planting advice

[mimififi]

Hi, i am an ok gardner, eg hanging baskets, house plants, tubs, containers and things people give me/are already there etc, but, I have a piece of rough land behind the back fence of my house which is just before the farmer's field. It is a relatively new house, but according to the Land registry, i do actually own that piece of land.

now, obviously, I could just move my fence, but I don't want to do that, I would rather plant it up with some evergreens, fruit trees and other tall plants to act as a wind break and to break up the monotomy of living in a lego land type new housing development.

My question: As it is now planting season, which trees would you recommend and any tips for planting them and where would I go to buy them (haven't seen many trees in home base and wisley is toooooo far away.)

I live on the south coast of England in between brighton and portsmouth.

many thanks to all you Percy Throwers out there, you green fingered brigade!
mimi

[Thunderbird+]

I dont know how big your piece of land is, but I've been tryin to visulise what I would do if an area suitable for a few trees. So here go's, first I would plant a wind-break, consisting of a holly hedge and trim it to the desired height, this should provie you with a near perfect barrier and screen. Next I would plant a hazel coppice, with the odd cherry tree dotted around, in my little secret woodland glade I would under plant with snow drops, blue bells, primroses, sweet violets,sweet woodruff wood anemones a few clumps of daffs, red campion, fox gloves and some ferns in the more shaded areas.

Next I'd be looking for a suitable place to site a wooden bench, where I could sit and relax with a beer or coffee and of course a gate in the fence, maybe with an arch with honey suckle growing on it. Well thats what I would do, a place to chill out and enjoy wild life!

Of course all those plants would not be available at the same time but it would be fun doing it gradually. the trees would need to be container grown if you wanted to plant in the spring or summer. Best wishes.

[WendyS]

mimififi - am sure others will be able to recommend some trees and shrubs for you but living where you do, just bear in mind that for their first year they will need gallons of regular watering to ensure their roots become established and they don't die. If you area is subject to the currently newly imposed hosepipe ban you're going to be lugging lots and lots of heavy watering cans up and down your garden this summer to ensure they survive. Near us, somebody did some extensive hedge & tree planting last summer and didn't bother to water them, Now every single tree & bush has died and it must have cost them a fortune for nothing. There are water retention crystals you can mix in the soil to help it drying out (you can get them from garden centres) but they're enormously expensive and probably not practical for the large area of soil involved in your case.

[alan30]

Pick your planting stock carefully. Trees that seed themselves naturally in the wild don't need hosepipes to ensure survival. They balance the root and shoot growth with the available water; it is the desire to have an instant effect by planting large stock with poor root to shoot ratio that is the problem. Commercial forestry planting stock is often no more than seedling size and apart from keeping weeds away there is little maintenance, certainly no watering. When you look at new roadside or housing landscaping they use larger stock and have to water; expensive and hit and miss as no one measures soil moisture to determine whether water is needed or not. In the longer term smaller stock establishes more quickly and overtakes larger planted sizes and results in plants better adapted to the planting environment. I used to mix 60cm stock with 1.8m stock and within 10 years the smaller stock had overtaken the larger and there is a 10x difference in price. See the online catalogue here

http://www.hedging.co.uk/acatalog/index.html

If you need an instant effect go for a few larger size trees and plant a large number of small stock if some fail you still have plenty left and if they all survive remove poorer shaped and unhealthy ones from time to time so you end up with the best. Keep all trees clear of weeds as this reduces the competition for water and nutrients. Growing trees takes time; get you stock from a good trade nursery not a garden centre. Better stock and a lot cheaper. If you must put in larger stock then water it in well and water well every 10-14 days rather than a little water each day. Species, use what is growing around you naturally in hedges and woodlands. You have missed the planting season for bare root stock. Aim to plant between end November and mid March at the latest where you are.

[mimififi]

thank you for your answers, Maybe I shall spend the summer clearing and weeding and plant out in the autumn as Alan suggests? being so coastal we have harsh winds, but not much frost.

I like your idea Thunderbird of benches and woodland plants, that sound beautiful as well as wildlife friendly. I think i shall draw up a plan.

I shall certainly bear in mind the hose pipe crisis and find out if I am affected.

Thanks again all, I appreciate your advice.