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Fast growing hedging
John Booth
Posts: 5
My garden used to have a wooden fence running along the road, about 75 yards long, very difficult terrain, this fence has now rotted and I have removed what was left. To replace the fence would cost around £2000 due to its closeness to the road. I would like to replace it with a variety of hedges, they must be fast growing for privacy and security, any suggestions?
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Posts
Avoid Leylandii like the plague. Nasty things, especially numerous ones.
Trim the beech / hornbeam to about 130cm (and trim front and back) to get it bushing out and the specimens will soon form a continuous hedge.
We have a stretch of hawthron hedge planted a s awindbreak and also to attract wildlife. I planted 2' whips in well prepared soil one December, trimmed them to 9" and they grew 6' the next year. We trimmed them back to 3' that first year and they grew again very quickly the next year but thicker.
I suggest you get as many bundles of whips as you will need to plant them at 9 to 12 inches apart (23 to 30cms in new money). The thorns will give you security. Mix them up with patches of beech, hornbeam, buckthorn, pyracantha and privet for interest and wildlife diversity. The last two are evergreen.
Hedge maintenance will be an annual cost that you should bear in mind. I have 95 metres of Leylandi that needs cutting each year and it's expensive to get it done. The new fence may look a more attractive proposition if you factor in maintenance.
If you do a mixed nature hedge you only need to cut each side on alternate years to allow for flowering and fruiting. You can still cut the to every year. If you go for privet or conifer you will have a lot of work keeping it formal and neat.
Bare root hedging is available now, you should be able to get whips for a few pence each by buying a large quantity. Beech, Hornbean and Blackthorn mix would cover what you want. For a few more pounds you could look at Laurel. For fast growth add lots of feed into the planting area.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions, the terrain is difficult because I live on a valley side, the road has a small bank that is the start of my property and after about 24" drops away almost vertically in places so I actually have about 12" of growing space!! I like the idea of Hawthorn inter planted with other shrubs mentioned, I am mad keen on wildlife and providing flowers and berries for them so the posts I have had are a great help, many thanks to all, perhaps I will come back to you later, I also have 3 acres basically covered in bramble and, thanks to the winds last winter, 10 downed trees!!! I have started my own bramble appreciation society and I am now calling it a wild life garden