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Pyro canthus

graham249graham249 Posts: 3
in Problem solving
I have a large Pyro canthus hedge 9 feet high by about the same wide which is a haven for mainly Sparrows, it is dying due to being engulfed by Ivy  I intend to have it removed at the end of the year, I would like ideas on what to replace it  bearing mind it is a bird hotel and I am sure there are nests in it, I need something which will recreate a similar habitat but due to the length of time it would take to grow (whatever is used to replace it) I think I need a more rapid solution, I had thought of using Trellis with climbers, while this would not be the same habitat it would give a form of perching facility, any ideas would be most welcome.  

Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Vendée, Western FrancePosts: 28,574
    If you can improve the soil with plenty of well rotted manure and garden compost you could replant with pyracantha.  It has the advantage of being cheap, and will get away quickly if planted in autumn.  You can choose berry colour - yellow, orange, red - and it will be beneficial to wildlife throughout the year - shelter, blossom with nectar, fruits.   

    If you include some posts with wires tensioned between them you can plant the new ones at 45° rather than upright and train them and that will encourage greater coverage from more stems and shoots without the width.  If you use wooden posts you could attach nesting boxes and/or small insect hotels to replace the shelter lost when removing the old hedge.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • madpenguinmadpenguin Isle of WightPosts: 2,448
    Is the Ivy not removable at all?
    “Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
  • graham249graham249 Posts: 3
    It is so integrated with Pyracantha that it has only the top with foliage ( when this world ends there will be cockroaches, Brambles and Pyracanthus) 
  • graham249graham249 Posts: 3
    I think I have had enough of the hedge it is a vicious plant and take no prisoners I have had it for well over 30 years and I feel its time for a change 
  • ObelixxObelixx Vendée, Western FrancePosts: 28,574
    Then I'd still go for posts and tensioned wires and plant something like repeat flowering rambling roses, or honeysuckle and still use the posts for nest boxes and small insect hotels.  Alternatively, a mixed hedge of plants such as escallonia, photinia robinia, hawthorn (spiky), holly, copper beech, hazel would provide shelter and food for insects and birds.

    Depends on you, your budget and your soil really.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
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