[Virtus]

I had asked previously on the forums about hawthorne as a hedging plant. However when I read up a little bit more and discovered about laying and pleaching, it seems that it might be quite a lot of work, not to mention years of grwoth, to get it looking neat.

Originally I thought about mixing hawthorne, blackthorne, and rosa rugosa, but now I'm not so sure. Will this mix give something presentable in 2-3 years? Would it be very bare in winter? Or would it be a good idea to go back to the drawing board..

I was hoping for a nice looking hedge, perhaps something native, that would be hardy and not require excessive maintenance.

[Greengage]

I have seen some very good hawthorn hedges, If you cut it as a hedge with a good batter you will never have to worry about laying or pleaching, just cut it as a normal hedge once per year in August. It will make a good dense hedge, stock proof and may retain some leaves throughout the year.

[Virtus]

Cheers Greengage,

Just another quick question, what kind of ratios would you normally mix the above plants in? Was thinking 40% hawthorne, 40% blackthorne, and 20% rosa in a double row.

[Good guy]

You might try some guelder rose, Vibernum Opulus, in place of some of the rosa rugosa. It often occurs in native hedges and is a good food plant for birds. It has great autumn colour, too.

[baabamaal]

[Greengage]

if you have a hedge in your garden and im not talking about a hedgerow i would cut it in August, Never heard of anyone prosecuted for cutting their hedges before september and if you read the act their are opt out clauses which you can apply to any situation, have you ever heard of anyone getting a felling licence either.

[baabamaal]

Ah sure I know!- I suppose I'm making the point that my hedge IS a hedgerow and I would treat it as a nesting site for birds.

As for felling licences

[My Potatoes]

What is the purpose of your hedge? Is it just to border a dwelling house?
Laying is normally used to make a hedge stockproof. I haven't heard of pleaching hawthorn as it's a relatively slow growing tree that doesn't grow very high. Pleaching is quiet common with poplars. It's a bit like an elevated hedge, or a hedge on stilts. Google-image it and you'll see some examples.
I'm a fan of hawthorn hedges. Where in the country are you? There's a great example bordering Bushy Park in Dublin. The one downside is that the hawthorn flowers on new growth, so if you're trimming it, it'll never flower.

[Greengage]

Prune it just after the flowers go off and it will flower on new growth next season, As for birds nesting,
Ok forget about sea birds and swallows and peregrines
Next we have robins they wouldn't be interested bluetits, coal tits , great tits naw.
Goldfinches, goldcrests, siskins, greenfinches nest over 3 metres high in fork of tree thats too high for your hedge
so what are we left with Blackbird, Thrush maybe a wren if its dense enough ok but they could be disturbed by feeding birds on the berries, what is the nesting density of these, I once saw a group (Flock, herd) of rats feeding on a hawthorn hedgerow. some food for thought.
I would not plant blackthorn as it suckers, young plants need minding if they are not to be suffocated by weeds such ad Gallium. hedge mustard etc.
How about posting some photos of location.

[baabamaal]

Well, in my experience you will get any of robin, blue tit, coal tit or dunnock nesting in a mature hedge. I've also seen plenty of raptors picking off some of these birds from the selfsame hedges! Good for wildlife allround.
As my hedge/row is bordering a road I will be certainly letting it grow to 3m so that, along with the rowan etc will certainly provide sufficient cover for some birds...in time.
Not saying this is for everyone, just that it floats my boat
Anyway, sorry- I'm sending the thread in another direction: yes it would be good to see some photos from the OP...