Horse friendly hedging plants are suitable for all soil types in full sun or partial shade. When you may want to consider protecting your new hedge – firstly from rabbits with some of our spiral tree guards (and 4ft bamboo canes to keep them firm). And (telling you something you already know probably) something to keep the horses away while the hedge establishes as they are very inquisitive and love a nibble on something new! We would recommend a temporary fence or electric tapes at 2 metres distance away from the plants

Our Horse Friendly Hedging Mix is made up from the following species

50% Quickthorn (Hawthorn) – Crataegus monogyna. Needed in quantity to knit the hedge together and make it stockproof.

50% selected from the following (minimum of 5 species on small orders, larger orders will contain most or all the species below)

Common Dogwood – Cornus sanguinea

Dog Rose – Rosa canina

Guelder Rose – Viburnum opulus

Hazel – Corylus avellana

Hornbeam – Carpinus betulus

Red Rugosa Rose – Rosa rugosa Rubra

White Rugosa Rose – Rosa rugosa Alba

How many plants do i need?

The number of plants needed is a matter of choice, as a rule the more plants you use the quicker the hedge will develop and it will become stockproof more quickly. (within 5 years or so). Here are some guidelines:

Single Row

When planting a new horse friendly hedge, we recommend using 3 plants per metre for a single row hedge (setting each plant 13inches/33cm apart).

Double Row

For a thicker double row hedge, use 5 plants per metre (setting the plants 40cm apart in each row with 40cm between the 2 rows).

Extra Thick hedging

For an extra thick and dense hedge that may be achieved more quickly, use 7 plants per metre in a double row (setting each plant 11inches/28cm apart in each row with 40cm between the 2 rows).

When planting we recommend adding a sparing amount of bone meal to the soil, Rootgrow is also very effective for speeding up establishment. If you have a good supply of horse manure – this can be used provided it is well rotted and crumbly (from the back of the pile probably), mix it in well and don’t use too much, and don’t use fresh manure as its likely to scorch the plants.

We have a useful how to plant a hedge page on the website with lots of tips on getting the best from your plants. We also send a printed copy in with your plants so you have it to hand.

Like our other hedgerow mixes, Horse Friendly Hedging is best trimmed from August onwards when nesting birds have fledged. With any luck you may be able to persuade a neighbouring farmer to trim it back with his flail hedge trimmer, much easier if the hedge is a long one and just as good as cutting by hand.

If you have any other questions about our Horse Friendly Hedging Plants please do drop us an email, or call our team of hedging experts on 01580 765600.

Delivery leadtimes update – April 2025

Spring is our busiest time of year and we are working through orders as fast as we can to get your plants delivered. To give you an accurate idea of when your order will arrive, these are the current leadtimes (delivery is 1-2 days after despatch):

– Orders containing only bare roots – despatch within 5 working days.

– Orders containing only root balls, or root balls and bare roots – despatch within 10 working days.

– All orders containing potted plants – despatch within 14 working days.

Delivery is free for most orders above our free delivery thresholds, these are displayed above our prices in the product listings and summarized below. If you don’t need that many plants it’s not a problem, you can choose to pay our delivery charge and only order what you need.

Delivery is convenient – no signature is required so you don’t need to wait in, we will leave your parcel in the safe place that you nominate.

Delivery is fast – because we pick orders daily from our own growing beds your plants only travel the small hop to our packing shed before being sent to you, they are usually delivered within 5-7 working days.

Delivery is reliable – we have been selling and delivering Hedging Plants to our customers nationwide since 1992. We have a lot of experience in packing them safely and only use tried and tested delivery partners.

Smaller Plants (Parcel Delivery)

Heavy Plants (Pallet Delivery)

Tall Plants 2.5m+ (Specialist Delivery)

Exceptions to our delivery charges are Scottish Highland and Isle of Wight delivery areas where we need to charge a little extra to cover the cost of deliveries to these outlying areas. We don’t currently delivery to other offshore addresses including Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland.

Tall plants over 2.5 metres have to be delivered by our own specialised transport, our delivery area is limited to mainland England and Wales only.

Please note there is a minimum order value of £50 for orders containing smaller plants and £250 for orders containing heavier plants

Complete delivery information can be viewed on our Delivery Information page