• Whitethorn/hawthorn: pollinator-friendly, blossoming May-June
• Blackthorn: pollinator-friendly, blossoming March-April
• Hazel
• Holly
• Guelder rose: pollinator-friendly, blossoming May-July
• Crab apple: pollinator-friendly, blossoming April-May
• Alder buckthorn
• Spindle: pollinator-friendly, blossoming May-June
• Rowan: pollinator-friendly, blossoming April-May
• Bird cherry: pollinator-friendly, blossoming April-May 
• Wild cherry: pollinator-friendly, blossoming April-May
• Downy birch
• Oak
• Willow: pollinator-friendly, blossoming March-April
• Whitebeam: pollinator-friendly, blossoming May-June

You don’t need to plant each of the species above. Rather, look at what is already growing in your area and pick a similar species mix. Hawthorn, blackthorn, and hazel will usually comprise roughly 60% of the species mix. The remaining plants should be intermixed randomly between these core plants. There are many more tips included in a Hedge Link guidance document, you can read it by clicking here.

After planting, the whips should be pruned to within an inch (30mm) or so of the ground level after planting, the following year cut about 30mm above the first cut, and on the 3rd year, 30mm above the second cut. This maintains the growth at ground level to produce a denser base and allow the hedge to slowly grow up. This practice was tested by Kildalton College, you can read more by clicking here. Incremental height increase is a key element of hedgerow management.

The retailers and nurseries listed below stock native trees of Irish provenance, but not all their stock falls under this category. We recommend contacting them to see what Irish provenance stock is available this season as it tends to fluctuate frequently. We are not affiliated with any of the retailers or nurseries listed below.

• None So Hardy Nursery
• Wild Oaks Nursery
• Kearneys Nursery
• Celt
• Future Forests
• Cappagh Nurseries
• Fermoy Woodland Nursery
• Irish Tree Centre 

The following steps were featured in Teagasc’s piece on hedge laying with one of our Directors, Eoin Donnelly. You can read the full piece by clicking here. 

1. Stems (pleachers) are cut at the base, 70-80% of the way through, keeping the cuts as low as possible to the ground.
2. Stems (pleachers) are laid at an angle of 45 degrees running up the slope, producing a hedge approximately 1.2m in height.  Always lay a hedge uphill if the ground slopes to get better transpiration of moisture so the sap rises and the hedge remains living. Stems (pleachers) are left attached to the cut stump by a long living hinge and woven into each other.

Here are some of Eoin’s top tips:

• When laying, try to keep the angle even. This is not always possible because the stems (pleachers) are multiple shapes. As stems are woven in, you have to work out the shape as you lay the hedge down. Each piece has got to fit into the piece below. So when looking at a standing stem you’ve got to work out the shape and where it’s going to fall into the hedge. It’s all got to knit together.
• When you lay it down sometimes you get pieces that stick up. You can make cuts on the stems higher up to flex the hedge into the shape you want. These also act as points from which the hedge grows. Those cuts will send up shoots, thickening the hedge at the same time.
• Don’t lay the hedge directly down on the line of the cut base. Roll the hedge back slightly from the ground cuts. This is to allow light to get into the hedge and for the hedge to rejuvenate and re-shoot up along the cut face. If the hedge is too far forward on top of the cuts, shading suppresses new growth. Exposure of the cuts to sunlight maximises regeneration.
• The hinges are fairly strong but if they get enough wind or enough movement, they will start to tear. You don’t want it rocking around, so especially on a windy site, in order to hold the laid hedge in place, a gawlog or hooked pin cut from the hedge can be used. It hooks over a stem in the hedge and is hammered down to pin the hedge in place. Alternatively, stakes can be used every half metre woven in with hazel rods (binders) to hold in place. Don’t tie stems down with bailer twine because it doesn’t rot down and it will strangle the stems, resulting in losses.  
• It is good practice to leave some mature trees or straight stems (pleachers) uncut within the hedge. The structure of the laid hedge is ideal for nesting thrushes, blackbirds, and robins. Preferably smaller trees like whitethorn or cherry because large broadleaved trees such as beech oak and sycamore cause shading.

The following steps were featured in Teagasc’s piece on coppicing with one of our Directors, Eoin Donnelly. You can read the full piece by clicking here. 

1. Identify a few occasional trees that will be left uncut and let grow into mature single-stem trees above with a full canopy above the body of the hedge. These are marked and protected with tree guards. Such trees are important for hedge-nesting birds who like to have a song perch above the hedge from which to sing. Ash is good for songbirds but leaving a whitethorn, blackthorn or crab apple as a flowering tree is good for pollinators – bees and other insects, and provides fruit in autumn.
2. A tractor-mounted circular saw can be used to reduce the height of the hedge (except for the previously selected trees) to take out the heavy material, but will cut all at one level and is unlikely to cut low enough. 
3. The hedge must be cleared out of ivy, bramble, and briars by hand, using a slash-hook – down to bare soil if possible. Make sure to check for stones and remove any wire.
4. The remaining stems are cut back to ground level, to 2-3 inches all along humps and hillocks, and dips. A chainsaw can be used to make a sloping cut so water runs off and keeps the stump healthy.  A key point is to get the cuts as low to the ground as possible, but not right into the soil, just above the soil to produce new shoots.
5. The hedge and the margin or verge both sides must be protected from livestock, at least one metre so animals can’t reach in and take out the tops of the hedge.

Here are some top tips for cutting your hedge so it retains biodiversity benefits:

• Cut your hedge on a 2-3 year cycle in rotation, resulting in some areas producing blossom each year.
• Delay cutting till January or February; although the restrictions on cutting are lifted in August, hedgerows are a vital source of berries for birds in Autumn/Winter. Cutting away the growing point too early in the season removes this food source.
• Gradually reduce cutting intensity each year; cut taller and wider. 
• Cut with a circular saw rather than a flail; this produces a cleaner cut and improves re-growth.
• Retain a variety of hedge types.
  • Some escaped hedges that remain untopped but can be side-trimmed. If any overhanging branches become a safety hazard, a circular saw can be used to lop them off. 
  • Some topped hedges where the growing point is trimmed to a triangular profile (or ‘A roof’) from a wide base and occasional single-stem hawthorn trees are kept uncut. Keep these to at least 1.5m tall or as tall as your machinery can manage. Sloping sides on an ‘A roof’ cut allows the hedge base to access more light, which encourages denser growth that is better for ground-nesting birds. Contractors also say it’s faster and easier to cut an ‘A roof’ because you run the cutter at a 45-degree angle on both sides and move on, whereas for a flat-top cut you need to go over them a couple of times to get an even cut.
• Do not remove hedgerows (unless they are a safety hazard or prevent tree regeneration). Even dying hedgerows support insect communities, bat roosts, and cavity-nesting birds.