How to Lay a Hedge
Hedges are an important part of our countryside, yet they are functional too. The use of hedges goes back hundreds of years (perhaps more) and is an effective way to keep in livestock and mark boundaries. They also have very important benefits for wildlife as they are home to many nesting birds, small mammals and many insects. Apart from being a habitat they also provide a corridor for the movement of animals across field systems and between woodland areas. Landowners need to maintain them but sometimes they get out of control (the hedges rather than the land owners) and once they reach over 4 metres in height they start to encroach upon fields and become “gappy” at the base. It is at this point that they need to be laid - ideally by an experienced hedge layer.
The trees that do well in hedges are hawthorn, blackthorn, field maple, hazel oak, sycamore and ash as well as some other species. Different species will require different techniques but broadly the approach is as described here and illustrated on woodlandstv.co.uk.
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. John has been a member of the South of England Hedge Laying Society for 25 years, since its founding.The Society has about 150 members and organises regular training sessions, competitions and demonstrations.
In the film, they explain that this is not a summer activity: not only do the leaves become more of a problem but there is a risk to nesting birds.Like oysters, the right months for hedge laying have an “r” in the month (September to April, though usually finishing by March).
The process starts with removing the surplus material – twigs, old leaves, debris, brambles, rusty wire. The stem to be laid needs to be selected and about a foot (30cm) off the ground it should be cut almost right through so that it can be bent over and laid at about 45 degrees. Higher up, nearer the top of the hedge, the stem is then cut at an angle. This stem is called a “pleacher” and it is these pleachers which will grow back vigorously with vertical shoots making the hedge livestock-proof.In the Midlands hedge laying is called “plashing” and the French call it “plaisse”.
Stakes are driven in vertically at 18 inch intervals in the centre line of the hedge. The binders are woven between the stakes with ends wedged behind the stakes. Both the stakes and binders are usually from hazel. The final height of the hedge is about 4ft and the stakes will be trimmed off to the same height to give an extremely tidy finish.
- Tools needed are: a billhook, a small axe, a small chainsaw (perhaps, and if you are qualified to use it), wire cutters, thick gloves going over the wrists and a sharpening stone. A first aid kit is needed too – even when things go well this can be something of a “blood sport”!
- Materials: you will need stakes for the verticals, which should be sturdy enough to hammer in, about 5 ft 6 ins high and about 2ins in diameter (ie about 1.7metres by 50mm). For the horizontals you need much longer and more flexible poles called “binders” which should be about 10ft long and about 1½ ins in thickness (ie about 3 metres by 40mm).
- If you are the owner of a woodland, you might have an overgrown hedge which needs laying. If you get it done by a contractor it should cost a little under £10 per linear metre including materials. A good hedge layer in the right conditions might lay 20-25 metres in a day.
- It is possible to get a recommendation from one of the organisations connected with hedge laying or, better still, you can try it yourself. There are a lot of hedge laying courses available that can be found by typing “hedge laying course” into a search engine.Interestingly they all seem to happen on Saturdays in the winter with a typical course taking three Saturdays in succession.
- Although hedges are now well protected and you need permission to remove one or even create a gap in one, they haven’t always been officially appreciated. Until the 1970s, the government paid grants for their removal, arguing that larger fields were more efficient and essential to justify the new and larger tractors. Nowadays, however, new hedges are encouraged and grants are available for planting, but of course this increases the need for maintenance – hence, the need for more hedge layers.
Driving (or even cycling) around the countryside you will be surprised how many recently laid hedges there are once you are on the lookout for them. You may also start to spot those in need of attention and the billhook.
What’s your experience with hedges and hedge laying?
Comments are closed for this post.
Discussion
For all your hedging questions, needs, contractors, supplies, competitions and advice visit http://www.hedgelaying.org.uk
How do I get hold of an experienced hawthorn hedge layer to tackle a damaged hawthorn hedge in a small garden? I live in Leicestershire.
I have a short length hedge of blackthorn and hawthorn hedge ouside of my garden with a fence on the inside. Thus the hedge is outside of the garden but on my property. It grows tall, overshadows the garden and is difficult to maintain. It is only approx 10 metres in length. Would there be any prospect of finding a hedge layer willing to take it on and at what sort of cost? Near Canterbury, Kent.
You need one binder per stake, and stakes are normally about 18 inches apart.
How many binders do I need to lay a hedge. I have assumed that I will need binders that total about 2.5 times the length of the hedge to be layed assuming that 2 biders are needed and allowing for some overlaps. Your advice would be appreciated .
Many thanks.
When the trees are dormant – November to March. Not now!
What time of year do you hedge layer ?
[…] Two years ago this hedge was laid so severly in places I wondered if parts might die off. This link shows how to lay a hedge South of England style, not like the hedge here. Page 2 and 3 on here […]
i have just bought a field with a roadside hedge which has had no management for about 20 years. is it possible to lay some of the less thick poles obviously some of the ash and sycamore have become coppiced trees which i will leave. i want to create a livestock proof barrier in time but don’t really want to replant the whole hedge.
Hi Thank you for your request. Check with your local authority with regard to any by-laws concerning hedges. Perhaps have a word with your neighbour and see if you could have a joint effort, as now is the time to give your hedge a good cut, before the birds start to nest, cut the top and sides, a pyramid shape is best then you get a good thick bottom and the rain can run off.
Dear Sir I have planted a mixed hedge along my garded fence, it is getting
out of control but the birds like it. Because the hedge has sharp thorns
my neighbour is complaining, can you please give me some guidance
Re purchase stakes and binders – Reply from John Shepherd, Hedgelaying trainer for Plumpton College Centre for Sustainable Food Farming and Forestry. “A bit out of my geographical area I’m afraid, so I can’t provide any contacts – you could contact the local hedgelaying society (http://www.hedgelaying.org.uk/local.htm). When I’ve been in a fix in the past, I’ve used 4.5’/5′ sweet chestnut spiles or tree stakes. They cost about double the (mainly hazel) ones I usually use, but do last longer and are particularly useful on gappy or weak hedges where I’ve replanted and the hedge takes time to thicken. That leaves the Binders – a number of people use willow for binders, so a local farmer growing bio-mass could be a source. On one occasion (at my parent’s urban property) I omitted the binders. It seemed to have worked ok, but in the three years it took to thicken up, it didn’t look nice. It also had a mesh fence alongside to prevent the public pulling it about.
A good source is ecolots, see
http://www.ecolots.co.uk/index.php/classifieds/advert/1-For-Sale/5-Natural-Products/16703-Hazel-Poles
I have laid a small section of hedge successfully last year,using stakes & binders from our own property. I propose to do a larger hedge thia year & would prefer to buy ready cut stakes & binders. Where can I buy them? I live between Aylesbury and Buckingham. Thanks
From the Plumpton College Centre for Sustainable Food Farming and Forestry Hedgelaying trainer John Shepherd
“Wow – interesting.
I have no experience of Forsythia, but in general, trees/shrubs which are able to bud from their base can be laid, so if a Forsythia stem is cut 100mm from the ground and that stem subsequently sprouts, then it can potentially be laid. However the stems of some shrubs are too brittle and break off when pleached. If this is the case, then coppicing and waiting a couple of years for suitable regrowth may be the way to get more pliable stems. I also believe Forsythia flowers on the previous year’s wood, so don’t expect too much in the year after laying. All in all, the safest approach is to lay a few stems (which you would normally prune out), to see if they survive. Please let us know how it works out, a forsythia hedge sounds fantastic.
Thank you”
Is it possible to layer Forsythia Hedges?
Hello
I planted a 200m native mixed hedge in Nov 2007. The plants are all now 6 or 7ft tall. I have a mix of blackthorn, quickthorn, hazel, i have put the holly all together over a 20m long run. I want to have the majority upto 14ft tall to match the existing hedges,but i want a 50m run which includes all of the holly to be 5ft tall. I want to make the base of the hedge thick. My dad says that i need to cut the tops off in november this year and it will thicken itself, but i thought about just bending the trees over and securing the tips somehow top the floor, and this would then produce lots of verticals and this would thicken the bottom of the hedge. I have probably got this all wrong – what do you suggest.
Any help would be appreciated
andy
Very interested in taking a living hedge laying course if possible in the Berks/Bucks area?
Can you recommend/advise course details please
Many thanks in advance
I am living in Connecticut, US. My late grandfather, British, told me about hedge laying which he had observed as a boy.
I have an arbourvitae hedge which I would like to attempt to lay. It is in good health but overgrown. I wonder if any readers can tell me if arbourvitae is suitable for laying.
I have talked to several arbourists here and none of them had heard of hedge laying. Imagine that!
Thank you for your response.
I make do with red welding gloves. As long as you treat thorn with respect, you should be OK with them. The only truly thorn-proof option is to make some leather mitts, but I find them too inflexible to be of much use.
Does anyone know where we can obtain heavy duty hedging gloves or mitts.
We have heavy welding gloves but these are not adequate for hedge laying
One and two day Countryside and Conservation Skills Courses from Plumpton College Netherfield .
Post and Rail Fencing a two day course 3rd and 4th November
Hedgelaying 14th November
Hedgelaying 28th November
Plumpton College Netherfield part of Plumpton College is based in the east of the county of Sussex.
A wide variety of courses are available to all land based businesses and those with an interest in the countryside, food and farming. Courses are aimed at all regardless of experience or acreage. For more details please visit our web site http://www.thenetherfieldcentre.co.uk or telephone 01424 775615
There are hedgelaying courses around too, the Netherfield Centre near Battle, (East Sussex) do them , as do BTCV in Surrey, Sussex, Oxfordshire and Hampshire.
A quick note from a professional hedgelayer: To lay 20-25 metres a day, it would have to be the perfect hedge (and they never are!) or else a very rough job. I aim for 10-15 metres a day. With a very overgrown hedge, I struggle even to hit 10. So if you do it yourself with no experience, don’t be surprised if you only do 3-4 metres a day!
Can you layer a privet hedge?
Keith Binmore
1 November, 2012