Weeding under a hedge

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Hurling Fan

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Hi, in Spring of 2008 we planted a hedge in a double row. It's thriving but so are the weeds between the plants. Can take out the big ones like thistles and docks but the whole ground surface is covered in long grass. Do I have to get rid of this or as the hedge grows will it die off and if so can I just ignore it. Presume something like a strimmer would be a bad idea as it would be difficult to avoid the hedging itself. Have eight different types of hedging in the hedge and some are still small like the holly so don't want to lose them due to suffocation. Am a novice regarding so sorry if this is a silly question! Thanks
 
What i do for my laurel hedge is cut the grass/weeds once, then cover with grass cuttings every time I cut the lawn. Literally smother the weeds. AFAIK the grass cuttings actually nourish the plants too.
HTH
 
Weeds don't like organic matter so putting grass cuttings over them is a good idea. Mulch is another option. Either way, you will have to be patient and persistent as it will take time.
 
Moving to a new build soon and have to sort out some hedging too. Would be interested in hearing what you decided to plant and where....Regards J
 
I pull the grass out from my hedges once a year (just completed most of it for this year). The hedges are in their third year (one lot is hornbeam and the rest mixed native species). I do it to stop rot around the base of the tree, to let the lowest branches grow freely and to improve the look!

For the last few cuts of the grass, I use that as mulch for the hornbeam. I heard from a gardener friend that newly cut grass takes nitrogen out of the soil as it decomposes before putting it and more back in. So I only do it at the end of the growing season.
 
The best way of tackling this problem is to firstly start off with a relatively weed free area. This might require some hand weeding or carefully spraying( with a hood) . Once completed uses a product called Caseron G to prevent future weeds germinating.

This is a granular weed preventer which stops new weeds emerging for the remainder of the year. Caseron G can be bought in most local co-ops, however this product is due to go off the market due to new EU restrictions so hurry and go get it !
 
I presume this does not apply to an established hedge i.e. the Caseron G could kill the hedge ?
 
Caseron G is of the safest weed killer you can get and will not damage any hedge that is established more than a year. I would not advise its use on a newly planted bare-root hedge i.e if it was planted between November - March 09.

Using it at the correct dosage is important as too little will not be effective . The temptation is there to only use small amounts as it is expensive.
 
How about trying bark mulch?? It has no harmful side effects is pleasant to view keeps weeds at bay
 
I use Roundup weedkiller to spray under/around the hedge plants until they are mature- been doing this for years with different hedges and they are all thriving.
 
callaghanj said:
Moving to a new build soon and have to sort out some hedging too. Would be interested in hearing what you decided to plant and where....Regards J
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Hi Callaghanj

Just to let you know the hedging we picked was Hazel, dogrose, hawthorn, holly (male and female), fushia, field maple, blackthorn and gorse. We also got a small amount of guelder rose and put it in the front boundary and directly opposite the patio doors. We put this in three boundaries of an almost one acre site. Double staggered row. Planted five of the same together and then changed specimen and so on. Got them all bareroot, small size.

Hope this helps.


Thanks to everyone else for their replies. Mulch sounds the business but it would probably work out fairly expensive.
 
Hurling Fan said:
Hi Callaghanj

Just to let you know the hedging we picked was Hazel, dogrose, hawthorn, holly (male and female), fushia, field maple, blackthorn and gorse. We also got a small amount of guelder rose and put it in the front boundary and directly opposite the patio doors. We put this in three boundaries of an almost one acre site. Double staggered row. Planted five of the same together and then changed specimen and so on. Got them all bareroot, small size.

Hope this helps.


Thanks to everyone else for their replies. Mulch sounds the business but it would probably work out fairly expensive.
Click to expand...


How many plants did you buy and how much did it cost ??
 
Well we bought 100 of each and 40 of the Gelder Rose. Cost about €800. Brought on line from www.futureforests.net. You might get a better deal from a local supplier but we found they only had a couple of the ones we wanted. It is useful to even look at this website as they have a good section on hedging and give some other examples of native irish hedging and prices.

To find out exactly how much you need it is probably better to get out your measuring tape. They go down 18 inches apart and 18 inches between the rows and 18 from the boundary wall.

Hope this helps.
 
Hi . We planted a row of laurel and red robin at back of lawn up against a timber panel fence, in April just gone. Needless to say the weeds in between are all over the place, and have to be pulled every few weeks (takes over an hour on hands and knees). Is there something I can spray that will kill the weeds and grass, but wont kill the hedging. I want to spray it in a straight line so that I just have to run the lawnmower along the edge. (Hope ye understand me!)
 
Hi. I think that if you planted a native hedge like this you certainly shouldn't use a weedkiller. A hedge like this is well able to hold its own against grasses and 'weeds'. Casseron G leaves a nasty dead slime on the soil surface and basically works because the poison stays in the soil. It takes years for the soil to regain any life. In the US and many other countries you quite rightly need a license to apply weedkillers and the more of these things that are banned here the better; sprayed hedgerows and verges are the bane of our beautiful landscape and far uglier than weeds or shaggy grass. Sprayed banks also lead to soil erosion and pollution of water. Best thing to do for the first year or two with a hedgerow like this is pull the grass /weeds out by hand. After that, the hedge will sort itself out and squeeze out the weeds through lack of light etc. Don't worry about them growing through it. The only really bad weed that could cause any damage (Convolvulus) which has white trumpet0shaped flowers. Putting grass clippings on is not a good idea - as another person said, they remove nitrogen form the soil and actually impede growth. Mulch would quickly be overcome and in a hedgerow situation is not necessary. And whatever you do, never strim, as damage to the base of the plants is is the worst thing you could possibly do.
 
Hi Hurling, love your plants used for hedging, full of colour and would attract a lot of birds etc I would say. Can I just ask you, now high will this roughly all grow to and how long will it take do you know, until you have some privacy, say until it reaches 8ft? We were going to plant red robin all around our boundary but I just feels like it wont give us the privacy we desire although it keeps its leaves all year round, which is a bonus.
 
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