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Home / Article / How to Plant a Hedgerow

How to Plant a Hedgerow

Last Updated January 27th, 2023 by Amy 25 Comments

17.7K shares

A hedgerow can offer beauty, productivity, biodiversity, and much more! Discover how to plant a hedgerow to meet your needs on your permaculture homestead.


This page may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

In 10 Reasons to Plant a Hedgerow, I outlined the difference between a mixed hedgerow and a formal hedge, as well as some of the top benefits that a hedgerow can provide. Some examples include privacy, water conservation, a buffer to noise, wind, or pollution, and more.

In fact, the type of hedgerow you plant depends on the purpose you want it to serve, the sun exposure of the area, soil conditions, wildlife activity, etc.

Another key point is that hedgerows are primarily comprised of perennial species. However, quick-growing annual plants can fill the gaps while a young hedgerow becomes established.

Finally, ongoing maintenance is a factor in how successful a planting will be. To clarify, you should plan to maintain a hedgerow for at least two years by watering and weeding while it becomes established.

Design your Hedgerow

The layout of the hedgerow depends on its desired function and location.

Hedgerows are often used along property lines but they can also be used to divide sections of a property such as animal paddocks or dividing play areas from garden areas. Hedgerows can also be utilized to manage water flow, if built as swales or contour gardens.

See 6 Maps for the Permaculture Farm Design to learn more about planning the layout of your farm or garden.

Hedgerows are ideally longer than they are wide.

For example, Dave Jacke, author of Edible Forest Gardens, suggests 40 feet as the critical minimum width for a hedgerow. That’s because some depth and layering of plants is needed for creating a biologically rich ecosystem that attracts and holds beneficial insects, wildlife, and a diversity of plants.

However, I suspect that many don’t have the necessary space for this. Therefore, don’t let perfect get in the way of good! I think mixed hedgerows and perennial plantings of any size can do wonders for attracting biodiversity.

If you can swing it in your space, a hedgerow that is at least 10 feet wide (20 feet long) is a minimum size in order to be able to incorporate several rows or layers of plants.

By comparison, farmland hedgerows can in fact stretch as wide as 100 feet, and a minimum of 60 feet from a water source in riparian zones.

Mixed hedgerows actually have a lot of similarities with permaculture food forests and fruit tree guilds.

Nanking Cherry hedgerow

This hedgerow bordering the house includes nanking cherry and a mixture of herbs & flowers.

Photo Credit: daryl_mitchell Flickr

Prepare the Hedgerow Planting Area

On large-scale properties, it might be necessary to till the hedgerow area before planting. Add 2 inches of compost and let rest for two weeks before planting.

For a small hedgerow, however, sheet mulching is a healthier approach.

To sheet mulch the area, first cut back any unwanted growth and remove unwanted woody plants.

Use a digging fork to aerate the soil throughout, then cover the area in cardboard. Overlap the ends so that the soil is entirely covered.

Next, alternate layers of organic materials such as aged manure, shredded leaves, or straw.

Finally, top with several inches of compost soil (homemade compost or store-bought compost soil).

Wait two weeks before planting.

If you deal with poison ivy in your hedgerow area, read about how to kill poison ivy using a permaculture approach before planting.

Beware of Herbicides (even if you don’t spray)

Unfortunately, herbicides are starting to contaminate compost bins and gardens, despite being herbicide-free. As such, it’s important to learn how to keep herbicides out of your compost bin, even if you don’t spray.

Organic-approved soil can also be contaminated with herbicides. As a result, it’s important to learn how to source herbicide-free compost soil.

Finally, manure poses a great risk of contamination, so it’s important to learn about herbicides in manure before using it in the preparation of your hedgerow.

Would you like to grow food in your front yard without sacrificing curb appeal? Check out my mini guide, The Permaculture Inspired Edible Landscape.

The Permaculture Inspired Edible Landscape

Choose the Foundational Plants

A mixed hedgerow includes a variety of plantings such as canopy and understory trees, fruit trees, berry and nut bushes, flowering and native trees and shrubs, evergreen trees and bushes, and herbs, flowers, and ground covers.

Because your plant selections depend on what your goals are and how much space you have, your hedgerow will be as unique as you!

The tallest plantings establish the shape and foundation of the hedgerow.

In a spacious area, tall canopy trees can anchor a hedgerow. Meanwhile, in a compact backyard, you’ll likely skip tall canopy trees and select dwarf or semi-dwarf trees or shrubs as your base planting.

In the same vein, another consideration is a planting’s relative location with regard to a property line or fence. In general, work inward to layer plants from tallest to shortest.

Privacy hedge

Photo Credit: hardworkinghippy Flickr

Ensure a Full and Compact Hedgerow at Maturity

Give each plant their maximum suggested plant spacing to ensure a full and compact hedgerow at maturity, while allowing space for harvesting. Add extra space along a property line.

For example, dwarf apple trees are expected to get 8-10 feet wide. 

To plant them along a property line, allow 10-foot spacing so that you have enough room for harvesting. After all, you wouldn’t want the fruit to drop on your neighbor’s side of the fence, unless that’s part of your plan.

Where a property line isn’t a concern, however, 8-foot spacing for apple trees provides a more compact planting. (See: 5 Steps to Planting Fruit Trees.)

In another case, using the maximum spacing and planting a row of evergreen bushes behind them would help with privacy. 

Mahonia, also called grape holly, is an evergreen shrub that reaches around 4-8 feet wide. It’s often planted for privacy and in wildlife hedgerows. However, the purple berries are edible for humans, too, and make a delicious jelly.

I would plant Mahonia about 8 feet away from a property line, and 6 feet from each other to accommodate the maximum width.

Choose the Support Plants

Shrubs, herbs, flowers, and ground covers all make up the support species of your hedgerow.

One point often overlooked is planning the planting of the second tallest plants. In general, plant them slightly in front of, and staggered in between, your foundation plants.

For example, to plant hazelnut shrubs that are expected to reach 10 feet wide, I would plant them 13 feet away from the base of an apple tree, to allow space for harvesting.

Support plantings that face south or west receive more sunlight over time (in the northern hemisphere) than plants facing north or east. Choose appropriate plants for the sun exposure.

You may weave a walking path into the design so you can easily visit and maintain the area without stepping on plants or compacting soft garden soil.

Continue adding species according to diminishing height and width away from the property line.

For instance, red currant bushes are expected to reach 3-5 feet wide. Therefore, stagger them about 15-18 feet in front of hazelnuts.

Staghorn sumac berries provide a striking contrast in the landscape. These shrubs are usually found at the edge of a forest and can handle partial shade. They do well on riparian slopes, and are deer resistant. All red sumac berries are edible. In a hedgerow, the leaves turn a beautiful flaming red in the fall.

To create layers and depth, shade-tolerant herbaceous perennials can be planted underneath the trees and shrubs. You can also try growing mushrooms underneath an edible hedgerow.

Meanwhile, sun-loving wildflower seeds and clover can be sprinkled throughout a new hedgerow to grow until your plantings become established. This is an especially good way to create biodiversity and attract wildlife and beneficial insects to your new planting.

Start small: You don’t have to plant the entire hedgerow at once. In fact, planting it in sections or in layers—all tall trees first, or one length of fence at a time—keeps you from feeling overwhelmed.

Are you ready to learn more about using the power of plants to improve the biodiversity of your garden, reduce maintenance, and increase yield?

You’ll find loads of information just like this in my award-winning book, The Suburban Micro-Farm.

The Suburban Micro-Farm Book

When to Plant a Hedgerow

Hedgerows contain mostly perennial species, which are best planted in the cool seasons of spring or fall.

However, if you must plant during hot weather, select a cloudy day to reduce shock. Equally important, water and mulch well after planting to protect fragile young plants from the harsh sun.

What to Plant in a Hedgerow

The plants you choose will depend on the function and location of your planting. However, a mixed hedgerow that includes a variety of trees, shrubs, nitrogen fixing plants, herbs, and flowers often creates a healthier ecosystem.

To create a self-sustaining ecosystem, choose plants that perform more than one function.

For example, a holly bush can be a windbreak, privacy screen, and bird habitat. Yarrow attracts pollinators and beneficial insects, helps to break up clay soil and accumulates nutrients for fertilizer.

Below is a list of various plant species that do well in a hedgerow, but this isn’t an exhaustive list, and your hedgerow need not be limited to these suggestions.

There are many more plants beyond these suggestions. Therefore, you may need to do more research to find plants that are appropriate to your climate.

A serviceberry is in spring bloom.

*Plant a Fedge: A food hedge (a hedgerow made of edible species) can also referred to as a fedge. To that end, I’ve noted species below that have edible components with an asterisk.

Would you like to grow more food with less effort? Check out my mini guide, The Permaculture Inspired Vegetable Garden.

The Permaculture Inspired Vegetable Garden

Tall Windbreak Trees

  • Alder
  • Black Locust (This wood is often used for farm projects like building raised beds and fence posts.)  
  • Hackberry*
  • Oak*
  • Poplar
  • Walnut*

Evergreen Trees (for Privacy, Noise Reduction, Windbreak, and Wildlife)

  • Boxwoods
  • Holly Bushes
  • Junipers
  • Mahonia*
  • Yews

Edible Species (For Wildlife and Food Forests)*

Edible Understory TREES:

Consider dwarf or semi-dwarf for small hedgerows.

  • American persimmon (This perennial edible can grow in damp areas.)
  • Apple
  • Cherry (Here’s how I create fruit tree guilds for my cherry trees.)
  • Cornelian cherry
  • Crabapple
  • American Hawthorn
  • Hazelnut
  • Mulberry (I like to grow this dwarf mulberry variety.)
  • Pawpaw
  • Peach
  • Pear
  • Plum

Edible Understory BUSHES/SHRUBS:

  • Aronia (Learn how to grow this superfood berry.)
  • Blueberry
  • Currant
  • Elderberry (It’s one of many fruit crops that you can propagate for free from cuttings.)
  • Gooseberry
  • Goumi
  • Nanking cherry (It’s a great addition to the edible landscape.)
  • Rose
  • Serviceberry
  • Staghorn sumac

Have you thought of growing a jelly garden with wild and ornamental bushes and trees? Any of these edible trees and shrubs mentioned above, for example, would be an excellent addition to this type of themed hedgerow garden.

apple trees in orchard

This strip of apple trees could easily be turned into a hedgerow with underplantings of berry bushes and herbs, and a backdrop of evergreen shrubs.

Flowering Plants (For Beauty, Fragrance, Beneficial Insects & Pollinators)

Flowering Understory Trees & Bushes:

  • False Indigo
  • Flowering dogwood*
  • Lilac*
  • Maryland Senna
  • Red Osier dogwood
  • Witch Hazel*

Flowering Herbs for Sunny Edges :

  • Anise Hyssop*
  • Calendula* (Here are 7 reasons to grow this favorite herb.)
  • Clover*
  • Dandelion* 
  • Fennel*
  • Russian Comfrey (This herb is a popular powerhouse in the permaculture garden. Say that 10x fast!) 
  • Yarrow

Nitrogen Fixers

Nitrogen-fixing plants convert this essential nutrient from the air into a useable form in the soil. Therefore, they can benefit the plants around them.

In fact, it’s recommended that 50% of your plantings be nitrogen fixers.

So if you choose 3 fruit trees, 3 berry bushes, and 3 herbs, then consider interspersing an equal number of nitrogen fixers throughout the area. Here’s a nice list of nitrogen fixers.

Nitrogen-Fixing Trees:

  • Alder
  • Black Locust

Nitrogen-Fixing Shrubs:

  • False Indigo
  • Goumi* (It’s one of a few nitrogen-fixing berry bushes.)
  • Maryland Senna

Nitrogen-Fixing Herbs:

  • Crimson Clover*
  • Dutch White Clover*
  • Lead Plant
  • Round Headed Bush Clover
  • White Prairie Clover
  • Yellow Bush Lupine

Goumi is an excellent choice for a fedge, or food hedge. Beautiful with delicious berries, it fixes nitrogen in the soil, too.

Nutrient Accumulators (make nutrient-rich mulch)

  • Apple*
  • Black Locust
  • Clover*
  • Dandelion* (Clover and dandelion are two of my favorite weeds to actually let grow in the garden!)
  • Flowering Dogwood*
  • Lupine
  • Russian Comfrey
  • Walnut*
  • Yarrow

Plants for Wet & Erosion Prone Areas (Riparian zones)

  • Cattail*
  • Elderberry*
  • Flowering Dogwood*
  • Gooseberry*
  • Hazelnut*
  • Highbush cranberry*
  • Lilac*
  • Perennial Sunflower
  • Miscanthus grasses (native, non-spreading)
  • Pussy Willow
  • Staghorn Sumac*

Shade Tolerant Plants

  • Currant*
  • Elderberry* 
  • Flowering Dogwood*
  • Gooseberry*
  • Hazelnut*
  • Serviceberry*
  • Spicebush*
  • Staghorn Sumac*
  • Witch Hazel*
Elderberry

Here a flowering elderberry bush creates a nice hedgerow along a riparian zone. Elderberries also do well in partially shady areas.

Photo Credit: free photos Flickr

Deer Resistant Plants

Read: NOT Deer Proof. Protect while young.

Deer-Resistant Trees:

  • American holly
  • Birch
  • Buckeye
  • Mimosa
  • Pawpaw*
  • Pine*

Deer-Resistant Shrubs:

  • Barberry
  • Boxwood
  • Cypress
  • Holly bushes
  • Juniper
  • Leatherleaf Mahonia*
  • Red Elderberry
  • Staghorn Sumac*
  • Viburnum

Deer-Resistant Herbaceous Plantings*:

  • Anise hyssop
  • Calendula (annual)
  • California poppy (annual) (It’s also one of my favorite flowers to grow in the vegetable garden.)
  • Catmint
  • Daffodil (Can daffodils improve your soil?)
  • Fern
  • Lavender
  • Lemon balm
  • Marjoram
  • Oregano (Here are 6 reasons to grow oregano.)
  • Ramps (Growing and selling this perennial herb makes a great side hustle!)
  • Rosemary
  • Sage
  • Sweet alyssum (annual) (Combine this flower with Swiss chard for a winning edible landscape combo.)
  • Sweet woodruff
  • Tarragon
  • Thyme (Here are 6 reasons to grow thyme.)

Plant a medicinal garden in your hedgerow!

Fennel, lavender, and lemon balm are some of my favorite herbs for the medicine garden. However, there are many others to choose from.

Hedgerow Maintenance

Although perennial hedgerows can be lower maintenance than a vegetable garden, they do, in fact, require some maintenance in the first 1-4 years.

Sufficient watering is key, to be sure. Water your plants in dry periods, plant in a rain-harvesting swale, or install an irrigation system. Equally important, mulching helps to maintain control over the weeds.

Once the system is established at full size, the hedgerow should be a self-maintaining ecosystem that requires very little maintenance.

Additional Resources:

  • Planning an Edible Fedge, or Food Hedge
  • Suburban Hedgerows: Grow a Living Fence
  • Hedges and Hedgelaying: A Guide to Planting, Management and Conservation

What will you plant in your hedgerow?

READ NEXT:

  • Benefits of the Edible Forest Garden
  • Here’s a Quick Way to Terrace a Hill
  • How to Keep Herbicides out of your Compost Bin (even if you don’t spray)

Related Articles:

  • 10 Reasons to Plant a Hedgerow
  • 8 Reasons to Grow Perennial Sunflowers
  • How to Build a Permaculture Fruit Tree Guild
  • All About Aronia: Grow Your Own Superfood Berries
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Filed Under: Article Tagged With: Building Soil Fertility, Edible Landscaping, Growing Fruit Crops, Permaculture Gardening

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Comments

  1. Kami says

    March 26, 2015 at 10:52 pm

    Thank you so much Amy for such a nice and thorough part 2 to the hedgerow theme. I am inspired, and I have a better vision of what I will do on my property! I like the idea of using holly for evergreens as a backdrop, though I’ll have to find a variety that works for zone 4. I have a significant slope on my property line, which will will make privacy more difficult to achieve, but am also thinking of having a swale on contour, which I have never done. And the advice to start small or in stages or layers is reassuring. The idea of putting in a hedgerow seems very daunting otherwise, especially for someone who hasn’t planted a tree since gradeschool!

    Reply
    • Amy says

      March 27, 2015 at 9:13 am

      It sounds like you’re going about this project in the right way. No need to be in a hurry 🙂 We have always completed projects in our yard in stages, and it’s always worked out for the best because observations after each stage revealed things we hadn’t thought of initially, changing how we wanted to proceed.

      As far as your slope, it sounds like you will have to choose some of the taller shrubs to help with privacy.

      How very exciting for you! Good luck on your project and let us know how it goes!

      Reply
    • Greg says

      December 26, 2016 at 8:19 pm

      Wow , nicely said. My hedge started 25 years ago as a cut and layed over. I just cut into the trunks enough to lay them over at about 45 degrees .and intertangled the small branches. It’s now moose proof. Nothing was planted I just used what was growing there. Now it needs to be topped as it it shading the garden. It’s narrow about 2 meters thick , but interlocked. It’s on a natural berm about 3to4 meters tall , enough so moose and deer have to go around the garden no through.
      Narrow enough so fox and owls gan get to mice under it.

      Reply
      • Amy says

        January 8, 2017 at 3:53 pm

        This sounds like an excellent, low maintenance hedge!

        Reply
  2. Linda says

    June 1, 2015 at 2:55 pm

    Thanks for a great article. I’ve been working on establishing a small hedgerow by a portion of our sidewalk to replace the old fence. So far the most success I’ve had is with Nootka rose, snow berries, and high bush cranberries, all native to my area in the Pacific Northwest.

    Reply
    • Amy says

      June 2, 2015 at 9:30 am

      That sounds like a winning combination!

      Reply
  3. peggy says

    July 26, 2015 at 2:50 pm

    I’m sharing this article on my page. I wish I could just use your list of plants. I live in the high dessert and it’s hard finding plants that will thrive in the dry climate which burns everything up in the summer and freezes the survivors in the winter.

    Reply
    • Amy says

      July 26, 2015 at 7:14 pm

      The desert isn’t my area of expertise, but your best bet is to check with your local county extension office for your climate-appropriate edible perennials.

      Reply
  4. Kelly Curry says

    January 20, 2016 at 11:00 am

    Hi Amy!

    GREAT posts on hedgerows! I have a question…we’re in a new construction home (in Charlottesville, Va) and we have a fence 5′ in from our property line (HOA rule). We had Green Giant Arborvitae planted along the outside of the fence (for privacy) BEFORE I started reading about hedgerows. In hind sight, I would’ve done a hedgerow but since we already have the arborvitae my question is what do you think about adding blueberry shrubs, brambles, climbing roses, wildflowers and maybe a small serviceberry tree on the INSIDE of the fence to create a kind of hedgerow? Would that work? Also, what roses would you recommend?

    Thanks!
    Kelly

    Reply
    • Amy says

      January 22, 2016 at 4:15 pm

      Kelly,

      Planting arborvitaes for privacy is totally fine! Your HOA neighbors will probably appreciate a very neat-looking buffer. I think your idea of adding edibles for you and wildlife on the inside of the fence sounds fantastic. Just be sure to plan out little pathways throughout this hedgerow area so you can get to everything for harvesting and maintenance. I’m not super-knowledgeable about climbing rose varieties, so look for ones that specifically call out a large hip size.

      Great idea 🙂

      Reply
  5. Vivien G says

    January 6, 2018 at 11:32 am

    A very interesting article – I placed a link on my desktop so that I can keep referring to it.
    One question: you mentioned that your apple trees are far away enough from the property line to harvest, but later mentioned planting hazelnut shrubs only 7 1/2 ft away from the apples. How are you going to prune or pick the apples?
    I planted my “hedgerow” 4 years ago when we moved to a city lot from a farm because the neighbour’s are close! It’s only 80 ft long by about 30 ft deep, with a winding path. The previous owners had planted some spruce trees and we had two 20 ft trees planted so that we had a quick start. (We’re in our 70s – not a lot of time to wait for trees to grow!) I go walking in a nearby woodland to look at what grows there. Then found a local native plant nursery that sells the (native) trees and shrubs. The neighbours are already almost completely hidden in the summer, and it looks so nice! The one type of plant I am avoiding are thorny ones. I had lots of holly and roses on the farm, but now I’m done – they are beautiful but the length of time they bloom is not worth the high maintenance and wounds. (I live close to Niagara Fall, Canada, Carolinian zone)

    Reply
    • Amy says

      January 24, 2018 at 8:27 pm

      Yes, good point. The key is to only leave just enough room to get through. If you leave too much room, it’s no longer a hedgerow. In my example, I was using dwarf apple trees, so there’s more room to move.

      Reply
  6. Caryn says

    April 9, 2018 at 2:02 pm

    The Maximillian sunflower has edible rhizomes and the seeds can be used for oil, in addition to being a lovely flowering plant for a hedgerow.

    Reply
  7. Jennifer Montgomery says

    June 17, 2018 at 1:51 pm

    Thank you for the insight on this topic. I’ll be using some of your suggestions to create a (mainly) floral hedgerow. We live at 7000 feet and get about 30 feet of snow per year, so I’ll be looking to plant mainly root hardy perennials along with a few low and fast growing shrubs……

    Reply
    • Amy says

      June 25, 2018 at 1:33 pm

      Sounds like a plan!

      Reply
  8. Joni says

    May 13, 2019 at 9:48 pm

    Hi Amy,
    I want to plant a hedgerow to keep the local farm dogs off of our property, as well as keep young children and future livestock in. I’m having a hard time envisioning how I plant it thick enough for that purpose, while also leaving enough room to harvest. Should I plant a very dense line of mixed, inedible evergreens and thorny things on the property line and then just plant my edibles with access paths within that border?

    Reply
    • Amy says

      May 17, 2019 at 9:07 am

      In your situation, I’m not sure a hedgerow can replace the need for a physical fence. That’s because a hedgerow takes a long time to mature and fill out. Planting a hedgerow is definitely a long game. A fence with a hedgerow on the inside may be a more functional and economical solution. Hedgerow plants can get expensive, and the fence may not require you to plant as many layers all at once.

      Reply
  9. Joni says

    May 28, 2019 at 12:00 pm

    Thank you for your response. I’ve been giving the matter a lot of consideration. I am thinking of putting a fence up, then starting with a few hedge plants and propogating from them to slowly fill in all around the property line. I already have young willows in abundance that pop up on their own everywhere anyways and easily reroot. I really appreciate all the wonderful information you share. It has been very helpful to me in my homestead journey!

    Reply
    • Amy says

      May 28, 2019 at 3:10 pm

      That sounds like a great plan. Best wishes on your hedgerow and homesteading journey! 😀

      Reply
  10. Pamela White says

    October 14, 2019 at 10:11 am

    Excellent article and very helpful.
    I do have one negative comment. It has been found that the miscanthus senesis is quite self seeding. There are other well behaved grasses to consider: prairie grasses, some pennisetums and an ornamental grass called ‘karl foerster’.

    Reply
  11. Debbie says

    October 14, 2019 at 1:22 pm

    Hi! Loving your articles, thank you! Might you have any insights for plants along a narrow area on the outside of our fence? We’re on a corner residential lot next to a somewhat busy road. There’s about 18 inches….with a rock wall of about 4ft, down to about 8ft of city property (of overgrown shrubs, blackberries, and such. Looking for noise reduction yet adding to the quaint yard on the other side. Grateful for any insights!

    Reply
  12. Kayce says

    February 1, 2020 at 7:09 pm

    Such an excellent article and rich in resources. And such an important subject. Interfaces such as hedgerows and forest edges support more wildlife per square foot than either forest or meadow, and they serve so many functions.

    I am enjoying your 10 day class a lot as well. I need to study the materials more, and to help me along, I went and bought one of your books.

    In your writings, please consider writing about how to maintain hedles. I grapple with many invasive vines in our area, like poison ivy, wisteria, honeysuckle, kudzu and trumpet vine. They appear and soon they kill the tree or shrub they climb on. Also, the birds plant privet hedge and wax myrtle, which need to be constantly removed . The wax myrtle is a veritable torch.

    Thanks much.

    Reply
    • Amy says

      February 12, 2020 at 2:17 pm

      As mentioned above, it’s important to give your hedgerow some attention in the first 1-4 years. Weed them at least once per season, keep them hydrated, and mulch deeply. After that time period, one or two weeding sessions a year should do it. The key is to catch the aggressive weeds while they’re young. Unfortunately, there’s no secret trick for managing them after they’ve established themselves.

      Reply
  13. Rhonda says

    May 23, 2020 at 5:59 am

    You mention a deer fedge in your book: a hedge with food for deer on one side and food for humans on the other. I know deer eat practically anything, but what plants are most appropriate for the deer-side of the hedge?

    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Amy says

      June 1, 2020 at 2:48 pm

      The fedge concept is really great, but can take years to get going, as the deer will likely trample through a young hedge unless it is caged for at least a couple of years. In addition, the mature hedge should be several layers deep to really discourage the deer to stick to “their side”, so you have to be mindful of the space this strategy requires.

      Because of that, I think simple fencing is a good strategy. Fencing, with a deer hedge on the outside and a human hedge on the inside, eventually grows up and is barely visible but provides an extra deterrent and motivation for them to “stay on their side”.

      You’re right, deer are resilient and will love to eat anything that isn’t listed as “deer resistant”. Any fruit trees and berry bushes will be popular, as will hazelnut or filbert shrubs.

      Reply

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Amy StrossHi, I’m Amy!

I'm the author of
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