Hedges were originally used as boundary features to delineate ownership or keep livestock enclosed. As our scrubland has disappeared, and the countryside has become ‘neater’, hedges have become a vital source of shelter and food for a huge array of wildlife.  

Where agriculture is dominant, we need to understand that the whole suite of natural processes may not be able to play out without our intervention, so hedge management is vital to keep this scrubby habitat.  

With the right care, a hedge can carry the berries of hawthorn (haws), rosehips and blackberries, whilst supplying nectar-rich flowers in spring and nesting sites in summer. However, if cut too regularly and at the wrong times, their benefit to wildlife can be hugely reduced. 

Here are our top tips for hedge management this winter:

1. Speak with your contractor to create a cutting plan for your farm, cut hedges across the farm in rotation so there is always a hedge with second year wood growth needed for fruiting. 

2. Cut higher and wider each year, this will prevent a knuckle of scar tissue growing and encourage more lateral growth at growing tips for a healthier bushier hedge. 

3. Identify any struggling hedges, they may need coppicing to provide a re-set, talk to one of our team for more information on this. 

4. Identify area for new hedgerows or for ‘gapping up’ now is the time to plant new whips. 

To find out more about what to grow where, talk to our Wild About Gardens team by emailing maureen.rainey@kentwildlife.org.uk