Hazel Hedging

[dinosaw]

Not just good for nuts, I had a cack handed attempt at producing a section of stock proof hedge out of a couple of trees three years ago, despite not making a brilliant job it has come out alright, shows you how fast the stuff grows..

 

[Hen-Gen]

A fair bit of pleaching. Also a vanishing country art so thumbs up for the conservation value.

 

[Margaid]

It's amazing how thick a stem you can cut almost all the way through and then within a few months there will be new shoots all the way along it. We had miles of hedge cut and laid and they produced fantastic new growth. Well done for having a go yourself Dinosaw!

 

[Icemaiden]

A good try Dinosaw. I've done a bit of hedgelaying over the years under instruction; next time you have a go, take out most of the weight of the tree that you're laying, & all of the branches that go in the wrong direction (i.e. forwards and backwards instead of sideways in line with your hedge). Then cut about 6" to a foot above ground through the trunk. That way the base of the hedge will be more solid, closer to the ground.

As Margaid says, it's amazing how far you can cut through the trunk; if you don't cut far enough, it'll break.

 

[dinosaw]

Thanks for the tip Icemaiden, realised I should have taken more off by the time I had finished, made it harder to go lower as they branches sat against each other. Have to say I couldn't fancy laying miles of it, but it's good that there are folk still out there who are making a living out of it.

A job I'm not planning to tackle is lopping the trees at the top of our plot which are now nearly touching the overhead cables. Had started to cut the inner canopy with my pole pruning chainsaw late yesterday and found it had hidden just how far they are overhanging on the other side, must be within a couple of feet of the cables now. Need to ring the power company on Monday and hopefully get somebody out to look at them.

 

[Margaid]

Round here they're very good at keeping an eye on trees and hedges. I can't remember whether they want 3 or 5 metres clearance to the cables. They came and lopped a Leylandii that was in the corner of my garden which the chap who had been cutting the hedges thought was next door's. I'm quite happy, I don't want power cuts!

 

[bigyetiman]

Very good go at hedge laying, our local Wildlife Trust runs regular hedge laying courses it's a wonderful art.Thanks for your tips icemaiden, thats what I like about these forums, so many people have such a depth of knowledge to pass on

 

[Minorcafan]

You've done a good job!

Up here, if trees are growing too close to electricity lines, the electric company will chop them down! We have collected a load of firewood that way, "tidying up" for the workmen to save them a trip

 

[NicolsT]

It's interesting that although the electric companies will cut back trees, BT won't. They say it is up to you and if your tree damages the line, you have to pay for it. Fair enough I suppose, but not when it's my 90 year old neighbour! She had my husband perched on the top of his land rover, trying to tip prune her trees..luckily another neighbour took pity on him before he damaged himself (not much good with tools, my old man!).

 

[Icemaiden]

Interesting to hear how much clearance some electricity companies like between trees & power lines. Down here in Kent they don't bother any more until half of the village has been in darkness for a few days.

The previous owner of our house planted Leylandii under the power lines. When we first moved here in 2001, the power company would cut the trees every other winter. Now they let them grow a metre or more above the lines- no way we can get them cut ourselves.

The only way to get the electricity company to send their contractors round is to ask them to move the power lines off of our land if they won't cut the trees. That usually does the trick...

 

[dinosaw]

Well, I've reported it and got my reference number and it's been passed down to their tree maintenance team, covers my backside at least. The interest level went down markedly when I said there was no arcing of electricity and the fellow on the phone was almost incredulous when he heard they couldn't just do a drive-by assessment and would have to walk a bit of a way to get to the pylons. If they do cut, it will only be to 3 feet clearance apparently.

The only good thing I can find to say about Leylandii is that it goes up like a tinderbox when you burn it, you have to be really careful there is nothing anywhere remotely near above it, we had 14ft flames from a 3ft bonfire last week.

 

[dinosaw]

Well they got back to me this morning on the trees. Apparently they are already earmarked for cutting as they have had a short out reported there before.

 

[Margaid]

Well I didn't plant the Leylandii but that stretch of hedge is too long to consider replanting. Most of my other hedges are a mix of hawthorn and hazel except for one side at the front which has been sort of overplanted with laurel. Fortunately have a good chap who cuts the grass and hedges.

 

[dinosaw]

We have a lot of hawthorns, but they aren't formed into hedges, they were allowed to grow too large to be much use, apart from the ones that screen the main run. We also inherited a lot of leylandii, mainly to the front of the property. In one way it is good as it screens us from the road, but the people before us had left the hedges get 5ft deep and 10ft high which is just crazy.

 

[Minorcafan]

There are bound to be hawthorn seedlings lurking in your garden which you can replace lleylandi with

 

[Margaid]

I'd love to have something else but I can't wait for a new hedge to grow - the hedge is about 8 ft high. It's the only direction from which my garden is overlooked so I need the Leylandii screen.

 

[rick]

There's nothing wrong with Leylandii as a hedge Margaid - just top it out when it reaches a manageable height and keep it managed. My job involves the adjudication of high hedges and its always because people have planted cupressus and then forgot about it until it becomes very costly to correct. Doesn't have to be that way!

 

[Margaid]

I keep it cut to a reasonable height - the chap who used to do it assumed the tall bit was next door!
Used to own a property with a 12' Leylandii hedge. It was next to a private parking area and the "busy body" was there when it was cut and agreed the height. The new owners asked us about the height (easy to see at what height it had been cut for years) and we told them the neighbours had agreed the height. In the end they had an ASBO which said the hedge should be 12' high so the"busy body" was stuck with it. Didn't stop him bringing out his tree prunings to put through the contractors chipping machine!