Does anyone know if it's OK to heel-in bare root hedges in a bed that's been covered with fresh (not rotted) horse manure? They will eventually be planted in a different location
Thanks Fairygirl. I thought so. I haven't put the manure down yet, it's still bagged up. If I wait til January (when I'll move the bare roots out) to spread the manure, do you think the bed will fine to plant into by May?
Have you got a huge amount of them? You can even do them roughly into pots or troughs. Bare root hedging is pretty resilient. Do you really need the manure anyway? Most hedging doesn't need anything fancy in the way of soil. Especially at this time of year. You could get the hedging in, and then use the manure next year as a mulch. That might be more beneficial, especially if it's drier where you are - a mulch could be very useful in late spring/early summer.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
A hundred! It's for a 23m stretch, as a double row. They're arriving in a few weeks, replacing what used to be a row of Leylandii that we've just had chopped down. Stumps not removed yet and I'm not sure if it will be done in time, which is why I might need to heel them in somewhere.
The manure is not for the hedge, but for a new flower bed I've just dug which won't be planted up until May (that is where I thought of leaving the hedges before planting). In one corner of the garden I have a great big pile of the turf sods I dug out of the bed, so that might be a decent alternative spot to heel in the hedges for a while.
For the hedge itself I won't mulch with manure. I plan to order a bulk delivery of compost early spring.
Ok - just put them under the turf. That will be ideal. I thought the manure was for the hedge too. Sorry - I obviously misunderstood, although make sure the compost is mixed in a bit with the existing soil to get a better structure. You could just lay those turves upside down, on the site, and around the hedge roots. It will gradually rot down, and you can then use the compost to fill in and as a mulch. It would depend on how deep the trench is that you're digging for the hedge, and how well scalped the turf was, but a thick layer of compost over bare turf will prevent grass re growing
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
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You can even do them roughly into pots or troughs. Bare root hedging is pretty resilient.
Do you really need the manure anyway? Most hedging doesn't need anything fancy in the way of soil. Especially at this time of year. You could get the hedging in, and then use the manure next year as a mulch. That might be more beneficial, especially if it's drier where you are - a mulch could be very useful in late spring/early summer.
The manure is not for the hedge, but for a new flower bed I've just dug which won't be planted up until May (that is where I thought of leaving the hedges before planting). In one corner of the garden I have a great big pile of the turf sods I dug out of the bed, so that might be a decent alternative spot to heel in the hedges for a while.
For the hedge itself I won't mulch with manure. I plan to order a bulk delivery of compost early spring.
I thought the manure was for the hedge too. Sorry - I obviously misunderstood, although make sure the compost is mixed in a bit with the existing soil to get a better structure.
You could just lay those turves upside down, on the site, and around the hedge roots. It will gradually rot down, and you can then use the compost to fill in and as a mulch. It would depend on how deep the trench is that you're digging for the hedge, and how well scalped the turf was, but a thick layer of compost over bare turf will prevent grass re growing