Bare Root Hedge Plants & New Gro-Grid Planting Mat
You might remember from a post a few weeks back that we are now manufacturing the fabulous 'Gro-Grid' weed control planting mat. We have the machinery set up in our warehouse and have been building up stock of the standard mat sizes. Mats with the correct spacing for garlic or onions are in high demand at this time of year as they keep weeds at bay but also protect soil over winter, we now have plenty if you need any.
As you know the Quickcrop boffins never rest. Since the machinery arrived they have been skulking around it tweaking knobs and pulling levers to see what it is capable of. Their latest stroke of genius is a planting mat for bare root hedging which will give you the correct planting distance and eliminate weeds while the hedge is getting established.
The new hedge planting mats are 1metre wide with a planting distance of 32cm between plants in a single row. The mats are available in 10, 20 and 50 metre rolls but can be made to any length depending on the size of hedge you wish to plant.
Hedge planting method The planting method is to prepare the ground before you put the mat down by removing any deep root weeds and digging the planting holes. The prepared area should be 60cm wide to allow 20cm of mat to be buried either side of the new hedge.
I would recommend adding a little blood fish & bone to each planting hole to help the roots to get established. It will also be helpful to add a continuous mulch of well rotted manure along the planting line unless the soil is known to be very good.
Once the mat is in place, the bare root hedging plants can be inserted through the holes and planted in the soil below. The mat is secured by burying the edges with a spade and further fixing with landscape fabric staples if the site is exposed.
Bare Root Hedging Of course the reason we have been coming up with hedge planting solutions is we also supply bare root hedge whips which are ready to go in now. Unlike many bare root hedge suppliers we lift our plants to order which gives a healthier root which will be quicker to establish. Plants are also grown in the North West so will be used to more challenging conditions if you have an exposed site.
Depending on your budget we offer two choices of bare root whip, we have Standard 60-80cm (Agri) spec and Premium 90-120cm (Garden) spec. All hedging is supplied in bags of 25. All our plants are 2 years old with spec explained as follows:Standard (Agri) Plants are grown from seedling stock planted in a field situation at approx 2 inches apart. Standard stock is supplied unpruned and will need to cut back to 15cm when planted out. The plants will produce a hedge of the same quality as the Premium hedge but will typically be one year behind in terms of growth. Standard spec is more suitable for large scale Agri applications.
Premium (Garden) Premium plants are grown from seedling stock planted in a field situation at approx 6 inches apart to allow more room for root development. Plants are pre pruned to 15cm to create a multi-stemmed plant. Premium plants are also 'undercut' which involves pruning the roots 15cm below ground, this produces a larger root ball which is much quicker to establish. Premium hedging is more suitable for garden applications where a thick hedge is needed more quickly.
Edible Hedge Packs This year we are also stocking packs of edible hedge plants to provide Autumn fruit for birds and for making jams, jellies, sauces and drinks. Our native edible hedge pack includes: 6 x Hawthorn, 5 x Blackthorn, 4 x Hazel, 3 x Elder, 3 x Crab Apple, 2 x Dog Rose and 2 x June Berry.
Edible hedge packs are also supplied bare root in packs of 25 mixed plants. As with all bare root plants they are best planted as soon as possible after you receive them.
Hedging Tip - If your garden is in any way exposed I highly recommend putting in a temporary windbreak mesh for the first 2 years after the plants go in, your hedge will grow twice as fast.
The W.B.Yeats Rose - The perfect gardener's Christmas gift. The Yeats rose was commissioned by the Yeats Society in 2015 and bred by Dickson's Rose Nursery in Co.Down as the official W.B.Yeats rose. This new variety is still very difficult to source as so little stock nursery exists so we are very excited to be one of a select group of suppliers.
Yeats wrote a series of poems about red roses, with rosa canina (commonly known as the dog rose) mentioned many times in his work. The new WB Yeats rose is a gentle marriage of both – a deep red rose with the simple form of the hedgerow dog rose.
The Yeats rose has rich scarlet petals with bright golden stamens. The plants are disease resistant and will flower for the full season. Each individual bloom on its multi-headed stems opens semi-flat to form a spectacular show.
That's it for now, I'll see you next week.
Andrew