[El Kabong!]

Hi,

I have acquired a smallholding of 4.5 acres.

I have a number of projects lined up and my whole life to do them!

I have just planted .25 acres of willow and it is doing well, and I intend to plant another .75

I have also started planting an orchard
I also have bee hives and I intend to move them out there and expand.

Lots of other ideas too.

Now this is all grass at the moment and I have a tractor and mower to keep on top of it.


But what I want to do is plant hedging here and there, preferably native, to break the place up a bit and not have it as one massive allotment.

I'm wondering can somebody recommend hedging to me that will not need much maintenance. I would view having alot of hedging as yet another project that encourages wildlife.

But there is a lot of work in maintaining all these projects so if I could find a hedge that doesn't get too wild or spread too much that would be great.

Is there anything that will not get too wide for instance? Because if I plant up an avenue of hedges, and it grows too wide, then it is hard to get the tractor down the middle to cut the grass etc etc...

Or if it get too high then it blocks out light

I don't really want to spend my summers cutting it all back.

Is there any hedging that will stay reasonably small and contained?????

[tippben]

If you have a tractor, then you could plant a mixed native hedge, and use a swipe or a flail to cut them in the winter (not the summer). All hedges will need yearly maintenance, I'm afraid. Mixed native bare roots, planted at 60-90cm height will take a long time to get too tall or wide though.

[El Kabong!]

Hi,

I am on a budget and do not really have the funds to be buying additional attachments for the tractor. I don't like the idea of using flails on hedges as I don't have a cab on the tractor and would hate to be on the receiving end of a sharp stick!

I suppose what I am asking is, what is the hedge the is least likely to grow out at a fast rate and most likely to settle at a reasonable size?

[Sive]

Holly is slow-growing, but I have only used it in a mixed hedge so can't advise you further....

[The Garden Shop]

As Tippben said; all hedges need maintenance. And especially in their formative years. Weeding underneath a hedge should be done at least twice each summer.

If your on a budget; buy bare root. Garden centers will start stocking them at the end of September / beginning of October.
The earlier you get there the better quality plants you will get.

For a native hedgerow choose Creatagus (whitetorn), Prunus spinosa (Blackthorn), Corylus (Hazel), Ilex (Holly), and mix through a few fruit bushes. Plant groups of 4 or 5 together.

Alternatively, beech hedging is probably the lowest maintenance, its moderate growth rate will form a hedge quickly, but you will only need to cut them back once a year.