By What time of year can you lay a hedge?
When is hedge laying season? Hedge laying is a seasonal job carried out between October and March when trees and shrubs are dormant, and birds have finished nesting in the hedges.
How much does hedge laying cost?
A hedge laid in the South of England style will cost about £10 to £12 per metre and today, with a chainsaw, a man can do about 30 to 40 metres a day. We supply all the stakes and the binders, and there’s lots of hazel for binding and chestnut for stakes down in Sussex.
Which direction do you lay a hedge?
Everyone should lay in the same direction. Right-handed people find it easier to cut from the right and to lay to the left. Left-handed people might need to work from the opposite side of the hedge. On slopes start at the top and work down so that the pleachers are laid uphill.
How often do you need to lay a hedge?
Hedge laying cycles vary depending on the species, height, growing conditions, growth-rate and intervening management. Newly planted hedges should not be laid until the hedge has grown to at least two metres in height. A 10–20 year cycle should be considered for established hedges.
What type of hedge can be laid?
How to Lay a Hedge
- The trees that do well in hedges are hawthorn, blackthorn, field maple, hazel oak, sycamore and ash as well as some other species.
- We were lucky enough to film Neil Sands demonstrating and John Wilson explaining as they laid a badly overgrown hedge at the Weald Woodfair in East Sussex.
How much hedge can be laid in a day?
It’s not possible to have standard charges for hedge laying: if the hedge is overgrown, 20ft high and gappy, an expert could do three or four yards a day. A new hedge, clear of weeds, about 8ft–10ft tall, would allow a man of average skill to do about 30 yards a day.
What are the benefits of hedge laying?
Ecological benefits of hedge-laying Hedges can also help prevent soil erosion, capture pollutants, and allow wildlife to move more freely across the countryside. By managing the hedge by laying, the trees are encouraged to regenerate; this extends their life, and that of the hedge as a whole.
Why is hedge laying important?
Can a laurel hedge be laid?
A few plants are not suitable; conifers such as Leylandii cypress will not regenerate from old wood, but yew and Western red cedar both respond to laying. And some shrubs are too brittle for this technique, including elder, snowberry, laurel, and hydrangea.
How do you plant a hedge for laying?
Planting
- Ideally position boundary hedges so they are set back a little way (e.g. 90cm/3ft) from the boundary line.
- Within the row planting distances vary from 30-60cm (1-2ft), depending on the plants’ final size, the size of hedge required and plant vigour.