The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Smallholding => Land Management => Topic started by: VEG on April 19, 2014, 06:49:53 pm

Title: Pollinator friendly trees
Post by: VEG on April 19, 2014, 06:49:53 pm
Spent the last 2 days planting 420 pollinator friendly trees/hedging plants, my bees should have plenty of choice next year. I had these through the woodland trust, cheviot trees were the supplier they were very good quality. I have no connection with them.
Title: Re: Pollinator friendly trees
Post by: Fleecewife on April 19, 2014, 11:48:42 pm
Did you include willows?  At this time of year the bumble bees use them as a very important food source.  There are so many varieties that you get a good succession  :tree:

What other trees did you get in your mix?
Title: Re: Pollinator friendly trees
Post by: spandit on April 20, 2014, 02:17:28 am
420 trees in 2 days is good going! What species did you plant?
Title: Re: Pollinator friendly trees
Post by: VEG on April 20, 2014, 04:19:21 pm
Hazel, hawthorn, blackthorn, rowan, dog rose and crab apple. I swapped the willow for more haw+black thorn as there is all ready a lot of willow around.
Title: Re: Pollinator friendly trees
Post by: spandit on April 20, 2014, 04:26:43 pm
I refused to pay for willow too as it's so easy to propagate and had a source of osier and grey willow.

Wish I'd planted more rowan now but have found quite a few I didn't know I had in the hedgerows. They offered me dog rose but I've always thought of it as a climbing hedgerow plant rather than a tree
Title: Re: Pollinator friendly trees
Post by: VEG on April 20, 2014, 04:33:12 pm
yeah the dog rose is a climber but will add to the diversity of the hedge.
Title: Re: Pollinator friendly trees
Post by: spandit on April 20, 2014, 05:12:34 pm
I'll gather some hips later this year from a dog rose I know of (and own, just not here!) and see if I can propagate it