Overview
We have carefully selected a hedge pack to provide a good level of privacy screening. Predominately hornbeam with a mixture of up to 5 other species adds seasonal interest and attracts an abundance of wildlife into your outside space.
The plants are best planted at 7 per metre to create the ultimate cover all year round. Plants are 40-60cm bare roots. See pack sizes below.
Description
This privacy hedge pack is predominately hornbeam, and although hornbeam is deciduous, when maintained as a hedge, the plant holds its leaves until it's ready for new growth come spring. These hedge packs contain a combination of up to 5 other species to add seasonal interest and attract an abundance of wildlife into your outside space.
Beech or Hornbeam?
If you have clay soils, you would be best with hornbeam as your base, whilst beech is better for chalky and acidic soils.
Whilst we'll try to include as many of the following species as possible, we reserve the right to alter the mix accordingly based on availability.
Key Species
Hornbeam - Dense foliage provides year-round cover and offers colourful foliage in autumn as leaves turn yellow and then russet brown. Tolerant of heavy clay soils.
Hawthorn - Clusters of fragrant white flowers are followed by glossy red fruit.
Other Species
Hazel - Bears yellow catkins in February, making it one of the earliest sources of pollen for bees and producing edible hazelnuts in Autumn.
Blackthorn - Creamy-white flowers appear in spring, followed by the sloe fruit in autumn. The fruit is popularly used in the making of Sloe Gin.
Crab Apple - The flowers provide nectar for bees and birds, and the fruits are eaten by many species of birds and mammals.
Spindle - Pretty pink flowers providing nectar for bees and birds and the habitat supporting a wide range of insects.
Wild Privet - Ornamental semi-evergreen shrub with white flowers and berries loved by birds.
Dog Rose - Pretty pink flowers provide a source of nectar for insects. The fruits are a food source for various species of birds, such as blackbirds, redwings and waxwings.
Elderberry - Very attractive to wildlife; the flowers provide nectar for bees and insects, the fruits are of eaten by birds and small mammals.
Size
Growth Rate: Average 20-40cm a year
Final height: 4-5 m
Planting
Plants provided are 40-60cm bare root saplings - available for planting between November and April.
We recommend planting 7 plants per metre in a double staggered row for a dense screen giving the ultimate cover all year round. To give you an indication of the quantity of plants required for a double-row hedge:
7m Hedge: 50 plants
14m Hedge: 100 plants
35m Hedge: 250 plants
70m Hedge: 500 plants
Alternatively, use our hedge calculator here.
Plant Protection
If there are lots of rabbits in the area, it might be worth considering protecting your plants with spiral guards. See here for more plant protection option.
