Planting a hazel hedge - single row or double row?
Chris Mason
Posts: 159
I'm sick and tired of cats using my wild garden as a past time so I've decided to kick them all out, the fencing on the top left, top right and top is a wire meshing so they can not walk along there, but the fencing at the bottom (which divides the practical garden from the wildlife garden) cats walk along, this fencing will be removed and replaced with a hedge. The fencing on the left has lots of honey suckle and other vegetation in front of it, the fencing right at the top is slowly being taken over by ivy so I'm not worried overly concerned about privacy, (the wild garden does back onto a park which can get quite busy during summer) Anyway, I've decided to go for hazels as we've got a lot growing around here and I really like the look of the leafs(I'm aware I'll have no privacy when they drop their leaves) Anyway, when I plant this hedge how should I do it? 1) - a single row 18inches apart 6ish feet high Or 2)- staggered 20 inches apart with a 40cm gap 6ish feet high The main purpose of this would be to mark the boundaries of the wild garden and the practical garden, I'd like the hedge to hold some privacy but this isn't of a prime concern. - I am going to be putting up some chicken wire to stop the cats simply pushing their way through the base of the hedge. All advice and opinions are appreciated. Thank you
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No idea really, but here is a video of a nice young man who looks like he knows what he's doing.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MyZQ01goj6M
I'm pretty sure that hazel will be treated in the same way.
If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
I think a lot depends on whether you're going to let it grow into a tall bushy hedge or have it laid when it gets big enough, or even coppice it every seven years or so.
What sort of hedge do you want it to be?
What sort of results can I expect if I was to do a single row 18inches? - tall and bushy.
- the video was quite good and very interesting, thank you
The main purpose of the hedge would to be section off the wild garden and that's it, a single row would fulfill this but I'm worried that a single row would a little pathetic...
Like I said, privacy isn't really an issue but I would like it to (if your looking in through the park) sort of break up and make it a little more difficult to see who ever is in the practical garden.
I think a single row would be fine - and then, when they're big and bushy, I'd coppice every third one, and then when those had regenerated I'd coppice the ones on their immediate left, and then when they'd regenerated I'd coppice the next ones - and then when it was all a huge bushy hedge again I'd start the coppicing cycle again ...
That sounds great! Just one last question, what would be the earliest age I could coppice a hazel? I obviously couldn't do it when they're a few years old... Would I have to wait until their seven+?
Yes, best to wait until they're a decent size - this should give you some ideas http://www.christopherlong.co.uk/oth/hedges.html you don't have to lay the hedge, you can just coppice it as was done on the farm when I was a child (we didn't have stock in the fields).
Thank you, I'll give the link a good read