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Book:	Hedging
Chapter:	10 Restoring a neglected hedge
Section:	Laying a neglected hedge
Metadata:	Details	Buy this book

Preparation

Techniques to bring a hedge into a suitable condition for laying are discussed in the preceding section.

The following problems are likely to be encountered when laying an old neglected hedge:

Large stools

Where the plant has been cut and laid too high in the past, the result is a thickened basal stump or stool. If this happens more than once, the stool becomes a large, gnarled stump, an impediment to proper laying, though of wildlife value. Where your aim is a well-laid hedge, resist the temptation to carry on the bad practice by again cutting high. Where you can afford to sacrifice the whole plant in favour of adjacent, better pleachers, it can be cut out completely. Frequently, though, this would open up too big a gap, or leave a gap unpleached further down the hedge. If the hedge has a large number of old, large stools which are attractive and valuable to wildlife, consider other options. Is it possible to turn this into a narrow strip of woodland by planting alongside the existing old hedge, and continuing to maintain the old stools by pollarding? See chapter 10, section 'Woodland corridors'. Where the only choice is to maintain the hedgerow as a laid hedge, the thickened stool will need to be laid from the root, as described below.

Laying from the root

Inspect the stool. Can you sever it vertically into several distinct plants, each with root and stem? This may be laborious, but is the best way to get manageable portions which can be laid from the root. First, cut out unwanted stems and rotten parts of the stool. This may make it easier to subdivide the remaining stump. This is difficult work due to the twisted, complex grain of the wood, and the awkward cutting positions forced on you by the location of the stems of other trees near the stool. Axe work is easiest, if you can handle the tool ambidextrously and if it is very sharp. A chain saw is useful in these situations, but cut very slowly and carefully, taking out bits of the stool rather than cutting straight through it, in order not to bind the chain in the twisted grain. Note too that you are likely to encounter stones and earth trapped in the stool, with consequent damage to the chain.

Some hedgers claim that it harms the hedge to lay from the root, because root wood does not shoot as well as stem wood, and because frost is more likely to harm root wood where it has been exposed. Where there is no alternative to laying from the root, take the precautions of not working in mid-winter when sharp frosts are most likely, and of covering the root with earth below the point of cutting after the pleacher is laid.

Follow this procedure:

With a spade, cut away earth around the base of the plant as necessary, to expose the junctions of the main lateral roots and the stem.
Inspect the stool. Try to find a good strong thick root, attached to the chosen pleacher, which runs into the ground at about a 90 degree angle to the line of laying. This root will serve as both anchor and pivot to the pleacher as it is being laid, and afterwards will provide as direct a flow of nutrients to the pleacher as possible.
With the axe or bow saw, sever the small roots on the side towards which the pleacher will be laid. This should free the pleacher to bend in that direction. As you cut and lay, sever any roots other than the anchor root which appears to prevent the correct movement of the pleacher.
Cut the pleacher in the normal way, but aim the cut so that when extended down, it will split the anchor root approximately in half. Cut down to ground level, testing the pleacher as you work, and be ready to support it if it starts to fall.
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Gently lower the pleacher into position, continuing the cut little by little as needed to lay the stem. The grain of the root will twist as the pleacher is laid, but it should not break.
Cut away the unwanted remains of the stool.

There are two other situations where laying from the root may be necessary:

When cutting and laying old, large-stemmed trees which may have gone rotten or brittle at the point where live wood is needed to maintain the flow up the pleacher. Inspect the pleacher carefully for signs of decay at this point on the stem, as if you do start cutting, it is likely to fall suddenly.
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Sometimes the rot is hidden. Be wary of stems which have a split as shown, as rot can spread down-wards beneath the bark.

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Where the stem is very narrow or 'pinched', by being restricted in growth by some obstruction, and is liable to break off if laid in the normal way.

Large or misshapen pleachers

Where there has been little new growth from the base of the hedge for many years, the remaining hedge shrubs will consist of odd-shaped trees. Where there has been grazing pressure, these may be bare of lower branches. Typical shapes are old slanting pleachers and multiple stemmed trees.

Old pleachers

Sometimes an old pleacher has survived and is the only material covering a gap. These are quite difficult to lay, as they can become unstable once cut, and the original stump may be very gnarled or rotten in places.

Start by removing the stem nearest the stump, as shown. Then lay the stems in the order shown, supporting them with stakes as necessary. This takes some of the weight off the stump, so that it can be re-laid. If you cut the main stump first, the whole thing is liable to become unstable and twist off the stump.

To re-lay the old stump, you may need to cut as shown on diagram a, as often the old stump is not suitable for re-laying low down. Where possible lay as shown in diagram b, as this will encourage new growth from the base.

Multiple stems

Often a hedge may have deteriorated into a line of stools with gaps between. Because there is little other material, most of the multiple stems from the stool will need to be laid, if the aim is to restore to a laid hedge. Lay in the sequence shown, laying the first to a lower angle to fill the gap.

Alternatively, the shrubs can be maintained as a line of coppiced stools, without any laying. Fencing will be needed for stock control.

Big pleachers

Pleachers over about 10" (250mm) diameter are difficult to deal with, because of the problem of controlling the fall so that the already laid section of hedge isn't damaged. The laid hedge also has to be very sturdy to support the weight of pleacher. Cutting this size of trunk is only possible by a person skilled with an axe, or with a chain saw. Occasional trees of this diameter in a hedge may be better cut out altogether, or crown lifted and left to grow on as hedgerow trees. A hedge mostly of large diameter trees could be converted to a woodland corridor, or if it must be laid, should be done by professional hedge layers.

Gaps

Laying back to fill gaps

Where there is a gap or 'shard', which cannot be filled by pleachers further up the hedgerow (to the right, if you are working from left to right) it may be possible to lay back from a position on the left of the gap. First, work up to the gap from the left, using as many stems as necessary to lay the hedge to this point. Only use remaining 'excess' stems to lay back to the right.

Method A:

This method requires great skill and judgement but results in the best new growth to fill the gap and preserves the uniform look of the laid pleachers. Select strong, thick pleachers to lay into the gap, and make the most of any that have advantageously placed branches or bends for the required laying angles. It's easier to do with someone to help support the pleacher as it's laid.

Make the upper cut first and temporarily lay the stem, as shown. If you try the other way around, making the lower cut first, you can't then make the second cut because it would need to be made underneath the laid pleacher.
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Then make the second cut to ground level, as normal, and lay the stem back into the gap. The trick is to correctly judge the distance you need to fill. With luck, the stem will root at the upper cut.

An alternative technique is to only make the first upper cut part way, so that the stem stays upright while you make the second lower cut. You then lay it from the lower cut, as you do so carefully bending it at the upper cut. You may have a problem with the upper cut developing a kick-back (chapter 9 section Cutting and laying the pleachers, Cutting the pleachers, Method 1), unless you can lengthen the cut as you lay.

Method B

Where there are sufficient pleachers to either side of the gap, they can be used to fill the gap by laying in the opposite direction to the rest of the hedge. Bigger gaps can be filled by this method than by method A, and it is normally easier to do. Although the look of the finished hedge may not be so neat, new growth soon obscures the pleachers.

Select pleachers along the back of the hedge to cut and lay in the opposite direction to the rest of the hedge, to fill the gap. This avoids tangling them with the other pleachers, and means they are less noticeable from the face side of the hedge. Then lay any pleachers available from the front side of the hedge, in the normal direction, to partially obscure the 'wrong' pleachers behind.

Deadwood

If you have a large gap with only sparse pleachers to either side, deadwood should be used as pleachers. Use some of the excess material from elsewhere in the hedge, choosing sturdy stems because they will last longer. Cut the butt end as shown so that it can be inserted into the ground behind a stake to secure. Then weave it between two more stakes as shown to keep it in place.

Use of deadwood is essential in many hedges in order to maintain the 'build' of the hedge. A gap of as little as a couple of feet between stems can cause the angle of the pleachers to drop flat and a gap appear in the upper part of the hedge. Use of deadwood should not be considered as 'cheating', but as an essential technique in making a stockproof hedge. Controversy sometimes occurs in competitions when some competitors may use excessive deadwood in order to get a perfect finish.

Rooting or layering pleachers

Pleaching across a gap does not in itself ensure that the gap will permanently close. For this, new shoots and therefore new rootstock, must be placed in the gap. If there are a lot of gaps, the decision may be made to obtain new plants and plant up the gaps (chapter 10 section Strategies for restoration, Gaps). If there are only a few gaps, it may be worth encouraging pleachers to root. This technique is called 'layering', and should not be confused with the term 'laying'.

Lay the pleacher from the root (p86). Sever all other roots, and hopefully young shoots will sprout from them.
Cut the pleacher so that it lies close to the ground. Choose a point where a bend in the pleacher touches the ground, and dig out a shallow trough, so that the stem is half buried.
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Alternatively, cut a notch in the top of the pleacher where it lies close to the ground, and heap earth over it.

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If the weight of the pleacher is not sufficient to hold it in position, peg it down so that it is in firm contact with the ground.

Roots should develop where the stem is layered or buried. When the hedge is next layed, the stems can be cut through between these roots and the old, creating a new and independent plant which in later years can be cut and layed to best advantage.