Traditional Hedge Laying for Small Rural Plots

Why Lay a Hedge Instead of Just Trimming It

A hedge that is only ever topped with a trimmer slowly loses its bottom. Each cut thickens the stems at the top, the base goes bare, and you end up with a row of spindly trees on stalky legs. Wind funnels underneath, stock and dogs walk straight through, and the nesting cover that made the hedge valuable in the first place vanishes.

Laying works the opposite way. You partly cut a stem near its base, bend it over to roughly 30 to 40 degrees, and leave a thin hinge of living wood intact. The bent stem — the pleacher — keeps growing, sending new shoots upwards along its length. The result is a barrier that is dense right down to the ground, thicker after six years than when you started, and good for perhaps fifteen to thirty years before it needs relaying.

Know Your Season Before You Touch a Tool

The traditional rule is simple: lay when the sap is down. In most of Britain that means leaf fall through to late winter, with November to February the sweet spot. By then the wood is flexible enough to bend without cracking, and the hedge is dormant.

From 1 March to the end of August, hedges are protected in practice by nesting bird legislation — disturbing an active nest is an offence — and spring-cut wood bleeds and heals badly. Species such as field maple, lime and birch are especially prone to it. Two further rules worth keeping:

• Do not lay in hard frost. Frozen wood is brittle and hinges snap clean off.
• Check for birds, dormice, bats and water voles before cutting. If a hedge is dense and old, and you are unsure, take advice first.
• Leave a few stems uncut at intervals if your plot can afford it — these become standard trees, useful for shade and timber.

Tools That Do the Job Properly

You do not need much, but you do need sharp. A blunt billhook is harder work and considerably more dangerous than a keen one.

• A billhook — the classic hedge-laying tool. A Kentish or double-edged pattern suits most work. Learn to sharpen it and do so often.
• A bowsaw for any stem thicker than your thumb. Sawing a heavy stem is faster and safer than hacking at it.
• Loppers and secateurs for tidying, and a pruning saw for awkward angles.
• A wooden or rawhide mallet for driving stakes, plus a spade for lifting roots out of the way.
• Gloves that fit, safety glasses, and boots with a grip. Thorn is unforgiving, and a wet bank is slippery.
• A sharpening stone and a rag with oil for the end of the day.

Reading the Hedge in Front of You

Take ten minutes before cutting anything. Walk the length, note the species, and look for dead, diseased or ivy-smothered stems to clear out first. Hawthorn is the finest hedging plant in the country and lays beautifully. Blackthorn, hazel, field maple, holly, dogwood and spindle all work well. Elder is brittle and rarely worth laying; willow and poplar grow so fast that they can outrun a tidy finish.

Style matters less than it sounds on a small plot. The Midland or Bullock style is the practical all-rounder, woven tight to one side with stakes and binders. If your hedge runs across a slope, the Welsh border style, laid uphill, holds soil and stock better. Whatever you choose, keep a few berries and flowers in mind: a mixed hedge with holly, hazel and dog rose will feed far more wildlife than a single-species block.

The Laying Itself

Work along the hedge in short stretches, and be realistic: ten to fifteen metres in a day is a good day's work for a beginner.

• Cut low — usually 5 to 10cm above ground — on the side the stem will bend towards, with a sloping cut that leaves a hinge of about a third of the stem's diameter.
• Bend the stem over gently. If it resists, stop and check the hinge rather than forcing it.
• Weave the pleachers between the stakes, keeping the line tight and the tops level.
• Drive stakes every 45 to 60cm, then twist hazel or willow binders along the top to lock everything in place.
• Fill any gaps with cut brushwood, and cut the tops off neatly just above the binder.

Safety, Aftercare and Patience

Most hedge-laying injuries come from cutting towards the body or working with cold, tired hands. Keep the blade in front of you, cut away from yourself, and never hold a springy stem with your free hand while cutting it. Look out for old barbed wire buried in the hedge — use a saw if you are unsure, never an axe. Check for overhead cables and any buried services before driving stakes. If you can, work with someone else, especially on banks.

After laying, leave the hedge alone for a full growing season. Let it thicken and shoot. From the second year, trim on a two or three-year rotation rather than annually, and cut in late winter rather than spring. Stack your arisings in a corner as a habitat pile; beetles, hedgehogs and wrens will thank you. Do this once, well, and you will have a boundary that is stock-proof, wildlife-rich and quietly handsome for a generation.