Hornbeam hedge and waterlogged garden
Lancashire Lass
Posts: 367
Following a wet early autumn here in the North West, I have a waterlogged area of bedding and the clock is ticking as I have ordered some hornbeam hedging for November planting.
The bed is about 6ft deep by 8 ft long and we plan to plant the bare rooted hornbeam hedging 30cm in from the back of the bed, it's purpose being to hide a neighbours shed that has been erected just the other side of the fence which separates us.
Yesterday we dug up a shrub root in preparation and found the bed to be incredibly boggy, to the extent that my husband sunk into the soil (he nearly had to surrender his wellies!). Where we had previously taken out another root we had left a 2 ft hole which has nearly filled up with water. The water does gradually drain but we have had so much rain that it's not had chance to drain completely. The soil in that bed is quite good in Summer and Astilbes and other wet loving plants grow happily there.
I have bought 2 bags of horticultural sand grit and a large bag of compost to try and deal with the problem and I have access to some well rooted manure and my own compost if needed. But now I am worried about first of all digging a trench for the hedge and secondly actually planting it in what is currently a quagmire. I ordered hornbeam because I knew the bed was wet and I know that hornbeam like wet conditions, but will the bare rooted plants be up to the job or am I giving them a certain death?
Monty has previously said of hornbeam that it has survived the wettest part of his very wet garden and he is a great admirer of this hardy hedge so that is some comfort.
Any advice or reassurance (if appropriate) would be welcome!
Posts
I think it should be ok. They really do like wet conditions. My favourite hedge, and ideal for our conditions up here too LLass!
Perhaps it's worth planting on a little 'rise' though, rather than digging out a trench? That might be easier all round - and save your hubby from losing his wellies!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I think ultimately the hornbeam will be ok in this situation. However I would not plant into mud.
They do seem to be incredibly forgiving. I bought a few from the local garden centre cheap and didn't need them all in the end. So they were left in a large pot, in a shady spot with their roots just covered. I planted some more a year later - doing fine - and the last 4 or 5 are still in their pot, still alive and destined for planting as shelter for the new chicken run. I have a couple of small stumps to remove first, warming work for a chilly day! So if there were any prospect of conditions improving slightly you could probably keep yours in a similar way
Thanks for your ideas.
Conditions may improve slightly if we get a few days of dry weather, but then as we go into December there will be frosts and probably snow, which will scupper things again!
It's interesting to know though that we could delay planting by popping them into some soil in a trug.
The raised trough had already entered my thoughts and it is tempting to go that route to avoid having to dig into the mud too much. Today I have noticed that after 2 days of dry weather, the water has almost drained, so it is just slow draining rather than having hit the water table. I think the hedge will be ok if I can get it successfully planted so I am thinking maybe dig down just a few inches then plant into a mixture of compost and gritty sand mounded as needed to allow the roots to spread out.
Do you think the mound will stay put or will we need to shore it up with something to stop it disintegrating in the rain? Maybe a temporary row of bricks to stabalize it through to next Spring?
I forgot about heeling in as B'cupdays describes. I've done that on more than one occasion with bareroot hedging, as well as mature shrubs, with no problems.
I think it depends how much time and effort you want to put in if you want to make a raised area for it. You could do it quite easily with some timber and a few pegs, as it isn't a huge run you have to prep. Wouldn't have to be fancy either, if you intend having planting in front of the hedge as well. It would contain your medium more securely over winter too
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...