Coppicing

We coppice to rejuvenate hedges, make gapping up easier and as a step towards laying some hedges.

Many of the hedge plants at Abbey Farm have a ‘wine-glass’ shape – a single stem about 75cm high before the plant bushes out. Often these single stems have 1-2m gaps between them. This means the hedge provides little cover for wildlife at ground level. Coppicing increases the number of stems rising from or close to ground level. It also creates an easy opportunity to put in new plants in the 1-2m gaps. It is therefore an opportunity to increase the diversity of species growing in the hedge.