Suggestions for hedging shrubs please

[amandaj57]

I have decided on a project that is probably going to take a few years to see through to completion. I live on a smallholding but no longer keep any animals bigger than ducks & hens (ignoring the daft boxer) and just let the farmer next door graze his sheep occasionally to keep the grass down. I have decided to plant flowering shrubs all round the boundaries of every field, alongside the drystone walls, as a sort of hedge, totaling about 2km (more if I do both sides of the internal walls). I am going to start with about 100m, this winter and obviously I will need to sheep net it to protect them. I am doing this because we are in the 'green desert' situation with miles of open spaces and little good forage. The neighbours already think I am mad as I am the only person locally with thousands and thousands of crocuses planted in their grazing fields (1-2000 a year put in for the last 15 years) so this will just cement my reputation!

So far I have decided on Ceanothus, Buddleja, Cotoneaster (not decided on a variety though) and Flowering Currant as the ones I already have are always swamped with honey bees but a lot of my other shrubs only really attract Bumblebees and pretty much get ignored by my girls.

I would really appreciate suggestions for really good bee shrubs as this is not going to be a cheap project and I want to get it right. They need to be relatively hardy as we are at reasonably high above sea level.

I have had a look through other posts but there seems to be more about plants than shrubs.

If anyone knows any decently priced nurseries that will supply by post, that would also be appreciated. I am hoping to get some propagation done in the next couple of years but that has never been a strong point!

 

[Curly green finger's]

Gorse,


Cotoneaster franchetti.


Not a shrub but the bees love them.
Viburnum various varieties that are shrubs.
Privet
I'll have more of a think and go through some more shrub lists that I've seen bees on and are Hardy enough.
I hope this helps

I could suggest nurseries but they are probably to far away from Derbyshire.
You could also go for climbers as you have a wall to attach wires etc.?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hawthorn.
I have Alder Buckthorn which are bushy small trees. They are in bloom from April to October ( bearing fruit and flowers at the same time) and are busy with bees at every opportunity. The leaves are the food plant for the Brimstone butterfly and the black berries feed autumn migrant birds.
If you’re being fancy you could always stick a few Mahonia in

 

[ericbeaumont]

As you're in a rural area I'd stick with mixed native hedging (plenty of online bare-root suppliers until March) and chuck in a few extras such as Dani's Alder Buckthorn. Privet is an excellent forage plant and grows into a smallish tree if left. Avoid Cotoneaster horizontalis and a few others listed here as they're regarded as invasive species under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.

Buy the best book on the subject - Plants for Bees by Kirk & Howes - which will give you time to plan to plant next autumn. Sure, you can plant in spring but autumn planting allows them to get their feet down over winter and withstand summer drought better.

 

[victor meldrew]

Hawthorn.
I have Alder Buckthorn which are bushy small trees. They are in bloom from April to October ( bearing fruit and flowers at the same time) and are busy with bees at every opportunity. The leaves are the food plant for the Brimstone butterfly and the black berries feed autumn migrant birds.
If you’re being fancy you could always stick a few Mahonia in

I have Mahonia but not in my hedge, ( which is mainly Hornbeam with the odd migrant , )they aren’t entirely frost proof . They usually recover however !

 

[Goran]

When I was reading.. I remember two shrubs or close to it description.. But both are hell of invasive species.. Bees adore them, one of them is significant forage where beeks also gather huge amount of pollen.. If You plant them, I think not only your neighbors will remember You, might whole UK if these plants are not already there.
False indigo-bush and Japanese knotweed
One beek here asked will be good to plant Japanese knotweed, I respond him - sure if You wanna play Sandokan ( trying to depict him what jungle he will bring to himself..).

 

[amandaj57]

When I was reading.. I remember two shrubs or close to it description.. But both are hell of invasive species.. Bees adore them, one of them is significant forage where beeks also gather huge amount of pollen.. If You plant them, I think not only your neighbors will remember You, might whole UK if these plants are not already there.
False indigo-bush and Japanese knotweed
One beek here asked will be good to plant Japanese knotweed, I respond him - sure if You wanna play Sandokan ( trying to depict him what jungle he will bring to himself..).

Japanese knotweed is definitely a problem in the UK but don't think I'd want any of that! I didn't even realise it was good for bees.
My nearest neighbours live over a quarter of a mile away so the jungle would have to be pretty bad before it got to them but I still don't think I'd risk it.
False indigo is not one I am familiar with but our other 'problem plant' is Himilayan Balsam which I had a load of in the back fields until Peak Park got a load of volunteers to go throughout the area ripping it all up. Barely a Balsam to be seen now!

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I have decided on a project that is probably going to take a few years to see through to completion. I live on a smallholding but no longer keep any animals bigger than ducks & hens (ignoring the daft boxer) and just let the farmer next door graze his sheep occasionally to keep the grass down. I have decided to plant flowering shrubs all round the boundaries of every field, alongside the drystone walls, as a sort of hedge, totaling about 2km (more if I do both sides of the internal walls). I am going to start with about 100m, this winter and obviously I will need to sheep net it to protect them. I am doing this because we are in the 'green desert' situation with miles of open spaces and little good forage. The neighbours already think I am mad as I am the only person locally with thousands and thousands of crocuses planted in their grazing fields (1-2000 a year put in for the last 15 years) so this will just cement my reputation!

So far I have decided on Ceanothus, Buddleja, Cotoneaster (not decided on a variety though) and Flowering Currant as the ones I already have are always swamped with honey bees but a lot of my other shrubs only really attract Bumblebees and pretty much get ignored by my girls.

I would really appreciate suggestions for really good bee shrubs as this is not going to be a cheap project and I want to get it right. They need to be relatively hardy as we are at reasonably high above sea level.

I have had a look through other posts but there seems to be more about plants than shrubs.

If anyone knows any decently priced nurseries that will supply by post, that would also be appreciated. I am hoping to get some propagation done in the next couple of years but that has never been a strong point!

Just a word of caution. Some things are toxic to livestock so it's worth checking before investing.

 

[pargyle]

Japanese knotweed is definitely a problem in the UK but don't think I'd want any of that! I didn't even realise it was good for bees.
My nearest neighbours live over a quarter of a mile away so the jungle would have to be pretty bad before it got to them but I still don't think I'd risk it.

Don't even think about Japanese Knotweed ... It's illegal to plant it in the UK and it is even illegal to allow it to spread onto another property:

https://www.knotweedhelp.com/japanese-knotweed-law-legal-advice-guidelines/

 

[amandaj57]

Don't even think about Japanese Knotweed ... It's illegal to plant it in the UK and it is even illegal to allow it to spread onto another property:

https://www.knotweedhelp.com/japanese-knotweed-law-legal-advice-guidelines/

Don't worry, I wasn't. I am well aware of the problems it causes and that it is illegal to propagate etc. It's not something we currently have in the valley and I certainly won't be the one to introduce it.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Japanese knotweed is definitely a problem in the UK but don't think I'd want any of that! I didn't even realise it was good for bees.



is Himilayan Balsam which I had a load of in the back fields until Peak Park got a load of volunteers to go throughout the area ripping it all up. Barely a Balsam to be seen now!

JK gives red honey and cows love to eat HB
Somebody else has mentioned it but the hedge nurseries are all well stocked with cheap, bare root hedging plants so it's a good time to stock up. You can heel them in till you are ready to plant them

 

[Erichalfbee]

Gorse,


Cotoneaster franchetti.

I have these and the only pollinators I see on them are wasps, strangely.

 

[elainemary]

Based on observation of hedging plants in my garden / small holding:
Cotoneaster
Berberis
Rosa rugosa
Wild cherry
Escallonia
Privet (supposed to have a bitter taste in honey but if in mixed hedging never found a problem)

Other good shrubs / small trees
Viburnum tinnus ‘Eve Price’
Holly
Crab apple
Willow
Flowering cornus (dogwood)
Pyracantha
Skimmia

Pics of bees on broom and Berberis below
We’ve planted hedging plants around our small holding, worth looking into any local schemes which offer help eg where I live ‘Tree responsibility’, a charity, have planted hundreds of trees and native hedging on smallholders land. If you have any fields wildflower meadows are a joy too.

Good luck!
Elaine

 

[E&MBees]

The Woodland Trust is a good resource too and they also sell bare root hedging plants.

 

[Goran]

I don't know for your flowering dogwood.. But our wild dogwood, if winter allow offer nectar and pollen to bees. Not rarely it passes unused due to cold weather. But if weather behave, You can feel the joy and excitement of bees when bringing to hives every drop of its nectar. Of shrubs I forgot to mention, we have on our property aronia - which is well attended by the bees. Good things of dogwood and aronia later on You can make extremely healthy marmelades, juices, fruit syrups, dry for tea, etc.. We don't spray or fertilize dogwood and aronia, somewhat they grow wild, just trimming grass and occasionally around aronias little weeding in shrub..

 

[Moobee]

Eleagnus - tough as old boots (we live on the coast and it thrives), grows at a good rate, birds love nesting in it and has amazing smelling small flowers that my girls were all over in the autumn.

 

[Arfermo]

I have decided on a project that is probably going to take a few years to see through to completion. I live on a smallholding but no longer keep any animals bigger than ducks & hens (ignoring the daft boxer) and just let the farmer next door graze his sheep occasionally to keep the grass down. I have decided to plant flowering shrubs all round the boundaries of every field, alongside the drystone walls, as a sort of hedge, totaling about 2km (more if I do both sides of the internal walls). I am going to start with about 100m, this winter and obviously I will need to sheep net it to protect them. I am doing this because we are in the 'green desert' situation with miles of open spaces and little good forage. The neighbours already think I am mad as I am the only person locally with thousands and thousands of crocuses planted in their grazing fields (1-2000 a year put in for the last 15 years) so this will just cement my reputation!

So far I have decided on Ceanothus, Buddleja, Cotoneaster (not decided on a variety though) and Flowering Currant as the ones I already have are always swamped with honey bees but a lot of my other shrubs only really attract Bumblebees and pretty much get ignored by my girls.

I would really appreciate suggestions for really good bee shrubs as this is not going to be a cheap project and I want to get it right. They need to be relatively hardy as we are at reasonably high above sea level.

I have had a look through other posts but there seems to be more about plants than shrubs.

If anyone knows any decently priced nurseries that will supply by post, that would also be appreciated. I am hoping to get some propagation done in the next couple of years but that has never been a strong point!

I have Pyracantha and cotoneaster both of which get plastered in woolly aphid with the branches getting very lumpy calouses and out of shape because of it if left untreated for just a short time. I treat with my pressure sprayer and soapy water for the few shrubs I have - for something like your project you will have a much bigger problem if you go down that road maybe.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The Woodland Trust is a good resource too and they also sell bare root hedging plants.

and do packages at reduced prices

 

[amandaj57]

I have ceanothus and cotoneaster which get plastered in woolly aphid with the branches getting very caloused and out of shape because of it if left untreated. I treat with my pressure sprayer and soapy water for the few shrubs I have - for something like your project you will have a much bigger problem.

I hadn't thought of that. So far I haven't had any issues with the Ceanothus or cotoneaster I already have but it may be because there is little to attract them here at the moment. That could change when I put more in, I suppose it'll have to be a try them and change species if I find it is a problem in later additions. I am hoping to find potential problems and pitfalls with the shorter 100m section.

 

[Arfermo]

I hadn't thought of that. So far I haven't had any issues with the Ceanothus or cotoneaster I already have but it may be because there is little to attract them here at the moment. That could change when I put more in, I suppose it'll have to be a try them and change species if I find it is a problem in later additions. I am hoping to find potential problems and pitfalls with the shorter 100m section.

I have edited my earlier post - not Ceanothus.