mulching beech hedge plants

creedp

I spent a few hours on Saturday clearing grass/weeds from the base of beech hedges planted in March while cursing that I hadn't put some kind of a weed barrier in place!

I was thinking about mulching with lawn cuttings to try and control weeds - and also help with keeping soil moist as the plants are sufferring from the dry weather - but am worried that using cuttings from a lawn that was sprayed with Four Four Two a couple of months back to contol a ragwort infestation might harm the plants. The instructions say grass should be used to mulch root plants for 18 months after spraying, would the same apply to beech plants?

Norfolk Enchants_

creedp wrote: »

I spent a few hours on Saturday clearing grass/weeds from the base of beech hedges planted in March while cursing that I hadn't put some kind of a weed barrier in place!

I was thinking about mulching with lawn cuttings to try and control weeds - and also help with keeping soil moist as the plants are sufferring from the dry weather - but am worried that using cuttings from a lawn that was sprayed with Four Four Two a couple of months back to contol a ragwort infestation might harm the plants. The instructions say grass should be used to mulch root plants for 18 months after spraying, would the same apply to beech plants?

I say you mean 2-4-D broadleaf weedkiller, in any case I'd say those instructions are only if you intend eating the produce e.g. carrots spuds etc. are all root plants/vegatables.
Personally I don't know how effective grass cuttings would be and what effect/if any the decomposing of grass clippers would have on the hedge, my gut feeling would be it would have a negative impact, for that reason I recommend the use of back mulch or similar.

creedp

Norfolk Enchants_ wrote: »

I say you mean 2-4-D broadleaf weedkiller, in any case I'd say those instructions are only if you intend eating the produce e.g. carrots spuds etc. are all root plants/vegatables.
Personally I don't know how effective grass cuttings would be and what effect/if any the decomposing of grass clippers would have on the hedge, my gut feeling would be it would have a negative impact, for that reason I recommend the use of bak mulch or similiar.

Sorry I must have drunk some of the stuff ...... or else I'm still affected by
World Cup fever! I should have said FourFront herbside which is for pasture land but was sprayed on my garden by a family member when he saw how badly infested it was with ragwort. It seems grass sprayed with the stuff can remain toxic to some plants even after it has been injested by cattle so should not be used for mulching etc.

However, if mulching with grass cuttings is detrimental in any case then its not an issue. I thought I read somewhere that it is an option to keep weeds down. I have 600 plants and would require a lot or bark mulch but it may be the case that its the best option unless I want to keep weeding.

On a related note some of the plants were showing signs of drought so I've taken to watering them more regularly but it takes up to 2 hours to do them all even with the 50m hose I bought for the job. Any advise on roughly how much water should be put on each plant to keep it healthy? I spend nearly 10 hours from Friday evening to Sunday either watering or weeding the buggers and I'm not really enthused about having to repeat that any time soon so any advise to reduce the workload will be very welcome

Norfolk Enchants_

creedp wrote: »

Sorry I must have drunk some of the stuff ...... or else I'm still affected by
World Cup fever! I should have said FourFront herbside which is for pasture land but was sprayed on my garden by a family member when he saw how badly infested it was with ragwort. It seems grass sprayed with the stuff can remain toxic to some plants even after it has been injested by cattle so should not be used for mulching etc.

However, if mulching with grass cuttings is detrimental in any case then its not an issue. I thought I read somewhere that it is an option to keep weeds down. I have 600 plants and would require a lot or bark mulch but it may be the case that its the best option unless I want to keep weeding.

On a related note some of the plants were showing signs of drought so I've taken to watering them more regularly but it takes up to 2 hours to do them all even with the 50m hose I bought for the job. Any advise on roughly how much water should be put on each plant to keep it healthy? I spend nearly 10 hours from Friday evening to Sunday either watering or weeding the buggers and I'm not really enthused about having to repeat that any time soon so any advise to reduce the workload will be very welcome

Have you a double or single line of hedging, you'd need to spread the mulch at the base of the hedging and about a foot either side, so if you have a single line of hedging you probably have about 200 linear metres, so at a depth of 2 inches/50mm you'd need about 6 cubic metres of mulch, obviously you'd have to measure your own hedge for exact measurements.
The watering is kinda particular to the area/soil type and current weather conditions, but as a general rule, keep the ground moist (not soaking just moist), usually a light sprinkle every 2/3 days should suffice.

lazybones32

You can use the grass clippings as an effective mulch without fear of destroying your beech hedge.
While the residue of the herbicide still remains in the original clippings, by the time they decompose and become 'food' for the hedge roots, all traces of herbicide will be gone.
We've gotten a nice bit of rain here - as I'm sure most of the Country has - but if you wish, you should water the hedge first and then spread the mulch. This will help retain moisture.
I must respectfully disagree with Nor/Enc on the watering rate: I recommend a good soak once a week in drought conditions. Buy a cheap spray head for your hose and aim to the base of the hedge.

redser7

Mulching with grass clippings is perfectly fine and quite effective. Also a good way to dispose of the clippings if you generate lots. Just make sure to clear a little space around the stem of each plant to avoid the grass rotting against it. Personally I would go with what the label says and not use them in this case.
I agree with lazybones on the watering. A good drink once in a while is always better than frequent sips. Light watering will evaporate off quickly and also encourage shallow rooting. Shallow rooting will mean the plants will not be drought resistant and also not anchored well.
Anyway the watering shouldn't be a problem once the plants are a bit older and established.
You could read up on soaker hoses that could be handy in drought conditions, but probably a bit OTT for hedges in Ireland.

creedp

Norfolk Enchants_ wrote: »

Have you a double or single line of hedging, you'd need to spread the mulch at the base of the hedging and about a foot either side, so if you have a single line of hedging you probably have about 200 linear metres, so at a depth of 2 inches/50mm you'd need about 6 cubic metres of mulch, obviously you'd have to measure your own hedge for exact measurements.
The watering is kinda particular to the area/soil type and current weather conditions, but as a general rule, keep the ground moist (not soaking just moist), usually a light sprinkle every 2/3 days should suffice.

Single row of hedge [very] approximately 250m in length. Will have to look at cost of that much bark mulch. Problem I have is that at the moment there is quite a lot of grass along about half of the hedge which I am weeding by hand .. presumably that should be sprayed prior to putting down mulch? On the watering issue, before last Friday, for over 6 weeks we have got very little rain in the Norht East and the ground was bone dry. Some of the plants were suffering and I took to watering them every second day which took about 2 hours with a hose. Now that a bit more rain has arrived I might just concentrate on the weaker plants for a while. When they were very dry I put about 2 litres per plant but then dropped back to approx 1 litre per plant. Hoping that it enough.

creedp

lazybones32 wrote: »

You can use the grass clippings as an effective mulch without fear of destroying your beech hedge.
While the residue of the herbicide still remains in the original clippings, by the time they decompose and become 'food' for the hedge roots, all traces of herbicide will be gone.
We've gotten a nice bit of rain here - as I'm sure most of the Country has - but if you wish, you should water the hedge first and then spread the mulch. This will help retain moisture.
I must respectfully disagree with Nor/Enc on the watering rate: I recommend a good soak once a week in drought conditions. Buy a cheap spray head for your hose and aim to the base of the hedge.

It would certainly be a god way of disposing of grass cuttings especially if it had a dual benefit of both feeding and keeping the plants moist. Still slightly worried about the residual herbiside. Would not want to do any further harm to plants. I have a spray head for the hose so no problem there - main issue is the time taken and I suppose the amount of water needed. However, a good soak once a week would be a lot better that watering them every second day.

creedp

redser7 wrote: »

Mulching with grass clippings is perfectly fine and quite effective. Also a good way to dispose of the clippings if you generate lots. Just make sure to clear a little space around the stem of each plant to avoid the grass rotting against it. Personally I would go with what the label says and not use them in this case.
I agree with lazybones on the watering. A good drink once in a while is always better than frequent sips. Light watering will evaporate off quickly and also encourage shallow rooting. Shallow rooting will mean the plants will not be drought resistant and also not anchored well.
Anyway the watering shouldn't be a problem once the plants are a bit older and established.
You could read up on soaker hoses that could be handy in drought conditions, but probably a bit OTT for hedges in Ireland.

Seen a soaker hose in operation in France and while convenient, as you say, is probably over the top for Ireland especially when it would probably only be needed for 3 - 4 months of the plants 1st year. I think I will stick to the hose and just give them a good soaking less regularly that I am currently doing ... all depends on the weather really and it looks like we might be getting some unsettled weather coming our way next weekend - terrible to be looking fwd to rain!!

redser7

creedp wrote: »

Seen a soaker hose in operation in France and while convenient, as you say, is probably over the top for Ireland especially when it would probably only be needed for 3 - 4 months of the plants 1st year. I think I will stick to the hose and just give them a good soaking less regularly that I am currently doing ... all depends on the weather really and it looks like we might be getting some unsettled weather coming our way next weekend - terrible to be looking fwd to rain!!

Another great mulch is newspaper. Lay it down a few sheets thick and water it to make a mat. It will be unsightly so temporary. But it will keep the weeds and grass back and kill any that are growing under it in time. You can then replace it a bit at a time as you pick up the odd bag of bark mulch.
Check with your local council for free bark mulch. I know where Fingal dumps the bark they make after they fell trees