Something to plant in pheasant pen

[ColinF]

Ashridge Trees do a mixed pack of bare rooted plants designed for game cover, which work out at less than £2 per plant.

 

http://www.ashridgetrees.co.uk/Nature-Mix

 

If you just want laurel, there is a seller on ebay doing 25 potted plants for £43.75

[Ferretboy111]

We get ours from abroad- 1000's of them.

 

I plant laurels, snowberry, shrubby honeysuckle, blackthorn, hawthorn, dogwood, hazel to name a few.

 

Laurels you can plant anywhere even in the deepest shade but not in waterlogged areas, the others do best with a lot of sun light but do grow in partial shade. I tend to plant the laurels under the canopy in key areas and the others in the patches of light created from recent felling.

 

Unfortunately most native shrub are too difficult to establish, expensive and take too long to grow to be worthwhile- ie: box, yew, holly - I've tried to plant all 3 but they take too much effort and risk. Native privet is fairly good though and tends to fold over to create a low canopy.

 

The best and cheapest method is to just thin the canopy in key areas- pile up the brash in the clearing and watch the brambles rise up and fill the gap. Or lay the trees if they are young enough and let them shoot new growth northwards and get covered in brambles.

 

Good luck

[subsonicnat]

Put two or 3 long poles about 3ft high in-line, then poles across the top, or use very thick string:

Use CUT conifers with the branches hanging down, cut at the top, over the poles or string:

These will last for a good while, if they die off a bit, cut some more. worked well when I was helping the keeper, they can hide and keep out the cold wind: When they are out the pheasants <<<: Burn them and lime out the pen: make the feeder lean-to near the cover, they will love it, and you:

[Paul223]

We get ours from abroad- 1000's of them.

 

 

where from if you don't mind me asking

[Ferretboy111]

We get them from a variety of suppliers based mainly in France, Poland and Spain in lorry loads.

 

Our UK based supplier sorts it out for us.

 

Cheers

[screwie]

If you could supply a name contact number that would be helpful via pm if you would rather as I'm interested in this also

 

Cheers

 

Lewis

[pond digger 007]

We get ours from abroad- 1000's of them.

 

I plant laurels, snowberry, shrubby honeysuckle, blackthorn, hawthorn, dogwood, hazel to name a few.

 

Laurels you can plant anywhere even in the deepest shade but not in waterlogged areas, the others do best with a lot of sun light but do grow in partial shade. I tend to plant the laurels under the canopy in key areas and the others in the patches of light created from recent felling.

 

Unfortunately most native shrub are too difficult to establish, expensive and take too long to grow to be worthwhile- ie: box, yew, holly - I've tried to plant all 3 but they take too much effort and risk. Native privet is fairly good though and tends to fold over to create a low canopy.

 

The best and cheapest method is to just thin the canopy in key areas- pile up the brash in the clearing and watch the brambles rise up and fill the gap. Or lay the trees if they are young enough and let them shoot new growth northwards and get covered in brambles.

 

Good luck

 

I certainly would avoid blackthorn it suckers and can go rampant. Yes holly is slow to get going but plant a few anyway along with the faster stuff, they are worthwhile. Only plant small pot grown plants, bare rooted plants are not easy.

[pond digger 007]

 

Oh dear, that went wrong me thinks.

 

Anyway, I would avoid blackthorn , it suckers like mad and can go rampant. Holly is slow but well worth the effort, so plant some along with the faster stuff. Choose small pot grown plants, bare roots are not easy.

[scotslad]

I don't want to p*** on anyone's chips, but u really should be buying ur trees/shrubs from the uk, i realise it will cost u a bit more but that is the reason we have all these new tree diseases coming over from the continent.

Ur doing a good job improving uk's woods but u should mibee go that extra bit further and support local nusreries

[Reece]

Holly can add some evergreen cover, it's slow to get going but is tough. It's also a native unlike laurel.

 

Laurel isn't invasive like Rhododendron and can be purchased cheaply, pot grown. Buy small bushy plants 1-2ft tall for good establishment. Pot grown can be planted any time but late spring is best however soil conditions should dictate exactly when.

 

Avoid rhododendron at all costs. They are invasive and do terrible damage to woodland if they spread. I believe you can even get grants to remove them.

 

We get them from a variety of suppliers based mainly in France, Poland and Spain in lorry loads.

 

Our UK based supplier sorts it out for us.

 

Cheers

 

You should really aim to get them from the UK. Imports are why we have new diseases like ash dieback. Whatever benefits imports may give, it simply isn't worh it.

[wannabe_keeper]

Shouldnt really go too far wrong with Laurel of some sort...

[hillmouse]

I can second the choice of Laurels, They work very well and can be layered as above and also grow well from cuttings off established plants. take them about an inch or so below the green growth of the current season and last years reddish brown wood, half the leaves, dip in rooting compound and line then in a trench of 50% sand, 50% peat and keep watered. take the cuttings in september ideally, but anytime will give some success.

Lonicera Nitida, shrub honeysuckle grows well too, fairly rabbit resistant and takes very readily from cuttings and will layer readily too.

 

I found these two to be the best species and once you have made the intital investment you can propogate lots of them from your own plants for evermore.

 

Dogwoods and willows grow incredibly well from cuttings simply pushed in to moist ground too. You could cut hundreds in 15 minutes off an established plant. Still time to get on to it this season. Not brilliant cover until they thicken up but once established regulare trimming provides more cuttings and the regrowth gets bushier and bushier. Hares and deer do love both species though.

[Kes]

RG one of the pheasants most enjpyable treats are the berries from sea buckthorn - if you can get some of that to grow it will attract pheasants wherever you plant it. - not much leaf though and very thorny - google it and see if you can get a few bushes for a trial area.

[pond digger 007]

RG one of the pheasants most enjpyable treats are the berries from sea buckthorn - if you can get some of that to grow it will attract pheasants wherever you plant it. - not much leaf though and very thorny - google it and see if you can get a few bushes for a trial area.

 

That's interesting. The Sea Buckthorn that I know of holds berries forever, I thought birds weren't keen on them.

[Reece]

I would go for native species if you can, as they have a place in the countryside and are beneficial for other wildlife. Things like laurel should be avoided of possible. They block out a lot of light and prevent ground flora from growing, and are not really beneficial for wildlife.

 

Perhaps you could write in to a shooting magazine and ask which native species are good as game cover?

Edited February 15, 2013 by Reece

[micky1987]

Hi,

 

What's good to plant in your pheasants pens? Will be liming them soon then looking to plant something in there to grow for when poults come in August. Will need to be hardy.

 

Reggiegun