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Hedging - Choose your own native wildlife fruiting hedge
We have put together this great selection of native fruiting hedgerow species to encourage wildlife into your garden. Every variety in this mix will produce a berry or nut that birds, bees, and butterflies will love and as the hedge grows it will provide shelter for small mammals, birds, and more. Mixed together these species will create a more informal hedge/screen that can be clipped to shape but is well suited to a taller hedge if you'd like to let it grow a bit more wild. You can read more details below or jump straight to the plants.
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Our suggested mix
The point of choose-your-own is so that you can create a mix of the plants that you love most, but if you would like a suggestion for an affordable, lovely mix, here is what we would do:
60%: Crataegus monogyna - Hawthorn
10%: Second species of your choice from below
10%: Third species of your choice from below
10%: Fourth species of your choice from below
10%: Fifth species of your choice from below
The more diversity in a mixed hedge, the better, but if there aren't four other species available, don't worry! Any mixture of two plants or more is still a mixed hedge!
Site
The plants in this mix will take inland exposure and will grow in any reasonable, well-drained soil.
Spacing
We recommend planting this hedge mix at 3 plants per meter in a staggered row, with 6" to 9" between the rows.
Planting
For best results we recommend planting the varieties in groups that repeat themselves down through the hedge; e.g. Hawthorn, Hazel, Crabapple, Hawthorn, Hazel, Crabapple and so on.
Pruning
When first planted, a prune will encourage good bushy growth. How hard you cut the plants depends on how low down you want them to bush from, at the very least prune off any whippy growth or prune down to 1ft.
Ongoing, this hedge can get a trim in early Spring. For mature hedges, avoid cutting during the nesting season between early-March and end-of-August.
Care
Keeping any young hedge weed and grass free is vital to the overall vigour and health of the hedge. Using weed membrane keeps back weeds and insulates the roots and will greatly increase growth rates, as well as cutting down on your weeding work. Mulching is another great option for insulating the roots and holding back weeds, bark mulch is the most commonly used medium.
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Frangula alnus - Alder Buckthorn
€26.00
Alder Buckthorn One of Ireland's rarest native trees, Alnus Frangula can also be found throughout Europe, northernmost Africa, and western Asia. Alder Buckthorn has dark green leaves that turn yellow in Autumn. The long season of inconspicuous flowers are followed by abundant red berries that mature to black. The bark is dark blackish-brown, wit...
Ilex aquifolium - Holly
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Ilex aquifolium - Holly
€8.00
Ilex aquifolium - Holly A slow-growing native evergreen tree, well known for its spiky leaves and red berries. Holly is tough, robust enough to handle the harshest of environments, from dark valleys to extreme coastal locations - though it thrives best with the protection of other trees around it. It is a very important species for insects and b...
Corylus avellana - Hazel
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Corylus avellana - Hazel
€1.80
Corylus avellana - Hazel A native Irish tree, once believed to be the tree of knowledge, Corylus avellana is a large, deciduous shrub or small tree with a spreading, bushy habit. The large, mid-green leaves are broad, almost round, with a serrated edge, and turn yellow in autumn. The long, yellow male catkins appear in January and February; alth...
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Crataegus monogyna - Hawthorn
€1.00
Hawthorn - ‘Sceach gheal’ Our most common hedgerow species. Hawthorn, Whitethorn, or ‘Sceach gheal’ in Irish, it goes under many names and is one of our most important native hedgerow species. It makes a fantastic neat deciduous hedge as it clips well but can also be left to grow. Crataegus monogyna is easily recognisable in the month of May whe...
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Euonymus europaeus - Spindle
€2.00
Spindle (Feoras) Sometimes known as Spindleberry or burning bush, Euonymus europaeus is native to Ireland. It usually grows tall and narrow, although given enough space it can reach more than 5m high and wide. Often planted as part of a hedgerow but its many cultivars are becoming common in gardens. In Summer it has tiny greenish-white flowers, ...
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Malus sylvestris - Crabapple
€2.00
Malus sylvestris - Crabapple A native Irish tree often found in old hedgerows or found deliberated planted round old farmsteads, Malus sylvestris is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree with a spreading, rounded canopy and bushy habit. The mid-green leaves are oval. Beautiful pinkish-white blossom, very nectar-rich and attractive to pollinator...
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Prunus padus - Bird Cherry
€1.80
Bird Cherry - (Donnroisc) An small growing native tree that is adaptable to many situations, Prunus padus has striking almond-scented flowers borne on small upright panicles in April. In Autumn it is often laden with small, dark, bitter cherries which are a favourite of all kinds of birds. Like Wild Cherry, the Spring flowers provide an early so...
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Prunus spinosa - Blackthorn
€1.20
Blackthorn, Sloe - (Draighean) Grown as a Tree A well known native tree, the strong white flowers appear before the leaves and it is a great herald of Spring in our hedgerows across the country. The timber from blackthorn is dense, burns exceptionally well and with little smoke, it is also used to make shillelagh sticks & In folklore, blackt...
Rosa canina - Dog Rose
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Rosa canina - Dog Rose
€3.00
Rosa canina - Dog Rose The familiar and much-loved dog rose of our hedgerows and woodland edges, Rosa canina is a vigorous, scrambling, suckering, deciduous shrub with arching green stems armed with curved thorns to help it climb. The mid-green leaves are divided into 7 leaflets. The lightly scented, five-petalled flowers, 2-3”/5cm across, come ...
Sambucus nigra - Elder
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Sambucus nigra - Elder
€2.50
Native Elder - (Tromán) One of the most well known native trees, Sambucus nigra is an exceptionally good wildlife-supporting species in Ireland and fits into any hedgerow. In Spring you will often hear the tree buzzing with excitement as thousands of insects are seen feeding off of the flowers. And don't be surprised to see people wandering hedg...
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Viburnum opulus - Guelder Rose
€2.00
Guelder Rose (Caorchan) An attractive native shrub often seen in country hedgerows. Viburnum opulus has maple-like leaves and beautiful white lace-cap flowers in the Spring, followed by clusters of translucent red berries in early Autumn. It is a great addition to a wildlife fruiting hedgerow especially. Site: Tolerates some exposureSoil: Any we...