Hedges on clay soil

sussexbaker

Hi all

I live in a rural location (farm worker's cottage) on the High Weald, ie lots of clay. One side of my garden is bordered by an area of wasteland, mainly over run with nettles and grass with the odd tree etc thrown into the mix. Underneath the wasteland lies the septic tank.

I need to enclose my property, and after toying with the idea of putting up a post and wire fence and espaliering apple trees along it I've come to the conclusion that a hedge would be a better idea. My reasoning is that it'll give a more solid barrier, and as the area is very exposed the Apple trees will have a real battle on their hands (flawed thinking?)

Anyway I'd like to get the whole process underway as soon as possible. In the late summer/autumn I chopped back all the nettles/grass/brambles in my garden with a strimmer, though there's some regrowth now. My plan was to have at the whole area with my trusty mattock, grubbing up all the roots and breaking up the soil, before planting the hedging plants. However a lot of stuff I've read suggests that it's a bad idea to work clay soil while it's wet, do I need to leave it for later in the year before I get started? As the hedge is intended to be a long term solution (we do hope to buy the wasteland, and will simply cut an entrance to it through the hedge) is there any point trying to improve the soil before planting in it (ie organic matter/gypsum etc)?

Thanks in advance

Helen2k8

I wouldn't work clay now unless you really have to, also see http://www.hedgelayer.freeserve.co.uk/plantrim.htm

sussexbaker

Hiya Helen

Thanks for that link. So I should wait until the spring? Does that include other areas, for example I've a big area that I want to grub the roots out of so that I can build it up as a big raised bed?

Thanks

Helen2k8

Mmm I don't know.
The reason for not tramping all over clay soil is that you compress it, squash all the air pockets out, and it can take months if not years to recover. Compressed clay soil won't grow healthy plants, and it cracks when it dries (or "if" it dries!), and doesn't drain when it's wet.
You could try laying down planks or boards to spread your weight, and work the soil from there?
I'd be thinking of massive loads of farmyard/stable manure/compost to spread and improve the soil structure - but obviously you won't want to pile this on then try to dig roots up through it!

Sally_A

We are on clay, and hazel bushes do well. Not always the nutting sort, but they are a great hedge.

grannyjo

you could start the hedgeplants off in pots. They are cheapest bare rooted.- or stick twigs of the type you like in pots ( size of pencil, two thirds in soil).Some will take. They can start developing in the pots, they when the weather is warmer, they will have had a good start. What plants were you thinking of

If you don't want the weeds to grow back, cover the area with old carpet or black polythene. It will stop weeds growing and warm up the soil more quickly. Free cycle often has carpet for you if requested. Some people say it can contaminate the soil though. Others don't agree.

Kyrae

You could make a lovely wildlife hedge out of hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, etc. We have heavy clay soil and the one we planted a couple years ago is growing really well, we didn't prepare the soil at all. We did cover in bark afterwards to suppress any weeds though. We bought bareroot trees from an online company called naturescape, they sell bareroot hedging kits of 25 plants or 50 plants etc of mixed species. So far so good, and the spikey plants are certainly helping keep the neighbours cats out

Davesnave

Kyrae wrote: »

You could make a lovely wildlife hedge out of hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, etc. We have heavy clay soil and the one we planted a couple years ago is growing really well, we didn't prepare the soil at all. We did cover in bark afterwards to suppress any weeds though. We bought bareroot trees from an online company called naturescape, they sell bareroot hedging kits of 25 plants or 50 plants etc of mixed species. So far so good, and the spikey plants are certainly helping keep the neighbours cats out

Depends what kind of hedge you want though. That's a wildlife hedge. If you want easier maintenance, don't buy prickly plants like hawthorn or blackthorn.

Hazel is easier to manage and reasonably quick into leaf, but I'd go for hornbeam. which is similar to beech, but more tolerant of poor soils and much faster to leaf-up in spring.

It's up to you to judge whether the soil needs improvement. Remember, none of the local field hedges will have been improved! It might well be worth planting through a membrane though, to suppress competitive weeds in the first few years.

sussexbaker

HIya

Thanks for all the advice. I've actually got about 20% of the garden under carpet at the moment (and bare floorboards/tiles inside the house) as part of my attempts to deal with all the brambles and nettles that had invaded in the two years it was left to itself.

So my thinking now is, cut a swathe with a strimmer about 1m wide where the hedge is going to go. Then slit plant a load of bareroot hedging plants through a mulching membrane. Some questions: Should I clear away the cuttings from the strimmering, or will it be fine to leave as green compost under the membrane? The site is rather exposed so should I put the hedging plants in those protector things (one of the suppliers I looked at did a package of bareroot plants, along with protectors etc)?

With regard to soil improvement as Davesnave said none of the other hedges nearby have had it and as I want to get the hedge started (it's actually in our deeds that we need to put a boundary in) and taking on board Helen2k8's warnings about working clay in the wet I think I'll let it take the soil as it finds it.

As far as what plants, from my online reading Hawthorn seems to be the obvious candidate for the bulk of the plants and then a mixture of other native hedging plants. My wife is keen to get some wild roses into the mix. I think a definitive list will be assembled this weekend.

Thanks again

madjackslam

I planted a bare root hedge last year. Our garden is also on clay, although perhaps not as heavy as yours. Bought plants from here - http://www.hedging.co.uk - and they have reasonable information about the suitability of plants for different locations/soil types. I ended up with a mix of hawthorn, hornbeam, rose, hazel, cherry plum, etc. I concentrated on clearing away the top growth of grass and weeds, then planting into a slit. I then mulched over the top with garden compost. The hedge has, so far, taken well. Out of around 100 plants, perhaps four or five have failed. This year I'm going to trim them, then mulch again. If I was less of a moneysaver, I might have bought a weed-suppressing membrane and planted through that - would probably be worth it. I found that planting in a 'slit' is easier said than done. Some of the bareroots came with really quite substantial roots (particularly roses) so a bigger planting hole was needed.