Content
- Planting and cultivating field maple hedge - That's how it works
- Autumn planting scores with benefits
- Site selection is subject to minimal restrictions
- Plant field maple hedge - How to do it right
- Avoid the 3 most common mistakes when planting - you should pay attention to this
- Uncomplicated care - cutting is the be all and end
- Tips
Field maple is ideal as a hedge plant
Planting and cultivating field maple hedge - That's how it works
Since his election to the Tree of the Year in 2019 drew attention to the field maple, the career of the little brother of mountain and Norway maple has picked up speed. The robust all-rounder has everything to offer, what hobby gardeners want from the perfect hedge plant. This guide guides you step by step through the proper planting and care of a field maple hedge.
Autumn planting scores with benefits
An elongated hedge or property enclosure requires the purchase of numerous field maple shrubs, combined with a correspondingly high cost. Sparfüchse invest in inexpensive, substrate-free root goods. This growth form is planted between October and April, as long as it does not freeze. In addition to the cost savings, amateur gardeners with limited spare time appreciate that the planting can be done outside the main season.
Bale and container goods have much higher prices, because they can be planted all year round - even in summer time - in the ground. Of course, anyone who decides to plant under the influence of the Kaiserwetter often underestimates the high need for casting in the middle of the high season. So it is not uncommon for the costly field maple hedge to languish as a result of drought stress.
Site selection is subject to minimal restrictions
Feldahorn already lives up to its reputation as a robust all-rounder in the choice of location. The list of unsuitable conditions is much shorter than the catalog of suitable site conditions. Only in full shade, in sour peat, and under the influence of permanent waterlogging make Acer campestre limp.
Its optimum achieves a field maple hedge in the sunny to partially shaded location in any normal garden soil, which may be chalky. Under these ideal conditions, the hedge reaches the desired height within a short time for reliable privacy.
Plant field maple hedge - How to do it right
First, mark the planned course of the hedge with a planting line. Lay out the young plants along the line at the correct planting distance. For root crops, pick up a continuous plant trench. For container or bale goods with a planting distance of 30 cm, individual pits with twice the volume of the root ball suffice. How to proceed expertly step by step:
Tight the earth and pour generously. Then spread a layer of leaves or bark mulch, which serves as a frost and moisture protection in a planting before the winter. Finally, cut all shoots back by at least a third to make up for the lost root mass.
Avoid the 3 most common mistakes when planting - you should pay attention to this
If, after planting a field maple hedge, there are complaints about growth problems, the following 3 beginner mistakes are behind the problems:
As part of the harvest in the nursery root and bales a large proportion of root mass is lost. Accordingly, the supply of the shoots reduced with water and nutrients. If there is no compensation through an adequate pruning, growth problems of the field maple hedge are inevitable. The removal of the bale cloths causes similar difficulties.
Modern drip irrigation does not do justice to the high water requirement of a field maple hedge after planting. The young shrubs can only root vigorously if they are abundantly and generously watered. This is not only true for the planting day itself, but is of essential relevance for the following weeks.
Uncomplicated care - cutting is the be all and end
If you follow these recommendations for proper planting, the care of your field maple hedge will be reduced to a minimum in the following years. Heavily rooted Maßholder shrubs only require irrigation water in the summer. The nutrient supply is limited to a single dose of compost with comfrey in autumn or spring.
The focal point in the care program is pruning. The rapid growth in the early years requires you to reach for the scissors at least on two dates so that your field maple hedge retains a well-groomed appearance. Cut the hedge during the fall in the autumn or late winter and clear out the deadwood. The best time for a light care cut is just after the St. John's day. To protect breeding birds, the pruning in the summer is limited to the regrown shoot tips.
Tips
Numerous classics among the hedgerows are not suitable as fencing and privacy for the family garden. Thuja, yew or privet contain toxic substances that are harmful to children and pets. Not so the native field maple. In contrast to the majority of its conspecifics, Acer campestre dispenses with toxic ingredients.