Hawthorn is a perennial shrub that is ideal for creating hedges. Many summer residents and gardeners strive to grow such a decorative natural fence. She has not only natural beauty, but also serves as a reliable barrier for uninvited guests, and also saves material resources. It is no secret that building materials that would have to be purchased to build a fence are not cheap. In addition, a hawthorn hedge will provide ecological cleanliness on your site.
Description of the hawthorn plant
The melliferous shrub culture belongs to the Rose family. The multi-stemmed hawthorn has the ability to grow in regions with almost any climate. It tolerates drought and frost well. The height of the shrub can reach eight meters. The culture lends itself well to haircuts, from it you can create a variety of sculptural forms and embody unusual artistic fantasies. The hawthorn hedge, thanks to the presence of thorns, protects the territory from unpleasant visitors.
On summer cottages and household plots, various types and varieties of hawthorn feel favorable: "Black", "Gladky ordinary", "Siberian", "Fan-shaped". In order to create a reliable and beautiful hedge out of hawthorn on your own, you need to go through three main stages: planting seedlings, formative pruning and care, including the obligatory decorative haircut.
Planting hawthorn seedlings
Selection of seedlings
In order for the hawthorn to take root well in a new place, it is necessary to purchase seedlings of three years old for planting. They easily adapt to new conditions compared to adult specimens. With regular pruning, you can achieve the desired result in the size and configuration of plants, as well as form the intended natural composition. With proper care, a hedge at the age of 20 will reach two meters in height.
Additional facilities
A fence made of hawthorn bushes will be dense if trellises are built between the seedlings, and planting is carried out in two rows or in a checkerboard pattern. Such a design will support the plants and promote their fusion with each other, which will make the hedge thick and, when growing, it will reach a width of about 1 m.However, it must be borne in mind that such dense thickets of shrubs are an excellent habitat for pests and pathogens. Therefore, it is advisable to grow young plants in such a way that the width of the hedge does not exceed seventy centimeters.
The soil
Hawthorn has no special requirements for the composition of the soil. It can grow both in heavy loamy areas and in areas with low nutrient soil.And yet, when planting seedlings, it is recommended to take care of a special soil mixture, which will have a beneficial effect on the growth and development of young crops and accelerate the process of getting used to a new habitat. The composition of such a mixture should include: turf and leaf land in equal amounts, peat and sand.
Planting process
When planting shrubs in one row - the width of the planting trench is 50 cm, and for two rows of seedlings a width of 1 m is required.The distance between the young bushes is 0.5 m.It is necessary to fill the prepared soil mixture into the trench and plant crops, leaving a hole around each seedling for retention of irrigation water and natural precipitation.
Watering
Watering should be carried out systematically, especially in the first year of the seedling's life in a new place. It is enough to water the plants once a week. The holes around the seedlings (which will retain water) will provide the hawthorn with the necessary moisture, which is very important for the development and survival of the root system.
Top dressing and fertilizers
The first feeding of plants is carried out only the next year. Fertilizers with nitrogen content are ideal. In summer, a mixture of superphosphate, potassium salt and ammonium sulfate is recommended as a second feeding.
Soil care
The area near the hawthorn plantations must be regularly loosened and freed from the emerging weeds, and in autumn it must be dug up completely along the seedlings.
Trimming and shaping hedges
Three years after planting, a formative pruning is recommended on the seedling site. Young shrubs must be cut off completely, leaving only small hemp. During this time, the trunk reaches about 1.5-2 cm in diameter. This procedure is necessary for the start of active tillering of plants. Instead of a trimmed trunk, many young shoots will appear during the year, which will begin to form a dense crown and become the basis of a hedge in the future. The optimal time for pruning is April-May.
After a year, it is recommended to carry out the first shearing of young branches that extend beyond the main part of the shrub. This procedure is carried out throughout the growing season. Use pruning shears or regular garden shears as tools. First of all, you need to cut off those branches that significantly protrude beyond the crown, and then the entire bush is trimmed as a whole.
With regular shearing, the shrub after a certain time will reach the desired size - about 60-70 cm in width and about 1.5 m in height. From this point on, systematic pruning should be carried out at the same height, saving the plant from young branches overgrowing the required limits. By the way, hawthorn bushes with constant pruning will not bloom and bear fruit.
With a great desire, creative imagination and imagination from the hedge, you can create unusual single forms and whole compositions. These can be various geometric shapes (rounded or pointed), and with a lot of talent, you can make sculptures of animals and people.
Hedge care rules
Fertilization
Top dressing must be applied in spring, summer and autumn. In the first three years after planting, a mixture of humus, peat and compost is introduced into the soil in equal proportions. Usually a bucket of such a mixture is enough for 1 square meter of land. Mineral fertilizers are rarely applied and in small quantities in granular form.
After the crops reach the age of three, the fertilization scheme changes slightly. In the autumn, before digging up the land and in the spring, before loosening the soil, it is necessary to apply organic fertilizers. To do this, mix in equal parts humus, compost and peat. Also in the spring months, the bushes are fed with nitrogen-containing preparations, and in the summer (about mid-July) - with phosphorus-potassium preparations.
Pruning
Pruning should be done regularly throughout the growing season. In the middle of summer, the last pruning is done. The optimal cut sizes of shoots are 30-50% of the total length.
Watering rules
For irrigation, you need to use only warm water and bring it into the soil only in the root space. The area of soil around the trunk should be constantly moist, as the hawthorn loves water very much. It is recommended to irrigate regularly in the evening.
Soil care
It consists in frequent loosening of the soil, timely weeding and mulching. In order for young crops not to become bare over time in the lower part of the shrub, it is necessary to create favorable conditions for them. The full and active development of hawthorn is possible only with nutritious soil, sufficient lighting, proper watering and timely haircut.
Benefits of a hawthorn hedge
- The decorativeness of crops with their natural natural attractiveness fits perfectly into any garden infrastructure. In combination with other plants, the hedge looks harmonious and creates a wonderful overall background.
- The mature hawthorn has very strong wood and strong tough branches. Tall shrubs with a lush dense crown and sharp multiple thorns become a serious obstacle for animals and people. This natural defense is essential to prevent unpleasant intrusion.
- The hedgerow becomes a habitat for birds that delight the ear with their pleasant singing or chirping. It protects the backyard from the exhaust gases of passing cars and serves as a kind of noise insulation.
- This environmentally friendly structure looks aesthetically pleasing and attractive, cleans the air space over a large area, and protects from dust.
- A hawthorn hedge requires minimal financial investments, which are necessary for the purchase of planting material, special fertilizing and for the construction of trellises. In contrast to the construction of a stone or wooden fence around a personal plot, the material costs for a hedge are very small.
- Such a natural building, with proper care, is durable and always relevant. She will not be able to age or go out of fashion. With good maintenance, hawthorn bushes can fully develop in the same area for tens and even hundreds of years.
It will take a little skill, persistence, time and, of course, patience to create an environmentally friendly and beautiful natural hawthorn fence.
