advice on tree planting

work

I am purchasing a small cottage on 0.6 acre. It is in a very exposed completely deforested area. I have no gardening experience however love trees.
can anyone advise on where to get quality advice on what to plant on this land and on planning it? Many thanks.

Lumen

Which part of the country? How far from the coast? What altitude?

work

Kerry 500 metres to the sea and a few metres above sea level 10-20 I believe.

magicbastarder

do you want trees for a wind break, or a mini-woodland?
what's growing naturally around you? often you're best advised to go with what nature is already doing.

phormium

Obviously don't know what part of Kerry you are in but if within reasonable distance of Ardfert the I would recommend talking to Don Nolan in Liscahane Garden Centre, you will certainly get quality advice there.

Lumen

I guess the challenge with the west coast is that the wind often comes from the same direction as the lovely views.

Monterey Pine might be worth considering. It's supposedly hardy enough for that coastal location but is more attractive than the Austrian Pine and provides more of a windbreak than Scots Pine.

This one is apparently in Muckross House in Killarney:



Or Poplar, if they're far enough from buildings and walls to avoid root damage.

Alder are often recommended for troublesome sites but they're not the prettiest.

macraignil

I've seen Sycamore growing in some of the most exposed coastal locations and also holly can be very resilient and is evergreen. Look around at your neighbors and see if they have anything growing and ask them if they would recommend anything in particular. Whitethorn/hawthorn is also known for being hardy. Getting trees in relatively small allows them to grow into the harsh conditions if you have the patience and would save on complicated supports for trees you might get in a bit taller. Once you have some trees or hedging established you could think about other varieties that would not be able to get established without the hardier varieties getting going first. There is netting available as well that you can set up on posts to break the wind and give younger trees and hedging a better chance of getting established and someone from west Cork I know recommended using old pallets set up as wind breaks in the same way.

my3cents

500m is a long long way from the sea when it comes to salt and wind tolerance. I can see massive variations in the 500m we have down near the sea the same plant that is 7m high back at the house (300m from the sea) is only 2m near the sea (75m at high tide).

That said you can notice salt damage as far as 6k inland on sensitive plants and large conifer hedges.

OP, I'd start with willow, hunt around locally and see if any are growing anywhere. Our first ones came from the edge of a school playground near the sea, a willow with a good orange/red stem. Cut yourself some stems up to a cm in diameter (can be bigger) and cut them down to about 30-40cm lengths then just push them into the ground. The real advantage of doing this is the experience you'll get as to how well plants will grow in your exposed location. If you put in a line of them on the sea facing side you will soon notice exactly where the wind is coming from by the damage to the new growth on your willows. On my site its very obvious that there are areas that have a very small amount of shelter due to the difference in growth. Now they may not even grow, if so try again in the spring. I find that I get much better results in exposed locations with willow "sets" quite late in the spring.

On really exposed sites that get a constant battering from the wind you need to build up a barrier to the salt laden wind if you want a really good garden. In some cases its a choice of a view of the sea or a garden - up to you. Your garden shelter bed can start out with anything that will grow with plants of increasing height so each layer provides a little bit of shelter for the plant nearer the the house. At the sea ward side you are very limited as to what you can plant (google will give you the obvious choices) then you can plant plants that are slightly less salt/wind tolerant as you get nearer the house.

standardg60

Lumen wrote: »

I guess the challenge with the west coast is that the wind often comes from the same direction as the lovely views.

Monterey Pine might be worth considering. It's supposedly hardy enough for that coastal location but is more attractive than the Austrian Pine and provides more of a windbreak than Scots Pine.

This one is apparently in Muckross House in Killarney:



Or Poplar, if they're far enough from buildings and walls to avoid root damage.

Alder are often recommended for troublesome sites but they're not the prettiest.

I would also start with an initial windbreak of pine. The Monterey is particularly recommended for south and west coastal sites, but might be a bit big on a .6 acre site. The appropriately named beach pine pinus contorta ( instantly recognisable here from it's use as a Xmas tree) is smaller and will grow where little else will.

lottpaul

From personal experience 500m from the sea on a wild day in Kerry is not very far. That said, your main enemy is the force of the wind rather than the salt spray. The aspect of the site is critical too - which direction is the sea from you? You may need a shelter belt of shrubs to help the trees establish.
You have a couple of choices but whatever you do, buy small. Don't be tempted to buy sizeable plants that will need staking and protecting - and may still fail. Buy small, cheap and cheerful. Olearia of any kind will grow well and give you some shelter to grow other things - they grow quickly but you will gradually lose your view if you don't keep them trimmed. Other things like privet or escallonia grow well too and will give reliable shelter. We tried willows but they all (20+) died as did many of the pines.
Once your shelter belt is up you can grow almost anything - but - you will have to sacrifice all or most of your view.
And that's your dilemma. Yes, you can grow trees, but only successfully with a shelter belt. If you visit any of the bigger garden centres - Liscahane, Ardfert or Shanahans in Farranfore the first thing you'll notice is their very dense and extensive shelter belts.
Shrubs are much more feasible - great leaf colour, flowers, scent etc and no or little loss of view? It's an option. Best of luck either way.

standardg60

lottpaul wrote: »

From personal experience 500m from the sea on a wild day in Kerry is not very far. That said, your main enemy is the force of the wind rather than the salt spray. The aspect of the site is critical too - which direction is the sea from you? You may need a shelter belt of shrubs to help the trees establish.
You have a couple of choices but whatever you do, buy small. Don't be tempted to buy sizeable plants that will need staking and protecting - and may still fail. Buy small, cheap and cheerful. Olearia of any kind will grow well and give you some shelter to grow other things - they grow quickly but you will gradually lose your view if you don't keep them trimmed. Other things like privet or escallonia grow well too and will give reliable shelter. We tried willows but they all (20+) died as did many of the pines.
Once your shelter belt is up you can grow almost anything - but - you will have to sacrifice all or most of your view.
And that's your dilemma. Yes, you can grow trees, but only successfully with a shelter belt. If you visit any of the bigger garden centres - Liscahane, Ardfert or Shanahans in Farranfore the first thing you'll notice is their very dense and extensive shelter belts.
Shrubs are much more feasible - great leaf colour, flowers, scent etc and no or little loss of view? It's an option. Best of luck either way.

Olearia is a very good shout for a lower screen..macrodonta in particular is a lovely shrub.

work

Folks, thanks for the advice. There is loads there to think about and all good stuff. In answer to your queries.
People asked its direction to the sea so it is approx 500m to the south however well within 1000m to the sea in all directions as on a peninsula.
People also asked what others are growing. Generally nothing much and certainly no significant trees but there are no shelter belts.
Most land farming grass or residential grass.
The view is not great so I would be happy to loose what there is as trees are the best view anyway.

lottpaul

If you're no more than 1km from the sea in any direction then your garden is very exposed. You will definitely need a shelter belt - one with a mix of layers and heights is best. You don't want to create a solid wall of trees/shrubs - that will create all sorts of wind eddies etc. A filter effect is best - slowing and diffusing the wind. Phormium will create a very solid barrier if you're really exposed. After that any olearias, hebes, any grey leaved shrubs, hydrangeas, privet, escallonia, pines, alders etc - and then within that you can plant the more specimen type trees and shrubs. You will need to keep the eventual heights in mind at all times. Your inner trees should be at a par with your shelter belt or you'll end up with very scalped looking plants.
Keep your soil type in mind too - light/heavy, well drained/waterlogged and get advice from suppliers.
Native trees like holly, hazel, white thorn etc will grow - but slowly, so you need to decide what balance you want between speed and diversity.
Some plants have peculiarities too. Alders tend to drop their lower branches as they grow - so do pines. Tall Olearias - especially traversii - can be blown over in strong winds but cut them back and they will continue to grow quite happily. Macrodontas are lower and tend to be stronger - keep them trimmed and they get bushier.