Dig In: Now’s the ideal time to plant your native hedgerow

If you’re tinkering with the idea of creating your very own native hedgerow, then between October to late March is the best time to do so, while woody plants are not in active growth and are available to buy cheaply as bare-root specimens/young whips.

While pot-grown plants can be planted at any time of the year, winter/early spring is also the best time to plant these as regards their successful establishment. Planting at this time of the year also minimises the time-consuming demands of labour-intensive chores such as watering.

Before planting any native hedgerow, it is vital to take its eventual size into careful consideration, bearing in mind that a mature hedgerow can easily reach a width and spread of 2.5 metres.  If you’re planning on planting it in a garden regularly used by young children (especially school gardens) it’s also worth bearing in mind that the berries of a handful of native hedging species (for example, the evergreen yew (Taxus baccata), and the spindle tree, also known as Euonymus europaeus, are poisonous and thus best avoided.

Soak the root systems in water

Whether you decide to go with container-grown or bare-root hedging plants, take the time to soak the plants’ root systems in a bucket of water before planting and make sure to water again after planting.

Always choose a dry, settled, non- icy period of weather to plant and dig planting holes that are large enough to accommodate the established root system of pot-grown plants, or that allow you to plant up to the existing soil mark on the stems of bare-root plants.

While native hedging plants don’t need soil enriched by manure or garden compost, they do appreciate one that is weed-free (mulching after planting will also help prevent weed growth).

Using a garden fork to break up the soil at the bottom of the planting hole will also help young plants to establish.

For a single-row hedgerow, space plants 30-50cm apart, while for a double-row hedgerow, allow five to six plants per metre but stagger the rows.

When it comes to sourcing native hedging plants, try to buy Irish-grown plants cultivated from certified Irish seed.

Recommended stockists include the Clare-based CELT Native Tree Nursery (celtnet.org/tree-nursery), Cork-based Future Forests (futureforests.net) and Kildare-based Flannery's Nurseries (flannerysnurseries.com) as well as good garden centres.