Removing a suburban hedge in March ?

BobbyBingo

Go easy on me if this is a daft question - its my first time here!

I have a boundary of leylandi trees and briars that Id love to replace with a tidier and smaller hedge. In all it is approx 25metres in length and maybe 5m high. It is blocking light in house and i cant get grass to grow near it... It also looks unsightly as a consequence of too severe a cutting before we moved in. No nests that I'm aware of but equally cannot say this conclusively. Can it be replaced now in March or do I need to do it after 01 Sept ? I dont want to fall foul of legislation but equally dont want to do wrong by the birdies... It is in Dublin.

Any advice ?

B

magicbastarder

the law doesn't apply here, as this is a cultivated/garden hedge.
in my experience, having also removed approx 25m of leylandii, i found a single nest which had been abandoned years earlier.

loyatemu

the law may well apply here:
https://greennews.ie/closedseason-hedgerow-cutting2020/

but it's widely ignored by gardeners (and plenty of farmers too).

grassylawn

Just leave it until September. That law is there for a reason. You don't want to destroy nests.

MacDanger

25m of 5m tall leylandiis is a decent amount of trees to dispose of!! I'd recommend spending the next couple of months planning how you're going to tackle it (e.g. disposing of the waste, how to deal with the stumps, what to plant in its place, etc.) and then do the job in September

grassylawn

That's a good point about the waste. Bosch turbine cut shredder is good for dealing with large numbers of branches. Munches through any wood that will fit in it, regardless of whether there are leaves or not. You would still have a huge amount of mulch and thicker pieces of wood though.

BobbyBingo

MacDanger wrote: »

25m of 5m tall leylandiis is a decent amount of trees to dispose of!! I'd recommend spending the next couple of months planning how you're going to tackle it (e.g. disposing of the waste, how to deal with the stumps, what to plant in its place, etc.) and then do the job in September

Yes - it's a big lump alright! I have all that sorted and a gardener lined up to do the job, grind or dig the roots etc. on Monday week - just want to ensure that it's right more so for the birdies to be honest than the law, but that too. The gardener is saying "no bother" and that he'll evaluate first if there is any nests in place - but he equally said that you were allowed do it until 01 April - so if he's not quite right about that, it has me wondering..

B

Apoapsis Rex

There really is no point holding off on a garden hedge in fear of some legislation. Its not going to be enforced. There will be 100 fold more birds effected by the green energy movement than your garden.

Just have a look for nests yourself before you start and enjoy your back garden.

grassylawn

BobbyBingo wrote: »

Yes - it's a big lump alright! I have all that sorted and a gardener lined up to do the job, grind or dig the roots etc. on Monday week - just want to ensure that it's right more so for the birdies to be honest than the law, but that too. The gardener is saying "no bother" and that he'll evaluate first if there is any nests in place - but he equally said that you were allowed do it until 01 April - so if he's not quite right about that, it has me wondering..

B

Well he wants the work and is not necessarily telling the truth. Do you really think he's going to find any and all nests in the entire hedge?

BobbyBingo

grassylawn wrote: »

Well he wants the work and is not necessarily telling the truth. Do you really think he's going to find any and all nests in the entire hedge?

Fair point and it is my thinking too - but I will check (as much as I can myself).

grassylawn

BobbyBingo wrote: »

Fair point and it is my thinking too - but I will check (as much as I can myself).

Well I could find tens of birds in my garden right now but my son and I have yet to check off the 'Nest' item on his nature treasure hunt card from weeks ago. I've no doubt there are several there though, and probably less concealed than those in huge leylandii hedges.

If you want to avoid destroying nests then leave off destroying the hedge. If you want to destroy the hedge and not feel bad about it then I guess keep posting here until someone says what you want to hear.

Mimon

Apoapsis Rex wrote: »

There really is no point holding off on a garden hedge in fear of some legislation. Its not going to be enforced. There will be 100 fold more birds effected by the green energy movement than your garden.

Just have a look for nests yourself before you start and enjoy your back garden.

First post, hmm.

When I see people cutting at the wrong time I say it to them and if they refuse I go to the Gardai.

magicbastarder

i would be amazed if the gardai got involved with someone cutting hedges in their garden.

grassylawn

magicbastarder wrote: »

i would be amazed if the gardai got involved with someone cutting hedges in their garden.

Probably not. I think the council would be more likely to be willing to get involved.

I reported a case of repeated backyard burning. They opened two cases against them and I was very soon contacted by someone dealing with the case asking for more info. The backyard burning stopped.

I imagine this is a similar context. I also imagine that gardener is more than likely planning to burn most of what is removed; perhaps on your property.

charlesanto

I would expect that by removing the leylandii and eventually replacing with mixed native hedging will way outweigh any short term negatives.


Any time is a good time to remove leylandii IMO

grassylawn

charlesanto wrote: »

I would expect that by removing the leylandii and eventually replacing with mixed native hedging will way outweigh any short term negatives.


Any time is a good time to remove leylandii IMO

What is a good mixture of native hedging that would provide a privacy screen and pollution screen while being relatively easy to manage. Laurel would be good..?

[In our case, growing outwards too much would obscure our view coming out of the driveway and also make pedestrians have to walk on the road, so manageability is a significant factor.]

magicbastarder

grassylawn wrote: »

What is a good mixture of native hedging that would provide a privacy screen and pollution screen while being relatively easy to manage. Laurel would be good..?

laurel is not native, though.

i would guess the choice might be dependent on context. it's also not native, but something like beech or hornbeam may be better in a suburban context.

magicbastarder

grassylawn wrote: »

I reported a case of repeated backyard burning.

i rang the fire brigade, more immediate and more expensive for the people doing the burning.

lordgoat

Apoapsis Rex wrote: »

There really is no point holding off on a garden hedge in fear of some legislation. Its not going to be enforced. There will be 100 fold more birds effected by the green energy movement than your garden.

Just have a look for nests yourself before you start and enjoy your back garden.

Out of sheer interest, wtf has the green energy movement got to do with one persons hedge removal?

OP - I'd wait and plan what to do with the waste. If you have storage and time you an dry everything out for fire wood. Chip it for mulch.

macraignil

grassylawn wrote: »

Well I could find tens of birds in my garden right now but my son and I have yet to check off the 'Nest' item on his nature treasure hunt card from weeks ago. I've no doubt there are several there though, and probably less concealed than those in huge leylandii hedges.

If you want to avoid destroying nests then leave off destroying the hedge. If you want to destroy the hedge and not feel bad about it then I guess keep posting here until someone says what you want to hear.

What sort of nature treasure hunt is encouraging people to hunt out and by doing so disturb birds nests? I was told years ago that some birds are very sensitive to their nests being interfered with and may abandon a nest of already laid eggs if they feel their nest has been discovered and is at risk of being interfered with again in future.

grassylawn

macraignil wrote: »

What sort of nature treasure hunt is encouraging people to hunt out and by doing so disturb birds nests? I was told years ago that some birds are very sensitive to their nests being interfered with and may abandon a nest of already laid eggs if they feel their nest has been discovered and is at risk of being interfered with again in future.

Weird interpretation of what i said. Nobody's disturbing nests or rummaging through hedges for them.

macraignil

grassylawn wrote: »

Weird interpretation of what i said. Nobody's disturbing nests or rummaging through hedges for them.

That's good to hear. Thanks for clearing up what you said. Guess it must be just me that thinks there is something wrong with using the terms treasure hunt in relation to bird's nests. Just had an image of some misguided school teacher sending their class of school children out to find as many nests as they could without explaining to them how sensitive nesting birds can be.

BobbyBingo

OP here. You've got to love the internet! Some great advice, emotive language and hilarious assumptions :rolleyes:. Appreciate them all!

Have stood the gardener down and pressed the pause button until September.

Chisler2

BobbyBingo wrote: »

OP here. You've got to love the internet! Some great advice, emotive language and hilarious assumptions :rolleyes:. Appreciate them all!

Have stood the gardener down and pressed the pause button until September.

Good that you have a sense of humour. Though your original post gave no indication of your plans for replacement planting that was taken up in the comments on "native deciduous". You probably know this already but a mixed hedge of our own natives has a raft of advantages and delights..........perfume, manageability, wild-life, bee- and bird larder and habitat. A close-planted mix of hazel, hawthorn, rowan, guilder rose, holly, crab-apple, elderberry and wild cherry would do it. Recommend None So Hardy Nursery. Their stock is well-provinanced, sturdy and reasonably-priced. November/December is the optimal planting time for our natives so fits with your decision. Enjoy.