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(Copper) Beech Hedge

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  • 06-04-2018 10:49pm
    #1
    Squall Leonhart
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,794 ✭✭✭


    Will be planting beech hedging tomorrow, only 3 metres of it.

    This evening I dug out a bed for it where there formerly was grass. I have dug out about 10 inches below grass level. I will be building up the bed with bags of nutrient enriched top soil (existing soil is unfortunately quite heavy, clumpy, sticky... Poor quality. When I was digging it this evening I removed concrete blocks and glass bottles and lots of stones... Builders waste from 1996!)

    The trees are bare root. Now is my chance to enhance/enrich the soil, can anybody suggest what may be a good idea?


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


    Monty Donn the BBC Gardeners World presenter planted a tree on a recent show and advocated not putting too much nutrient rich material in the hole dug for the tree as it would encourage the roots to just stay around the nutrients and not stretch deep into the soil as he would want for good plant establishment. I have planted trees and hedge plants in average soil with no extra nutrient and they have grown well. I have just kept the area some way weed free to reduce competition for nutrient and water and added an occasional mulch of used horse bedding when this was convenient. Trees and shrubs where I did not add anything also grew fine. The main thing is to just avoid competing weeds and grass getting established at the base of the hedge.


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    #3
    Squall Leonhart
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,794 ✭✭✭Squall Leonhart


    Great, thanks for the advice!

    Sounds perfectly reasonable to encourage trees to develop a strong root network by sending them off to find their own nutrients.

    A couple of sites I've been reading suggested farmyard manure, but I was unsure as other sites said it can burn roots


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    #4
    macraignil
    Registered Users Posts: 3,443 ✭✭✭macraignil


    Squall Leonhart wrote: »
    Great, thanks for the advice!

    Sounds perfectly reasonable to encourage trees to develop a strong root network by sending them off to find their own nutrients.

    A couple of sites I've been reading suggested farmyard manure, but I was unsure as other sites said it can burn roots

    If it's fresh it can have a bit too much ammonia and I've also heard it can be damaging to roots. Its better to leave it a few months to mature but not found it a problem when just using it as a mulch straight from the stable myself. Not put it fresh on anything delicate though just in case it could be a problem. I did buy matured manure in bags a few years ago and used it in windowboxes to great effect.


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


    If you create a hole or pit full of free draining soil within an area of poor draining soil, the pit will fill with water. If in doubt, plant high.


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    #6
    Squall Leonhart
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,794 ✭✭✭Squall Leonhart


    10 beech trees planted, staggered rows, 4 to a metre.

    Have wood chip mulch down around base of saplings.

    Now the waiting game! How long does it generally takes before trees "take"? How soon before I should be seeing some sign of life? A fortnight? A month? What will I look out for, buds I assume? Trees totally bare at present.


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