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how to plant - hedge / trees?

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  • 19-03-2018 8:21pm
    #1
    angeldaisy
    Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 2,281 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    I've bought some birch and alder saplings and some whitethorns all bare root.

    they are to form a hedge along the bottom of the garden.
    I only have 6 birch and I've planted those about 2ft from the fence not sure how far apart but it's a 50mtr fence.
    I'm wondering how I should plant the others?
    alder in the whitethorn hedge or out a bit like the birch. I think I've 25 alder saplings is this too many for the bottom?

    the next stage is a 50mtr hedge of something like laurel, so I could incorporate some of the alder into that if there is too many for the bottom.
    hope someone can give me some advice please


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    #2
    macraignil
    Registered Users Posts: 3,443 ✭✭✭macraignil


    angeldaisy wrote: »
    I've bought some birch and alder saplings and some whitethorns all bare root.

    they are to form a hedge along the bottom of the garden.
    I only have 6 birch and I've planted those about 2ft from the fence not sure how far apart but it's a 50mtr fence.
    I'm wondering how I should plant the others?
    alder in the whitethorn hedge or out a bit like the birch. I think I've 25 alder saplings is this too many for the bottom?

    the next stage is a 50mtr hedge of something like laurel, so I could incorporate some of the alder into that if there is too many for the bottom.
    hope someone can give me some advice please


    The mixture of plants you are using sounds confusing to me. What type of hedge are trying to create. How many whitethorns have you? How can you not know how far apart the birch are planted? If you count the steps between each one you would have an approximate idea of the distance. If you are trying to create a natural looking hedge which would be suggested by the varieties you have bought maybe irregular spacing would give a more natural appearance as the hedge matures.

    If you are planting a formal laurel hedge in front of your alder, whitethorn and birch how are you going to trim the mixed variety hedge or are you going to just let all the trees grow to their full height? Do you have the space for a row of fully grown alder, whitethorn and birch. Alder and birch can grow to 30metres depending on variety and whitethorn can grow to 14metres if they are not being cut back at a particular height which is standard practice in maintaining a hedge. Make sure to keep the roots of the bare-root plants damp and plant as soon as possible.


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    #3
    Lumen
    Registered Users Posts: 31,072 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    What sort of fence and how high is it?

    2ft is a bit close. Birch tends to be narrow but repairing or replacing the fence is difficult if you only have a few inches space, unless you can guarantee access from the other side.

    3ft is a good minimum for hedge and narrow trees. You want more space for trees if overhanging is going to be a problem for neighbours.

    But I wouldn't pull out what you have planted.


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    #4
    angeldaisy
    Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 2,281 Mod ✭✭✭✭angeldaisy


    the fence is approx 4ft and the hedge is going to run close to it.
    the plan is to have a very informal hedge at the bottom of the garden which hopefully will frame the views. which is why I thought a contrast of hedging and trees might work.

    the laurel is needed for privacy and the trees could go in front of that to break it up?

    the sides we are hedging are bordering fields so no worries about overhang.
    the trees I have could be spaced out around the garden as I have approx 1/2 acre plot.

    I don't intend to let the trees grow too tall.


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    #5
    Lumen
    Registered Users Posts: 31,072 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    OK, well hedge spacing is supposedly 2-4 per metre in a single row, depending on how tight you want it, but I've planted at 2 per metre and that looks quite close to my eyes.

    I have older Photinia hedging at 1 per metre and it's fine against a solid fence, and Photinia is known for being a bit scraggy as a hedge.

    Many hedging shrubs have a spread of a couple of metres when grown standalone, and trees wider still, so a hedge will fill out eventually. As you increase spacing the hedge will get less formal and eventually you'll have standalone shrubs/trees.

    Maybe that's what you want?


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    #6
    macraignil
    Registered Users Posts: 3,443 ✭✭✭macraignil


    angeldaisy wrote: »
    the fence is approx 4ft and the hedge is going to run close to it.
    the plan is to have a very informal hedge at the bottom of the garden which hopefully will frame the views. which is why I thought a contrast of hedging and trees might work.

    the laurel is needed for privacy and the trees could go in front of that to break it up?

    the sides we are hedging are bordering fields so no worries about overhang.
    the trees I have could be spaced out around the garden as I have approx 1/2 acre plot.

    I don't intend to let the trees grow too tall.

    Might be worth considering how you are going to maintain the hedge as trees might make it more difficult to trim to an even size as would be typical of a hedge of something like laurel that is more commonly planted on its own as a single species formal hedge. Not sure laurel and the other hedge plants would fit well together.

    From what I have read you can chop alder back to a stump and it will regrow multiple stems again from the stump. It's said to be one of the most productive ways of producing wood for fuel etc. I'd still be inclined to keep the trees at a distance from the house to make it easier to cut them and insure they are never likely to fall on the house when they do grow taller. Also having a space between the trees and the hedge to allow easy trimming of the hedge would also seem sensible to me but without seeing what you are talking about its difficult to give any definitive advice.


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    #7
    angeldaisy
    Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 2,281 Mod ✭✭✭✭angeldaisy


    the 2 photos show where the hedge is to go. the 1st one is where I'm planning to put the whitethorns and the 2nd is where the laurel is going to go


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    #8
    Lumen
    Registered Users Posts: 31,072 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    angeldaisy wrote: »
    the 2 photos show where the hedge is to go
    Which two photos?


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    #9
    angeldaisy
    Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 2,281 Mod ✭✭✭✭angeldaisy


    Lumen wrote: »
    Which two photos?

    - not working I'll try again from a computer!


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    #10
    Hocus Focus
    Registered Users Posts: 754 ✭✭✭Hocus Focus


    I don't know whether it's an urban (rural?) myth, but I have heard that laurel is toxic to livestock, and farmers do not appreciate it being planted on boundaries bordering their fields.


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    #11
    Lumen
    Registered Users Posts: 31,072 ✭✭✭✭Lumen


    Hocus Focus wrote: »
    I don't know whether it's an urban (rural?) myth, but I have heard that laurel is toxic to livestock, and farmers do not appreciate it being planted on boundaries bordering their fields.

    Cherry and Portuguese laurels contain cyanide compounds.

    Bay laurel (i.e. "bayleaf") is tasty but slower and fussier to grow.


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