Beech hedge

greengates · September 2022

We currently have a hawthorn hedge which is growing out, leaving bear trunks with the bulk of the hedge 2-3ft off the ground. Is it possible to plant a beech hedge within the line of the current hedge to allow a new hedge to form before removing this old hedge?

Pete.8 · September 2022

I think the beech saplings will really struggle in that situation and I doubt they'd survive.

We had a 300ft beech hedge at home when I was a lad and I'd remember my dad cutting it in summer - it was an awful job. Every year the entire hedge was smothered in whitefly and my poor dad was covered in sticky 'honeydew'. I learned a lot of new words that I probably wasn't supposed to

Other than that it was an excellent hedge

Fairygirl · September 2022

We had a beech hedge at our family home, and it was planted just after I was born, so it was an important feature. I used to cut it for my Dad once it was too much for him to do. We never had whitefly though!
I'd agree with @Pete.8 though - it won't be easy to establish a new hedge among the existing one's roots, even if there was sufficient room at ground level. Hawthorn is quite tenacious too, so you'd be constantly having to cut it all back to allow light and air in to the beech. Probably better to remove it first.
It's almost bare root season too, so you'd be able to buy a large number of whips for a good price, and get a nice dense bit of hedging put in.

greengates · September 2022

Thank you both for your advice, we already have a beech hedge the other side of the gateway which is nice and uniform, so this was the idea of planting the same again. Sounds like we will need to remove the old hedge which I was trying to avoid for sake of the birds and other wildlife.

robairdmacraignil · September 2022

If the problem with the haw thorn hedge is the bare parts at the base of the hedge then there are ways to remedy this with a number of variations of a process called laying a hedge helping it become a more dense barrier. Also just cutting the haw thorn down low would encourage it to grow back with multiple stems and so the lower parts could be less bare. Could be a tough job anyway with the thorns.

Happy gardening!

Dovefromabove · September 2022

Absolutely agree @robairdmacraignil … if it were mine I’d be renovating the hawthorn.

It doesn’t have to be done all at once … it can be carried out over two or three winters so the birds can still use it in the spring and summer.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/hedges/renovation

greengates · September 2022

Once again thank you for help and guidance. I have considered laying the hedge as I have done this in a more agricultural setting previously and it is a major challenge of a job 🙄

Dovefromabove · September 2022

Laying the hedge properly to make a stockproof barrier is indeed a major job ... however, especially given that you know the principle involved, a rejuvenation job as on the site I linked to, would not be such a big undertaking.

robairdmacraignil · September 2022

I know someone who did some hedge laying with what I think was hawthorn and he did describe it as being a difficult job. Another option might be to simply move the line of the new hedge a distance from the existing hedge so it is not in direct competition with the hawthorn roots when it is getting established. A wider overall hedge would be a great resource for wildlife. Not planted much beech near existing hawthorn but the hedge on one side of the garden here was not particularly good to look at through our living room window so I got a number of different shrubs growing well at about a metre out from the existing one which has a good proportion of hawthorn. I still have a path through this section between the older hedge and the new shrubs where I can trim back the old hedge so it does not outgrow the newer planted shrubs. This is needed because some of them are naturally not inclined to grow as tall as the older hedge. I have put in some beech in a shelter belt where there was already some black currant and apple trees and they have got established fine. Anther option for planting near existing trees in a shelter belt that is thinning out I read about is Ebbing's silverberry but the couple I got are still getting established and I hope to propagate some next summer to try filling gaps in hedges here.

Happy gardening!

Beech hedge

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