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Hedges
Peter Croke
Posts: 1
in Talkback
We have a hawthorn hedge that is now becoming very sparse. I have kept it to a manageable height but my wife would like to replace it because we do not wish to be able to see through it. I do not want to lose all the wild life that is maintained by the hedge. How do I thicken it yet keep it manageable?
0
Posts
It can be thickened by having it laid. You need someone who knows what he's doing, or you could kill it.
Hello Peter and welcome to the forum. Most of us are a bit mad but quite friendly.
Fidget is quite right - the hedge needs laying. I can do that if you want. Where are you? PM if you like.
Hi Peter - hawthorn's pretty robust, so if there's no particular reason for it being sparse, you could add more to it by getting bare root whips to put in the gaps. The bare root 'season' has just finished, but around September time you'll be able to order them through one of the many good online retailers for November delivery. Clipping hawthorn should normally keep it quite solid, but a good feed in spring and a mulch to retain moisture will also help.
Alternatively, you could get something else to fill the gaps. Hornbeam or Beech aren't technically evergreen, but the foliage stays on during winter. They are happy to be kept quite narrow and only need clipping once a year so they'd fit in well with hawthorn.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...