then on the plant stem can break the stem, so thats a job for next autumn. Dont mow right next to the plant stems as you will damage the plants.

the hedge can be anything you want so think about what you like as you will have to live with it.

Cork boy 55

how tall?

Oldtree

Cork boy 55 wrote: »

how tall?

which one?

The Garden Shop

Native Hedgerow could include:
Hawthorn, blackthorn, holly, guelder rose, wild rose and even some fruits such as black and raspberry.

Plant a mixture of them all
Bareroot season start in about 3 weeks, so get to a garden centre early to choose the best stock

When planting plant about 5 or 6 of each species together (spacing varies - approx 1 foot apart)

Birch is lovely but not for a hedgerow and beech in not native.

periodictable

Mix of hawthorn and hornbeam?