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Hawthorn Hedge

Hi,  I would appreciate all advice on my Hawthorn Hedge. I would like to prune the top of the hedge back  to encourage new bushier growth lower down the hedge.  I am unsure if its ok to prune it back now or do i have to leave it until next spring.  All advice and help is greatly appreciated.

Posts

  • FleurisaFleurisa Posts: 779

    Do you want it to have berries on for the birds to eat over winter? You could prune it now and lose any berries as long as there aren't any nests in it anymore. Or you could prune it towards the end of winter when all the berries have been eaten, but before the birds start nesting again.

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,617

    We  prune it now ,otherwise it gets really shaggy. A tight clipped hedge is good shelter for little birds. The Sparrowhawk can't get in.

  • treehugger80treehugger80 Posts: 1,923

    you can chop from august time and it'll put a bit of regrowth on by autumn, but you will loose any berries on the cut off sections.

    you could lay the hedge, this would really thicken it up( like stock proof thick), but it looks brutal to do it and will only look good again after a couple of years.

     

  • pennymaxpennymax Posts: 56

    We only planted the Hawthorn Hedge end of last year and its about 4ft high now  so its only a baby hedge at the moment  , We planted over 90  bare root Hawthorn whips  ( i think thats what you call them)  but they are coming on nicely but in some areas a bit sparse. I will cut back now to encourage new growth and in time the little birds will have a nice safe and secure place to nest and shelter.  Do i need to feed the Hawthorn hedge after i have cut back all the straggly bits. Thank you all for your help and advice....x

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,064

    Don't feed it now as that will encourage soft, sappy growth that will be frozen by the frosts and encourage disease in tthe damaged parts.   You could give it some bonemeal in autumn as that encourages root formation over the winter and that will give you better growth next spring.

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  • LizannaLizanna Posts: 2
    I am thinking of planting a hawthorn hedge as a boundary at bottom of small garden, it will be on a bank with a beautiful acer palmatum on the bank on my side and the remains of a macrocarpus hedge on neighbours side. it has taken years for us to get them to reduce it due to lack of light. Our garden and house is 8/9 feet below the top of bank and about 25 feet distance between the cut off trees that have been lopped, despite requesting removal and promises, there is a very large dark shed blocking light also. My concern is will the hawthorn flourish or should I plant a beech hedge as suggested by a daughter. Either will give delight but I prefer the thought of hawthorn to help the birds again.
  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    edited May 2021
    A beech hedge would suit your situation better I think. It would still give cover to the birds, especially if you clipped it at the right time in late summer, so the new leaves were retained over winter.
    Hawthorn has very sharp thorns and is not nice to mess with and the hedge will need trimming both sides, so who will do it? Flowering and berrying will be reduced by growing as a hedge, but perhaps you could plant one in your garden and keep it pruned to a suitable size.
    As a possible alternative  you might consider Cotoneaster franchettii, which makes a good hedge and which the RHS has designated a 'super plant' because of its impact on capturing pollution, bio-diversity and other environmental issues. It is evergreen,has flowers which the bees and other pollinators love and berries for the birds. And it doesn't have spines :)
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