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Buying a mature hedge

Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
in Problem solving
Hello everyone,
During this weekend's bad weather a car has driven through our mature Fagus sylvatica purpurea hedge (and two sets of gates!) Luckily nobody hurt.
I will need replacement plants for a 6 metre stretch (height 2.5m, width 2m). We originally put the hedge in 20 years ago as 18" whips ..... so I'm a bit gutted  :'(
Has anyone done this .... and could you recommend a good supplier for mature hedging?
Many thanks,
Bee x
image 

Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
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  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    I think you will need the trough grown type. Pricey but I am assuming the car insurance is going to pay.  I can't say what they are like but supposed to be RHS recommended.

    http://www.hedgenursery.co.uk/instant-hedging/i-fagus-sylvatica-i-purpurea-purple-beech.html


  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    Hi Fidget,
    I'm also assuming the guy's insurance will pay  ... will know a bit more next week  ... there's also lawn to repair ... and the gates ... so could be very pricey. :*

    Thanks for the info .... good to have the RHS recommendation ... I'll give them a call and see if they have any 250cm tall.

    Many thanks,
    Bee
    image
    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    When I had a car demolish the front wall, I had to have it rebuilt sharpish as it was holding up the front garden. I then had a long argument with his insurance. They wanted me to claim off of my  house insurance. I argued that my wall didn't jump out and hit their client, who had gone out of control in a 30 limit, crossed onto the wrong side of the road, crossed a pavement, a six foot grass verge, demolished my wall and then bounced back across the road ending up in some gateposts 50 yards up the road.   He wasn't drunk and according to him he wasn't speeding. I had his number though, he left his number plate on my front lawn.  They paid up.
  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    Hi Fidget,
    That's awful .... I really don't want to have to claim on my home insurance as they'll take the opportunity to increase next year's premium ( any excuse  :/).
    The roads here were really bad .... still are ... so I'm hoping his insurance will meet the full cost of all the work needed to get everything back to how it looked before. 
    Bee
    x

    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
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  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    Hi Freddies Dad,
    Thanks for posting ... I've managed to find a couple of companies that can supply hedging that is 2.5m tall (the insurers want 2 quotes) .... the cheapest so far is over £4,000  .... and that's just for the plants not the planting  :o
    I'm expecting the insurers to try and persuade us to go for something smaller that will catch up .... but I'd really like the hedge to be back to what it was asap.

    Bee x


    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Have a word with these chaps http://www.crown-nursery.co.uk/  

    Top class suppliers ... they may well have what you need.  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Bee witchedBee witched Posts: 1,295
    Thanks Dove .... it's v. helpful to get a recommendation.
    I'll give them a call and see what they have available.  Ideally I'd live to find a company that will undertake all the remedial work needed ... but I suspect I'll end up with someone supplying the trees, and a more local firm planting them (they'll be too big and heavy for us to manage).

    I wouldn't normally consider planting mature specimens ... they tend not to grow away as well as smaller ones ... but it seems like the only way to get my hedge restored.

    Thanks also Freddies Dad ... £4K is for 9 trees ... but my hedge is actually a double staggered row ... so we may need more than that! 

    Bee x
    Gardener and beekeeper in beautiful Scottish Borders  

    A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
  • David WDavid W Posts: 84
    At our previous house we had a car take out a front wall with iron railings on top along with a substantial stone gate post which it snapped. No plants however were damaged as the car apparently never made it fully through the wall.

    This happened while we were on holiday, a nice surprise for our return.

    The process we went through was a claim off our house insurance who sent out someone to handle the claim. We paid an excess, the house insurance them claimed off the drivers insurance and we then got a refund of our excess, the following years insurance as a result did not increase.

    cheers
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