Boundary Hedge Planting

[The Bouncing Bog Trotter]

With the opportunity to plant a new boundary hedge of horse friendly plants, where should it be planted? On the boundary? Inside the boundary to enable it to be trimmed by us without having to go onto the neighbours land or require them to trim it? There is no ditch and it’s a new boundary on a field that has been sub-divided and sold in lots.

Thanks in advance.

 

[rabatsa]

If there is no boundary fence and the hedge is to mark the boundary then it should be planted on the boundary. If there is a fence marking the boundary then it should be inside the fence, allowing room for growth but I would not leave room for cutting it otherwise you will lose a lot of land. You can time its trims with the crop rotation at the other side.

 

[be positive]

If you are putting it in for your benefit with fencing already in place then to protect it and give it every chance of getting well established I would plant inside the boundary, if possible out of reach of any stock on both sides, it will take time to grow so if it is being used as the boundary it could be planted on it with a line of temporary fencing either side but whatever you do you are relying to an extent on the neighbours goodwill as it will grow towards their land and require some maintenance at some point.

 

[w1bbler]

What is going to be on the side you don't own. If your neighbour has livestock they will happily eat your new hedge & neighbour will not want to loose land to protect your hedge...

 

[Keith_Beef]

https://www.ashridgetrees.co.uk/gardening-advice/how-to-plant-hedge/hedging-for-horses
https://treeandhedge.com/guide/horse-friendly-hedges-trees/

 

[The Bouncing Bog Trotter]

Thanks all, there is currently no fence, it’s a new boundary, so I guess it will become our boundary marker.

 

[honetpot]

I think you need to have control of the hedge, so even it you lose land I would plant it well in side of the boundary with room to trim it as much as possible. Its hard to think that when you plant basically two foot sticks, that in ten years it could be a twelve foot high and six foot wide.
I have a hedge on the boundary, its jointly owned, our side is cut every two years, the owner of the other side wants to keep it 'natural' so it's more like gappy trees, and is suckering across her paddock, so its now about eight foot wide. I wouldn't plant blackthorn as it suckers
badly.

You must make sure you know what is marked in the deeds, if it's a shared boundary, or the fence line is put in the wrong place it will cause problems. A boundary dispute over a very short length of hedge has cost at least £40k in legal fees not far from me.

 

[Goldenstar]

Fence the boundary line securely hedge to the inside .
If you intend to graze the field you will need a fence ,we use electric, to the inside of the hedge .
Hedges take up a lot of space and take a lot of time to grow but they are worth it .

 

[Keith_Beef]

I think you need to have control of the hedge, so even it you lose land I would plant it well in side of the boundary with room to trim it as much as possible. Its hard to think that when you plant basically two foot sticks, that in ten years it could be a twelve foot high and six foot wide.
I have a hedge on the boundary, its jointly owned, our side is cut every two years, the owner of the other side wants to keep it 'natural' so it's more like gappy trees, and is suckering across her paddock, so its now about eight foot wide. I wouldn't plant blackthorn as it suckers
badly.

You must make sure you know what is marked in the deeds, if it's a shared boundary, or the fence line is put in the wrong place it will cause problems. A boundary dispute over a very short length of hedge has cost at least £40k in legal fees not far from me.

With the right choice of plants and with regular maintenance, there's no reason for the hedge to get that tall or wide. Some nature conservation group might be able to provide information or even a class on hedge laying, and advice on varieties of plants that support local wildlife.

I agree on planting the hedge on the inside of a marked boundary. However good OP's relations with the current neighbour might be, there's no guarantee that they will stay that way for ever.

 

[honetpot]

With the right choice of plants and with regular maintenance, there's no reason for the hedge to get that tall or wide. Some nature conservation group might be able to provide information or even a class on hedge laying, and advice on varieties of plants that support local wildlife.

In theory yes, but as someone who has a lot of hedging, some as boundary on land that I own both sides, and some that I have no control over the other side of the boundary, if the owner on the other side refuses to manage it or just lets their stock make gaps in it, it can soon become a gappy straggly mess. I am surrounded by four different landowners, and there is only one that doesn't manage their side of the hedge and it's a real problem.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Fence the boundary line securely hedge to the inside .
If you intend to graze the field you will need a fence ,we use electric, to the inside of the hedge .
Hedges take up a lot of space and take a lot of time to grow but they are worth it .

This.

Late winter 2010.
The boundary is the tumbledown post and barbed wire fence immediately behind my OH. Son no 2 is kneeling planting hawthorn whips on our land.


Autumn 2020.
We paid for a stockproof sheep netting fence to replace the knackered boundary fence, and put it exactly on the boundary. The hedge has grown up well in 10 years on our land and we have replaced our old inner fence. We do not have to rely on our neighbours to maintain the fence, it’s under our control. We do trim the bits of the hedge that we can’t reach from our side from their land, with their permission. OH trims it with electric/petrol hand held hedgecutters.

 

[The Bouncing Bog Trotter]

Tiddlypom - thank you so much! Perfect.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Thanks all, there is currently no fence, it’s a new boundary, so I guess it will become our boundary marker.

I would not rely on a hedge as a boundary marker, there are too many ways in which that could go wrong - plants dying/growing towards the sun/ away from the prevailing wind/being eaten by stock on either side. I would put in a fence as a boundary marker and plant the hedge inside the fence. You will need something more substantial than a new hedge for many years in order to keep your stock on your land, anyway.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Next door’s sheep thought that our growing hedge had been provided as a tasty snack just for their benefit.

Just as well that the sheep netting fence we put up on the boundary was very sturdy, as the little feckers would stand up on their hind legs with their front feet resting on the netting to ‘prune’ the hedge from their side. They weren’t able to reach in far enough to do more than prune it, though.

Do not underestimate a hungry sheep .

 

[Tiddlypom]

Just as an update. Our double fence + hedge proved to be useful today. A couple of local equines broke out of their field onto my next door neighbour‘s land. The boundary fence we have in place meant that no one could touch noses with my neds in their own field.

Pic of one of the cute and friendly interlopers.