Create a vital habitat for birds and small mammals
Creating a garden that’s a mini-ecosystem is vital, and planting a hedge for wildlife is one of the best things you can do (try building a pond too). Although I love our hedge, we all hate cutting it. It’s nearly 12ft tall in places, on a slope, and the previous owner decided to plant hawthorn facing a busy footpath (why?). I’d never get rid of it. As well as being a great wildlife habitat, it reduces noise and pollution. Read more on topiary.
When to plant a hedge for wildlife
Between late autumn and the end of winter is the perfect time for planting a hedge for wildlife – when the plants are dormant. Even though it takes time (and effort) for one to reach maturity, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Read more on planting a new hedge.
I inherited a beech and hawthorn hedge. While the hawthorn does increase the biodiversity, it also grows a lot faster than beech – and it’s prickly. Self-seeded into these two are sycamore and other garden plants growing inside. These include ivy, clematis, Weigela, holly and pyracantha.
When to do the first and second cuts
The first cut usually happens in May, when the old beech leaves, some of which stay on the plants during winter, get pushed off by new growth. It’s a two-person job involving battery-powered shears by Spear and Jackson. We have also found the STIGA battery pruners invaluable.
We used to get a professional to cut it in August when it had almost stopped growing. However, this became prohibitively expensive. We now do this ourselves and have invested in some Henchman tripod ladders. The three legs are all adjustable and are much safer than ordinary stepladders. They may have cost £450, but they will have paid for themselves in two cuts!
Planting a hedge for wildlife – Restoration
All it takes is a busy couple of years, and a hedge can get out of control. This happened to my beech/hawthorn mix, even though I used to hire a professional tree surgeon to give the top and outside its last cut of the season. However, this still leaves the inside, which cut off light and cultivation space. It’s an old hedge, packed with dead wood, and infested with coral spot.
There’s no legal maximum height for a hedge, but if yours is evergreen and more than two metres tall, your neighbours could be able to claim it is affecting their right to the reasonable enjoyment of their property.
Midwinter’s the time for deciduous cutbacks
Heavy renovation can only take place in midwinter for deciduous hedges such as hornbeam, hawthorn, and beech, and mid-spring for evergreens such as holly, Lonicera nitida, yew, box, and laurel. If you want a significant cutback, spread work over three years: a year for each side and one for the top, because a growing season is needed for recovery, and it will look ugly.
Beech, box, hawthorn, holly, hornbeam, Lonicera nitida and yew respond well and can all be reduced by as much as 50 per cent in height and width in a single cut. Check that there are no nesting birds, as it is an offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 to damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built.
Potted guide: hedge restoration
- WHEN: midwinter (deciduous); mid-spring (evergreen).
- TOOLS REQUIRED: electric/petrol/eco battery hedge cutters, loppers, secateurs, pruning saw, ladders (and someone to hold them), painkillers, bandages, and possible artificial limbs. If you live on a slope or the job is massive, consider hiring a professional.
- DIFFICULTY: Easy to impossible, depending on how overgrown the hedge is, and how decrepit you are.
Deciduous hedge restoration: a 3-year guide
- Year 1: Cut back the width on one side to at least 15cm less than desired. Make sure the side tapers from a thinner top to bottom. Trim the other side of the hedge as usual and leave the height unaltered. Mulch and feed in spring, water well in dry spells.
- Year 2: Cut back the other side, but leave the same height. Mulch, feed, and water as before.
- Year 3: Cut the height to at least 15cm below the level you want, harder where growth is patchy. Mulch, feed, and water as before.
Renovating evergreen hedges
- Cut evergreen hedges in mid-spring, as they respond better in active growth.
- Most conifers (apart from yew) do not respond well to renovation, as they do not re-shoot from old wood – they need regular light trimming.
- If your Cupressus, Chamaecyparis or × Cuprocyparis leylandii (Leyland cypress) hedge has become too big, here’s what you can do:
- Reduce the height by up to one-third in April by thinning outside branches back to the trunk. Mulch and feed to encourage vigorous re-growth.
- Beware: hedges reduced in height by more than a third may stay flat and bare at the top.
- Where bare patches have developed in conifer hedges, try to tie in a new branch to cover it.
Top tips for planting a hedge for wildlife
- Deciduous plants can be planted from mid-autumn to late winter; evergreens in early autumn, but you can get away with the same time as long as the plants are dormant.
- Avoid privet and Leylandii. They are rampant growers and will impoverish your soil.
- The cheapest to buy are bare-root plants. Some evergreens come root-wrapped, where the rootball is held together with soil in a fabric case – remove before planting.
- Easiest to establish are whips, about 60cm high, planted closely so they form a thick hedge.
- Delay planting until the soil is workable. Do not plant if frozen or waterlogged.
- If conditions are unsuitable, keep plants in a frost-free place. Cover their roots with moist potting compost and plastic sheeting.
- To plant, dig over a strip 60-90cm wide and one spade blade deep. Remove weeds. Add garden compost, mixing it into the top 25cm.
- Plant 30-60cm apart. For hedges thicker than 90cm, plant a staggered double row 45cm apart, with plants 90cm apart.
- Spread out the roots and plant up to the previous soil mark on the stem. Firm plants and water. Mulch to a depth of 7.5cm.
- Aftercare: ensure plants are well-watered for the next two years. Top-dress in spring with Growmore at 70g per sqm.
