Live fencing; Pros, cons and everything in between.
Why choose a live fence for your property?
Live fencing, also known as hedging, refers to the practice of using plants as a barrier for a section or for your whole farm or property. Most live fences incorporate shrubs or smaller trees and are known to be durable, cost effective and very aesthetically pleasing.
In this newsletter we aim to highlight some advantages and disadvantages of using live fences as well as feature some plants available at our nursery which someone can consider when planning to do a live fence for their property.
We start of by highlighting some advantages of doing a live fence which include;
Cost effective - compared to other options such as concrete walls, live fencing is a cheaper alternative for people with smaller budgets.
Beauty and aesthetics - due to the large variety of plants available to choose from, live fencing provides an opportunity for property owners to add color and beauty to their environment and blend their fence with the surrounding.
Environmentally friendly - since live fencing includes planting actual plants and shrubs for your fence, it means that this option provides oxygen through photosynthesis while also getting rid of carbon dioxide through carbon sequestration. Live fences can also be considered better for drainage as they do not block excess runoff water from flowing and causing flooding.
Alternative uses - plants used as live fencing can also double up as livestock fodder, herbs, spices among other uses.
Some disadvantages of live fencing are;
Time consuming - setting up a live fence requires patience and time to achieve desirable results for the fence to attain good height and consistency.
Dangerous - some plants used for live fencing have thorns which may injure people if not carefully done.
Having listed some pros and cons of live fencing, some of the plants available at our nursery include
Kei-apples - Commonly referred to as kayaba, this plants is the most common live fencing used across Kenya. It is characterized by a thorny stem and branches which acts as a deterrent to intruders by can also prove dangerous to children and other people if not carefully handled.
Planting;
To achieve the most desirable results when planting kayaba, a farmer should plant the plants in two rows with half a foot between the rows, you can then go on and plant the seedlings with a one foot distance between the plants. Plant the seedlings alternately to give an impression of a zigzag planting pattern. This plant spacing gives the most desirable outcome according to us.
White Bottlebrush - Plant the seedlings with a planting space of thirty centimetres between the plants. Intertwine the emerging branches until a consistent hedge has been successfully formed. You can continue maintaining the fence by trimming to your desired shape and height.
Golden, green and yellow dualanta - these are some of the easiest live fencing options for us. The plants are planted in a single row with a spacing of one foot between the plants. You can intermix the plants from green to yellow to greenwhite to create a beautiful bust of colour. As the hedge keeps growing you intertwine the branches to create a uniformly consistent live fence.
Reach out to us to make your orders and inquiries.