Trees?

[cjwchez]

Hi, I'm wanting to plant some trees in my horses field so they have some more natural shelter.

Which (safe) trees would you recommend and is there anything i should know before planting them?

 

[Lois Lame]

They'll need to be fast-growing, fenced off so they don't get trampled, and maybe planted in little groups. You can also plant something slower growing that you can enjoy when the time comes that that looks good.

 

[Esmae]

Ash, birch, field maple, beech, hazel, rowan. There are lots but they will need protection in the form of tree guards and fencing off from horses for a very long time.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Any native hedging but unless you plant something quite large, don't expect a windbreak for many years. We planted some slips 11 yrs ago and they are just about ready to provide shelter now.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

Good advice above and wait until autumn/ winter to plant. They have a better chance of survival.

 

[Nasicus]

What about some type of willow? Fast growing and horse safe! Would definitely need fencing for a while, as it's quite tasty. We would give the horses the branches and leaves to snack on whenever they were trimmed back.

 

[Kaycee]

I definitely recommend willow. Extremely fast growing and great for horses to snack on once it's established. We now have huge swathes of willow around our fields. Next fastest growing is Ash and also very palatable too. Both obviously need protection from the horses until they are well grown.

 

[Glitter's fun]

Buy bare rooted in autumn - they're much cheaper than potted and more likely to survive.
Look in local woods to see what is native to your area, so you know you are getting something that likes your soil.
Alder and willow are tough, grow fast and not poisonous.

We planted a belt of trees at the edge of our land 20 years ago. We put ash, willow(at the wet end), alder, wild cherry, rowan and some pines. We gradually felled the pines from between them, for Christmas trees and fire wood, as the others grew and needed more room. Everything did well except the ash. The only problem has been brambles invading from next door.

 

[cjwchez]

thank you everyone!

 

[reynold]

Ones I planted and are less commonly thought of are Whitebeam/Hornbeam

Lovely silvery leaves in the spring. The ones I planted as small saplings 25 years ago are now substantial small trees. They don't grow as huge as other trees so occupy a smaller acreage and go well in a line of trees.

Be careful with Ash atm due to ash die-back disease and I'm always careful of beech as they can rot from the inside with no external sign and then suddenly drop branches or completely fall.

 

[Burnttoast]

I'd plant lengths of native hedge against the prevailing wind - they don't have to be very long to be useful, but 20m or so will allow for differences in wind direction. Hawthorn, field maple, hazel, hornbeam/beech (depending on soil type/location), elm, dogwood are all good and edible. Willow if you're on wet ground, but it's not a great hedging plant. If you look after them (mulch to stop weeds, and water, particularly if you're on light soil) they will be big enough for horses to put their bums into and get reasonable shelter in 5ish years. You do need to fence them off though. My first planted hedges are now 6 years old and with a yearly trim to thicken them up they're now about 8 feet and reasonably dense. You can put trees in at intervals for shade but a good shade tree is going to take years. As far as trees are concerned, I like lime, oak, silver birch, service (quite rare now and a lovely tree) and sweet chestnut. Again, depends on your soil and location to a degree. Planting big trees is tempting but transplant shock means they need a lot of care and frequently it's a couple of years before they get going again. I've actually started putting tree guards round naturally regenerating oaks in our fields as they grow with way less care.

 

[Kaylum]

Agree with @Burnttoast trees need planting properly. Quite recently a green group decided to plant some trees in our village. They had no idea what they were doing. They did not leave a good metre clear around the trees of mulch to help with drainage so that the trees could get water. Instead they left the grass grow up to the trees. Being young ones they are now dried out and because the grass around them has taken up the water they are likely to perish. Waste of money.

 

[Gloi]

Agree with @Burnttoast trees need planting properly. Quite recently a green group decided to plant some trees in our village. They had no idea what they were doing. They did not leave a good metre clear around the trees of mulch to help with drainage so that the trees could get water. Instead they left the grass grow up to the trees. Being young ones they are now dried out and because the grass around them has taken up the water they are likely to perish. Waste of money.

Our council planted trees all along the verges of the new road a couple of years ago. Almost all are dead now

 

[Burnttoast]

Our council planted trees all along the verges of the new road a couple of years ago. Almost all are dead now

Such a waste of resources. So many tree planting schemes are like this, councils and conservation bodies alike. I'm increasingly looking for things that have popped up on their own and protecting them from the ponies, and gapping up the hedges by sowing plenty of hawthorn seed. I'll have to wait longer, particularly for hawthorn, but at least they should be able to look after themselves.

 

[Goldenstar]

Avoid planting quickthorn it’s a complete pain .

 

[Burnttoast]

Avoid planting quickthorn it’s a complete pain .

Do you mean blackthorn? Quickthorn is hawthorn and it's a great hedging plant.

 

[Goldenstar]

I did mean blackthorn sorry folks .

 

[Birker2020]

We planted a load of 'whips' which are saplings which our company purchased from The Woodland Trust. We planted their 'Targeting tree disease pack' consisting of a mix of Hornbeam, Osk and Wild Cherry Saplings.

The Urban Forestry Officer at Coventry City Council located us a bit of land near site as you can see from the case study I created for the Considerate Constructors Scheme. I'm the one with the big grin.

If you speak to The Woodland Trust you might find they'd be quite reasonably priced and in some instances free.

 

[Esmae]

Such a waste of resources. So many tree planting schemes are like this, councils and conservation bodies alike. I'm increasingly looking for things that have popped up on their own and protecting them from the ponies, and gapping up the hedges by sowing plenty of hawthorn seed. I'll have to wait longer, particularly for hawthorn, but at least they should be able to look after themselves.

Hawthorn seed. How did you plant that? Direct from the berries or dried it out and sowed it then? I have a gap that I want to plant up and trying not to spend any money right now.

 

[Burnttoast]

Hawthorn seed. How did you plant that? Direct from the berries or dried it out and sowed it then? I have a gap that I want to plant up and trying not to spend any money right now.

I bought them from Forestart but they weren't very expensive, about £3 a pack - about 70 seeds I think. They are a long-term option though. They need nearly a year's stratification and mice may eat them in the meantime so I sowed quite a few in different places. Tbh bareroots whips aren't expensive, about 50p each and at least you can see you have a plant there! They just need a little more looking after than plants that are never transplanted.

 

[Esmae]

I bought them from Forestart but they weren't very expensive, about £3 a pack - about 70 seeds I think. They are a long-term option though. They need nearly a year's stratification and mice may eat them in the meantime so I sowed quite a few in different places. Tbh bareroots whips aren't expensive, about 50p each and at least you can see you have a plant there! They just need a little more looking after than plants that are never transplanted.

I'm well acquainted with whips. We planted 5000 of the b888ers!!! Our land is extremely difficult as well so apart from cost was looking at the easier option. Maybe start them in small pots and then broadcast where needed? Thanks for the info.

 

[Burnttoast]

I'm well acquainted with whips. We planted 5000 of the b888ers!!! Our land is extremely difficult as well so apart from cost was looking at the easier option. Maybe start them in small pots and then broadcast where needed? Thanks for the info.

That might get a better germination rate if you can keep them somewhere mouse-free but outside. I went for least labour and fingers crossed.

 

[Esmae]

That might get a better germination rate if you can keep them somewhere mouse-free but outside. I went for least labour and fingers crossed.

Cheers BT, will order some for the autumn. Thank you.

 

[Lois Lame]

I'm well acquainted with whips. We planted 5000 of the b888ers!!! Our land is extremely difficult as well so apart from cost was looking at the easier option. Maybe start them in small pots and then broadcast where needed? Thanks for the info.

No, no, don't start them in small pots. Imo, a tree should never see a pot. You could start them in the ground somewhere convenient, dig them up in winter when about a foot high, bare-rooted, and plant straight away where they are wanted.

These days it's hard to find bare-rooted trees (where I am). Such a shame as it's a brilliant way to deal with deciduous trees.

 

[Esmae]

No, no, don't start them in small pots. Imo, a tree should never see a pot. You could start them in the ground somewhere convenient, dig them up in winter when about a foot high, bare-rooted, and plant straight away where they are wanted.

These days it's hard to find bare-rooted trees (where I am). Such a shame as it's a brilliant way to deal with deciduous trees.

I would agree but my land is impossible to dig. (long story of previous vandalism) hence I thought pots to get the seed to germinate and then broadcast where needed. We planted our 5000 whips with the aid of a very big drill!! Would have been impossible otherwise.

 

[Lois Lame]

I would agree but my land is impossible to dig. (long story of previous vandalism) hence I thought pots to get the seed to germinate and then broadcast where needed. We planted our 5000 whips with the aid of a very big drill!! Would have been impossible otherwise.

I don't think you'll be able to broadcast germinated seed because the seed won't be in good enough contact with the soil to continue growing. It will just dry out and die. Maybe you didn't mean 'broadcast', as such.

Planting seed that is starting to germinate might work well though. You wouldn't need to put this seed in a pot - you could put it in damp hessian. Lay the hessian outside and keep it damp.

 

[Keith_Beef]

I don't think you'll be able to broadcast germinated seed because the seed won't be in good enough contact with the soil to continue growing. It will just dry out and die. Maybe you didn't mean 'broadcast', as such.

Planting seed that is starting to germinate might work well though. You wouldn't need to put this seed in a pot - you could put it in damp hessian. Lay the hessian outside and keep it damp.

I've successfully germinated acorns by cutting the top off a spring water bottle, filling it 2/3 with leaf litter, putting the acorn in, then filling up the rest with leaf litter and then spraying a little water onto it every few days to keep it damp.

 

[Esmae]

I don't think you'll be able to broadcast germinated seed because the seed won't be in good enough contact with the soil to continue growing. It will just dry out and die. Maybe you didn't mean 'broadcast', as such.

Planting seed that is starting to germinate might work well though. You wouldn't need to put this seed in a pot - you could put it in damp hessian. Lay the hessian outside and keep it damp.

That sounds a good idea. Hadn't thought of that one. I'll have a think about doing that. What about buckets of berries just laid in a line where you want the hedge. Cover with compost and cross fingers?

 

[Lois Lame]

I've successfully germinated acorns by cutting the top off a spring water bottle, filling it 2/3 with leaf litter, putting the acorn in, then filling up the rest with leaf litter and then spraying a little water onto it every few days to keep it damp.

Haven't been able to get back on here for a while to properly answer this thread. I am meant to be cutting down (in fact, not even reading here, oops, for... reasons. Anyhow...)

Acorns are easy to germinate with one proviso: they have never been allowed to dry out. IOW, you can't store them for long periods, dry. They will not look dried out, shrivelled, but they will be. If you hold them in your hand you will feel how light they now are. They will be non-viable.

 

[Lois Lame]

That sounds a good idea. Hadn't thought of that one. I'll have a think about doing that. What about buckets of berries just laid in a line where you want the hedge. Cover with compost and cross fingers?

Berries laid out where you want them to grow could work. It's interesting: the flesh of a fruit protects the seed, and the seed helps to protect the flesh. So if we store pumpkin in the fridge for instance, it is better to leave the seeds inside.

But back to your hedge. I think I would try both things. Remove the flesh from some of the berries, and leave the flesh on others. Scrape berries against a sieve to do this, if you have one big enough. We had large sieves for this where I worked. (A kitchen sieve would be a bit annoying I would think.) Then plant some of the seed and some on the berries where you want them to grow. And cover. And press down. Not sure about the compost. Perhaps a little soil and a little compost on top of that.
And then cross fingers