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23-08-2003, 02:32 AM

The message
from (rob w) contains these words:

We have at the bottom of our new garden a very old hawthorn hedge,
this is very thick and quite tall but the bottom 3 to 4 feet is bare
and quite open.
It would be very easy to crawl through. My question is can this hedge
be thickened up or should I remove and replant, I have heard of laying
it over but the bottom trunks are very thick and I’m not sure if
this will work.
Any thoughts / advise gratefully accepted.

I did a DIY hedge-lay on a tall old hawthorn hedge last winter. The
bottom was bare, as you describe, tho' not so high up. It has since gone
wild with growth and when trimmed next year will make a really thick
hedge. It is a very vigorous and forgiving plant.

A Local who watched my struggles told me that Hawthorn will readily
sprout from low down if you nick the trunks through the bark here and
there with a billhook. It seems to work. (Vigorous and forgiving plant).
That might only work, tho', if you've previously reduced the hedge in
one way or another.

Brian MItchell