The municipality of Wageningen is planning to restore the hawthorn hedge. This plan was recently drawn up in consultation between residents of Groen Kortenoord and municipal officials (October 2020).
The hawthorn hedge adjacent to Tuinwijk in Kortenoord is an old hedge. It is desirable to maintain this hedge as well as possible. Because many of the trees (ash) are dying due to ash branch dieback and because there are several holes in the planting, many residents of Kortenoord want the hedge to be restored.
What are we going to do
The tricky thing with the old hedge is that hawthorn cannot be planted again, because hawthorn is susceptible to the disease fire blight that can threaten fruit cultivation. This has been imposed by national legislation. Fortunately, there are alternatives where we opt for, among others, blackthorn (Prunus spinoza). Another difficulty is that in order to do a good recovery it is necessary to clean the soil. Sometimes a healthy shrub will have to be removed to get the bigger picture better. However, a conservative approach has been taken with various local residents. A good example of this is that although many trees are dying, we opt for planting instead of cutting away where possible. Standing dead wood still has natural value. Work 2 trees will be felled shortly because they already came out of an inspection as unsustainable. An environmental permit application is made for 14 other trees (1 small oak does not require a permit). With 4 trees it is about felling and with 10 trees about standing. We replant 2 nut trees and 3 alder trees. We consciously do not plant any more trees because the main goal here is a shrub planting of native shrubs (too many trees would hinder this). We include the ditch in the annual mowing work (to prevent the blackberries from advancing further and to ensure that the water can drain properly). A first cleaning action has recently been done for this. We replant a number of blocks (the pink boxes on the enclosed card), this will be done with a mix of native shrubs.
Planning
The trees are currently the obstructing factor because they require a permit. An environmental permit has been submitted but people are allowed to object. As a result, only an indication of execution time can be given. An application usually takes at least 3 months to complete. On this basis, the work can be carried out in 2021 in mid-February-March. If there is an objection, implementation will no longer be possible this season (final planting date is in March).
Detail information
Trees
5st. safety pruning (mainly remove dead wood and remove any overhanging arm at the poplar). 5st. harvest trees (4 ash and a small oak) 10 pcs. planting on a stem (ash with ash branch mortality)
2st. nut trees (Juglans regia) plants (size 16-18), 3pcs. alder (Alnus glutinosa) plants (size 16-18) Planting (pink boxes)
Removal of old planting, tillage and planting 250 pcs.
Mix of:
o yellow cornoelje (Cornus mas) 20%;
o Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus) 10% (plant on the outer edges);
o holly rose (Rosa canina) 20%;
o blackthorn (Prunus Spinoza) 40% (mainly in the line of the old hawthorn hedge);
o common hazel (Corylus avellana) 10% (especially in the middle core).
Group planting (min. 5 pcs.) Planting distance approximately 1.5×1.5m
Location card see Locatiekaartje Herstel meidoornhaag
