Bare Root Hedging is a great way to get maximum impact for the lowest prices. Bare root stock is available from October through to April each year. This is the dormant season for plants & it is the ideal time to plant trees & shrubs. These plants are better value simply because they are not potted, this means that they are easier to store & deliver which saves on costs.
Not all plants can be sold in bare root form. Many popular garden shrubs are only sold in pots or containers. Also, evergreen plants such as conifers are generally sold as root balled plants during the dormant season. Root ball plants are those whose roots are wrapped in mesh wire or hessian sacks. Below is a list of all hedging options that are sold in bare root form.
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- Hedging
Beech – Possibly the most popular choice for bare root hedging. Beech makes a great, low maintenance & neat hedgerow. People can be put off by the fact that it is not evergreen but this shouldn’t be be an issue as beech will still retain its foliage during the Winter months providing adequate screening all year round. Both green & copper are available & these can be planted together for an interesting foliage pattern.
- Growth rate: Moderate
- Hedging height: 2m
- Plants per metre: 3
Buxus – Box hedging is second in the list of most popular hedging plants. Box has a very specific role in the garden & that is to create a low, manicured & formal hedgerow. This can be used to frame flower beds, for parterre formal gardens & for lining the edging of lawns & paths. In recent years buxus has suffered from pests & diseases including box caterpillar & box blight. For this reason alternatives have started popping up in nurseries including Ilex crenata & Lonicera nitida
- Growth rate: Slow
- Hedging height: 0.5m
- Plants per metre: 5
Hornbeam – A similar plant to beech, Hornbeam is also semi-evergreen. Attractive foliage starts out lime green in Spring & turns yellow / orange in Autumn. Hornbeam are better adapted to wetter soils than Beech hedging
- Growth rate: Slow
- Hedging height: 0.5m
- Plants per metre: 5
Whitethorn (Native) – Excellent plant for attracting wildlife into your garden. Whitethorn, also known as Mayflower is the most common plant found in Irish hedgerows across the country. Whitethorn really changes with the seasons, in early Spring new foliage emerges, by May the plants are awash with white blooms, in Autumn red berries attract wild birds & in Winter the plant looses its leaves to reveal an intricate arrangement of branches & thorns.
- Growth rate: Fast
- Hedging height: 3m
- Plants per metre: 3 – 5
Blackthorn (Native) – If fast growing boundary hedging is what you are after then look no further than blackthorn. This plant has been popular for the centuries are a stock proof barrier keeping farm animals & livestock in place. Blackthorn also attracts wild birds with a bountiful harvest of red berries in Autumn
- Growth rate: Fast
- Hedging height: 3m
- Plants per metre: 3 – 5
Guelder Rose (Native) – Also known as Whitten Tree, Red Elder, Rose Elder, Snowball Bush. Guelder rose is a good plant for adding a splash of Summer colour to hedging. Often grown with whitethorn, holly & hazel to create a native hedgerow. Like whitethorn, this plant offers something new with each season & foliage turns rusty red, yellow & orange in Autumn
Yew (Native) – The only evergreen plant on our list. Our native yew can be bought & sowed as bare root. These are excellent plants for a stately & formal hedgerow. They can also be used to create topiary shapes or left to grow to maturity into enormous stately trees. One thing to note about Yew, and that is that it is poisonous to livestock so should not be grown around farmland.
- Growth rate: Moderate
- Hedging height: 2m
- Plants per metre: 3
Hazel (Native) – Excellent for bare root hedging, Hazel can be used to create an informal hedge for your garden. Ideally, these are suited to countryside gardens where there is a lot of space. Hazel hedgerows can grow out quite wide so they are not suited to smaller front gardens
- Growth rate: Moderate
- Hedging height: 5m
- Plants per metre: 3