Hedgelaying trial (update)
How does the living fence look after a few months?
Mid June 2023. Here some commented pictures of the living hedge.
The living hedge is being filled by branches and leaves. I still notice some holes in it, it is definitely not going to be animal proof.
Overall it's working well, but there are some points of attention:
- There was a part of it with a big gap between living shrubs. At the bottom of this section I will always have a hole where animals can pass.
- A part of the hedge was very shaded and the side branches on the pletchers did not grow much. I think it's very important to take down vegetation that blocks light to the hedge (everything will regrow anyway!)
Another overall view of the hedge from another side
Detail on the base of a pletcher that did not resprout much
This elm pletcher resprouted a lot from the base and lots of shoots fill the space a low level
In terms of plant species (elm, maple, evonimous, black locust) I can say that all seem to have reacted in the expected way and gave some sprouting from the base and the side of the inclined branches (pletchers). There's a lot of variability from one plant to another, though. What seem to be most important in resprouting is access to light.
I looks like the hedge will require some work next year both to trim it and to redirect some of the basal sprouts..."to weave them in" for achieving a better filling of the space.
My current feeling is that it is very difficult to make the hedge wild-bore proof (although good enough for cattle and people), but it can be part of a multilayered system. Coupling it with barbed wire, a dead branches hedge or some metal fence has the potential of doing the job with some minimal materials investment.
Conclusion: yes, it works!
