On Fri, 02 Apr 2004 13:20:28 +0100, Victoria Clare
wrote:

I've got about 8-10 feet of bare and wobbly fence where a shed was moved.

Though in some ways I like beech hedging best, I do have 2 young sweet
chestnut trees, a hazel, a holly, and a golden hop tree all sitting in pots
waiting for me to think what to do with them.

I'm tempted to stick them in as a hedge, thus solving 2 problems at a
stroke.

Anyone know how they might behave as a hedge? I want them as a screen and
windbreak rather than necessarily being completely stockproof, and intend
to keep the hedge trimmed to about 3-4 feet.


You'd have to be quite harsh to the chestnut - it's quite vigorous,
and will thicken up at the base quite rapidly.
It also has a tendency to throw out branches at any and every angle,
so will need to be reined in hard.
The best that can be said for it is that it's fast growing.

Hazel too might be a bit tricky to keep neat, though it tends to want
to grow straight up rather than outwards.

Holly is fine, if a little slow to get going.

I have all three in a hedge along the back of my land, and it's always
the chestnut and hazel that give grief...along with an ash.

If you'e in no hurry, I'd leave out the big boys and maybe go for
Privet, Box and Yew ( among others ) and hedgefillers.

I've no idea what a hop tree is - but if it's the Golden Hop as I know
it ( the climber ) then I think it would tend to cludge up your hedge.
It puts out a LOT of foliage, which will drop down into the hedge in
the Autumn, and it will probably strangle anything less beefy.
I reckon you're hard put to beat a wild rose and a periwinkle for
'inter-hedge' interest - or a honeysuckle, if you don't mind hacking
it back every so often.
And controversial as it may sound, our old enemy, the Bindweed, can
often look wonderful in this context ( ducks ).


Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk