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Hedges: species and age
An earlier thread (see Best time of year to trim hedgerow) raised the question of hedgerow species and age. I remembered that Rackham had covered this at some length in his splendid History of the Countryside. The following much abridged notes may be of interest. Rackham on Hooper's Rule Dr Max Hooper (Pollard and others 1974) indicated that soil, climate, management or planting of a hedge were less important than its age. He surveyed the shrub and tree species in 227 hedges that could be dated from records with ages ranging from 75 to 1100 years. He discovered a degree of correlation between the species and the age. The number of species was approximately equal to the age of the hedge in centuries. Rackham comments that it is customary to use a sample hedge length of 30 yards and exclude under-shrubs such as brambles and woody climbers such as ivy and ignore sub-species (he gives the example of differing East Anglian elms). He provides a suggested list of species for inclusion (page 195, 1995 edition). Alder Apple Ash Beech Blackthorn Briar Broom Buckthorn Cherry Cherry-plum Dogwood Elder Elm - wych, English, East Anglian, Cornish etc, Dutch, Huntingdon etc Furze Guelder rose Hawthorn - hedgerow and woodland Hazel Holly Hornbeam Lime - ordinary, pry Maple Oak - pedunculate, sessile Pine Plum including bullace Poplar - aspen, black, white Privet (wild) Rowan Sallow Service Spindle Sycamore Wayfaring-tree Whitebeam Willow - crack, white Yew He goes on to say that there are some regional variations - Huntingdonshire and Lincolnshire hedges being predominantly simple of 1, 2 or 3 species, influenced by much Enclosure Act land (generally only 1 species) and with few hedges pre 1700. The ancient countryside of Devon and Kent mainly 5 plus species. rbel |
Hedges: species and age
On 20/07/2011 19:06, rbel wrote:
An earlier thread (see Best time of year to trim hedgerow) raised the question of hedgerow species and age. I remembered that Rackham had covered this at some length in his splendid History of the Countryside. The following much abridged notes may be of interest. Rackham on Hooper's Rule Dr Max Hooper (Pollard and others 1974) indicated that soil, climate, management or planting of a hedge were less important than its age. He surveyed the shrub and tree species in 227 hedges that could be dated from records with ages ranging from 75 to 1100 years. He discovered a degree of correlation between the species and the age. The number of species was approximately equal to the age of the hedge in centuries. Rackham comments that it is customary to use a sample hedge length of 30 yards and exclude under-shrubs such as brambles and woody climbers such as ivy and ignore sub-species (he gives the example of differing East Anglian elms). He provides a suggested list of species for inclusion (page 195, 1995 edition). Alder Apple Ash Beech Blackthorn Briar Broom Buckthorn Cherry Cherry-plum Dogwood Elder Elm - wych, English, East Anglian, Cornish etc, Dutch, Huntingdon etc Furze Guelder rose Hawthorn - hedgerow and woodland Hazel Holly Hornbeam Lime - ordinary, pry Maple Oak - pedunculate, sessile Pine Plum including bullace Poplar - aspen, black, white Privet (wild) Rowan Sallow Service Spindle Sycamore Wayfaring-tree Whitebeam Willow - crack, white Yew He goes on to say that there are some regional variations - Huntingdonshire and Lincolnshire hedges being predominantly simple of 1, 2 or 3 species, influenced by much Enclosure Act land (generally only 1 species) and with few hedges pre 1700. The ancient countryside of Devon and Kent mainly 5 plus species. rbel Thanks for this, rbel. It is a very interesting subject. I suspect the facts will always remain somewhat clouded, but I'll have a google and see what more I can glean. I doubt my findings will be conclusive, though. Thanks again. -- Spider from high ground in SE London gardening on clay |
Hedges: species and age
In article ,
Roger Tonkin wrote: What no one seems to have mentioned is the location of a hedge. In this day and age, when people have cars and often tend to dump rubbish/garden waste by the road side, such a hedge would not be an ideal candidate. Also hedges near to modernish housing estates (those with more than a pocket hankie sized garden) will suffer from contamination(couldn't think of a better word!) from the plethora of non-native plants/trees sold these days. I did! And it's not just modernish estates and non-native plants; I might have been misremembering about 9 species, but a recheck through that list confirmed at least 6 for a 70-year old hedge. And the list specifically excludes non-native plants, including Japanese privet (the usual hedge privet). I would guess that only field hedges several hundred meters away from roads, housing, bird feeding site etc are likely to show true natural species generation. That's a bit too restrictive. One of the main reasons that woody shrubs establish well under suburban hedges is that their base is often kept clear of undergrowth. A field hedge next to a road will still have its base overgrown with grass etc., discouraging woody plants from establishing themselves. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
Hedges: species and age
In article , rbel says...
An earlier thread (see Best time of year to trim hedgerow) raised the question of hedgerow species and age. I remembered that Rackham had covered this at some length in his splendid History of the Countryside. The following much abridged notes may be of interest. Rackham on Hooper's Rule Dr Max Hooper (Pollard and others 1974) indicated that soil, climate, management or planting of a hedge were less important than its age. He surveyed the shrub and tree species in 227 hedges that could be dated from records with ages ranging from 75 to 1100 years. He discovered a degree of correlation between the species and the age. The number of species was approximately equal to the age of the hedge in centuries. Rackham comments that it is customary to use a sample hedge length of 30 yards and exclude under-shrubs such as brambles and woody climbers such as ivy and ignore sub-species (he gives the example of differing East Anglian elms). He provides a suggested list of species for inclusion (page 195, 1995 edition). Alder Apple Ash Beech Blackthorn Briar Broom Buckthorn Cherry Cherry-plum Dogwood Elder Elm - wych, English, East Anglian, Cornish etc, Dutch, Huntingdon etc Furze Guelder rose Hawthorn - hedgerow and woodland Hazel Holly Hornbeam Lime - ordinary, pry Maple Oak - pedunculate, sessile Pine Plum including bullace Poplar - aspen, black, white Privet (wild) Rowan Sallow Service Spindle What no one seems to have mentioned is the location of a hedge. In this day and age, when people have cars and often tend to dump rubbish/garden waste by the road side, such a hedge would not be an ideal candidate. Also hedges near to modernish housing estates (those with more than a pocket hankie sized garden) will suffer from contamination(couldn't think of a better word!) from the plethora of non-native plants/trees sold these days. I would guess that only field hedges several hundred meters away from roads, housing, bird feeding site etc are likely to show true natural species generation. -- Roger T 700 ft up in Mid-Wales |
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