Best trees to sow for shelter to cattle

Genghis Cant · 18-10-2016 11:46AM

restive wrote: »

Is there any shrub /small tree you can plant into an existing hedge that is thin at the base.

Whitethorn, bareroot could work. What's the existing hedge?

Bass Reeves · 18-10-2016 11:49AM

Genghis Cant wrote: »

It seems counterintuitive to do that but we done similar to the 2012 hedge. We cut it back to 6" and it is a great job. I've never came across what you suggest. Do you break it but leave it attached?

Yes the hedge will then sprout all along the horizontal stem. Hard to do with all the thorns. clipping 6'' from the base also will alow it to thicken but if you can bend it and break it down low it is like laying a hedge.

restive · 18-10-2016 12:16PM

Genghis Cant wrote:

Whitethorn, bareroot could work. What's the existing hedge?

Very old. Total mix of everything. I'd say white thorn , ash Sally's etc.

jfh · 18-10-2016 02:43PM

Genghis Cant wrote: »

Here it is.

Great job there. I'm dividing off a site & would rather use a traditional hedge than beech, is there a site for those guys that I could buy online?

Green farmer · 18-10-2016 03:58PM

Anyone mention laurels ? I bought and planted 5ft barefooted ones 11 years ago. Now about 15high and great wind breaks. Will continue into big trees if You don't prune. Keep leaves years around and look classy.

pedigree 6 · 18-10-2016 04:19PM

Green farmer wrote: »

Anyone mention laurels ? I bought and planted 5ft barefooted ones 11 years ago. Now about 15high and great wind breaks. Will continue into big trees if You don't prune. Keep leaves years around and look classy.

Yep. Plus can be cut and trimmed and will sprout back again.
Plus can be grown from slips.
Make good roosts for birds as well.

I think people forget sometimes about roosts. Trees with good covers of ivy provide roosts for woodpigeons and pheasants and numerous other birds.

If you can Green farmer, put up a picture of them.
I wouldn't mind seeing what they look like.

The Cuban · 18-10-2016 07:35PM

Ash will go to full size in 20 years, you could buy a 3/4 year old and plant it, Maybe you could buy older but it would be big at that stage. Also as said previously you`d have to fence the cattle off it for a few years. And watch out for Ash Dieback disease in your area or close by if its there then forget it. By far the biggest problem for Ash is Ivy, once thats kept off the tree would last forever

Dunedin · 18-10-2016 07:51PM

thanks for all the replies.

Muckit · 18-10-2016 08:50PM

Genghis Cant wrote: »

Here it is.

You must have great soil GC. Look like they are planted a few years!!

Genghis Cant · 18-10-2016 08:50PM

jfh wrote: »

Great job there. I'm dividing off a site & would rather use a traditional hedge than beech, is there a site for those guys that I could buy online?

I'll pm you.

Genghis Cant · 18-10-2016 09:09PM

Muckit wrote: »

You must have great soil GC. Look like they are planted a few years!!

Powerful soil. But like a lot of crops a hedge will burst out of it if the seedbed is good. I made a grand tilled line with a mini digger bucket and kept them fairly well wed. Herself cleans out the hens and chucks the hen ****e along the hedge too.
You can plant a hedge in untilled ground and it'll grow..... But don't be in a hurry for it!

Edited to add: I just checked the phone there, we've pictures of it being planted on March 16th this year. So 7 mths planted.

Muckit · 18-10-2016 09:22PM

That's unreal. I would have sown into tilled soil too. And actually brought in topsoil. Plenty fym and buckets of poultry pellets. Mypexed and windbreaked also. Couldn't do anymore more for them, yet wouldnt be a patch on yours!!

Oh and got a shake of 10 10 20 end of june. Next year might be their year!???!!!

Did you get many or any that didnt take?

Genghis Cant · 18-10-2016 09:50PM

Muckit wrote: »

That's unreal. I would have sown into tilled soil too. And actually brought in topsoil. Plenty fym and buckets of poultry pellets. Mypexed and windbreaked also. Couldn't do anymore more for them, yet wouldnt be a patch on yours!!

Oh and got a shake of 10 10 20 end of june. Next year might be their year!???!!!

Did you get many or any that didnt take?

I counted two that appeared to strike and leaf up but then lost the leaves. Out of 350 plants. Ours done well alright now that I look at them. I wonder maybe that windbreak helped.

pedigree 6 · 18-10-2016 10:32PM

Genghis and Muckit. Are ye talking about bareroot trees and shrubs?

Edit: presume you's are. As if it was a potted one you know the thing about spreading out the roots when planting.

pedigree 6 · 18-10-2016 10:41PM

This would be the rolls Royce treatment and sowing of bare root trees.

https://www.arborday.org/trees/planting/bare-root.cfm

99nsr125 · 18-10-2016 10:45PM

Green farmer wrote: »

Anyone mention laurels ? I bought and planted 5ft barefooted ones 11 years ago. Now about 15high and great wind breaks. Will continue into big trees if You don't prune. Keep leaves years around and look classy.

Unfortunately you can't have laurel, it's poisonous.
Cyanide if I remember correctly.

Western Red Cedar does well even in damp soil
It's evergreen and will put on fresh growth on old wood
when cut back unlike almost every other evergreen.

To fix some Nitrogen you could go with Alder
There's also an almost evergreen Alder, Mexican Alder I think
Italian Alder grows faster than common Alder and holds its leaves
in a similar way to Beech but sadly not as well

pedigree 6 · 18-10-2016 11:02PM

99nsr125 wrote: »

Unfortunately you can't have laurel, it's poisonous.
Cyanide if I remember correctly.

Portuguese laurel is grand.
It's the cherry one that has it.

I never knew that about the cyanide.
I had to look it up.

The cattle would want to be quare hungry to eat a tough laurel leaf though.
But good to know.

Waffletraktor · 19-10-2016 07:50AM

Genghis Cant wrote: »

Bass Reeves wrote: »

This winter go along hedge and break each plant about 8-14'' from the base and bend over. This will really thicken hedge. Leave the odd plant every 15-20 metres to grown as a standard tree. This will delay having to trim the hedge for a year and will really thicken the base wrap the plants aroud each other to keep them low to the ground.

It seems counterintuitive to do that but we done similar to the 2012 hedge. We cut it back to 6" and it is a great job. I've never came across what you suggest. Do you break it but leave it attached?

To get a young hedge like that to thicken you need to hit it hard to avoid it growing up rather than sideways from the base

Muckit · 19-10-2016 11:40AM

Genghis Cant wrote: »

I counted two that appeared to strike and leaf up but then lost the leaves. Out of 350 plants. Ours done well alright now that I look at them. I wonder maybe that windbreak helped.

Will you prune yours? I clipped back mine. Wanted the beech to thicken and shoot out at the bottom

Genghis Cant · 19-10-2016 08:00PM

Muckit wrote: »

Will you prune yours? I clipped back mine. Wanted the beech to thicken and shoot out at the bottom

I will yeah. I might try that suggestions above about breaking the stem though I'd be a bit afraid I'd mess it up. I'll do something though!

Good loser · 20-10-2016 01:51AM

For shelter I would recommend Norway Spruce.

Don't like Spindle.

MickeyShtyles · 20-10-2016 10:51AM

For any of yee sheep lads, daggings around the base of the tree is a good job.

Green farmer · 20-10-2016 05:34PM

99nsr125 wrote: »

Unfortunately you can't have laurel, it's poisonous.
Cyanide if I remember correctly.

Feck. Didn't know that

greysides · 20-10-2016 11:00PM

Yes, there is cyanide in Laurel but I've never known animals to have problems from the amount they eat and it's been around farms for a long time.

Donegalforever · 24-10-2016 11:04PM

Trees that might suit are:

Spruce,
Lawson Cypress.

(Don't plant Leyland ( also know as Lylandii) Cypress because they tend to blow over if single trees set on their own.

Best trees to sow for shelter to cattle

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