Filling gaps in hedges: diagnosis, right approach and replanting for Wingham gardens.
The gap in the hedge that keeps annoying you has a specific cause, and the right fix depends on what that cause is, which species you are dealing with, and whether your garden sits on chalk or Thanet Sand.
Gaps are one of the most common calls I take on this round. A formal beech hedge on the chalk near Adisham with a metre of bare brown wood at the base is a different problem from a two-metre hole in a hawthorn field boundary near Preston caused by a fallen stake, and both are different again from the thinning base you get on an ornamental privet hedge in Wingham village that has been cut with flat vertical faces for fifteen years. Getting the cause right matters because applying the wrong fix to the wrong gap wastes a growing season and sometimes makes the problem worse. This guide works through the decision at each fork in the road.
Decision tree: which kind of gap?
- Bare, thin base on an otherwise continuous hedge (no physical hole, just no density at the bottom): almost always a profile problem rather than a true gap. Fix the cutting profile first; new planting into a shaded base will fail. See the A-profile section below.
- Physical gap up to about 1 metre (one plant lost, storm damage, vehicle): try training adjacent stems into the space first. If the growth on either side is young enough to bend without snapping, wire it into the gap and it will close in one to two seasons without new planting.
- Physical gap between 1 and 3 metres: replant with matching species using rabbit guards. On chalk-side plots near Adisham and Bekesbourne, use container-grown stock rather than bare-root whips for faster establishment on thin soil.
- Gap over 3 metres: replanting alone takes five to eight years to close on most species. On hawthorn field-boundary hedges near Preston or Nonington, partial hedge laying of the adjacent stems is usually the faster and cheaper route: see the laying-in section below.
- Diseased stems (box blight, honey fungus): treat or remove the infection source first. Do not replant into active disease; new plants fail at the same rate as the originals. For box specifically, switch to a different species rather than replanting box into a gap that box blight caused.
Bird-nesting season and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to damage or destroy an active wild bird's nest. The nesting season runs 1 March to 31 August. Planting new material into a gap does not disturb nesting birds in itself, but cutting back adjacent stems to lay them into the gap, or removing diseased stumps, can disturb a nest if done inside the nesting window. The safest timing for any gap work that involves cutting existing growth is September through February. If work cannot wait, carry out a thorough visual check inside the adjacent canopy before cutting anything. On species-rich hedges near Wickhambreaux and the Little Stour valley, treat any in-season check with extra care: dense canopies close over nests not visible from the face.
Bare base: a profile problem, not a gap
The most common call I take that is described as a gap is actually a bare lower face on an otherwise continuous hedge. A 1.5m privet hedge in Wingham village with no foliage below about 50cm looks gappy, but the root system is intact and the stems are alive. New planting into that space will be shaded out by the overhang or grow up through the base and look worse than the original problem.
The cause is almost always a decade or more of cutting with flat vertical or inverted faces, progressively shading the lower third until it dies back. The fix is to restore the A-profile: cut the lower face harder than the top on two or three consecutive seasons to open the lower foliage line to light. On small-leaved regenerating species (privet, hornbeam, yew, box) this works within two growing seasons. On beech, it does not: beech will not push new growth from bare old wood, which is why getting the A-profile right from the start matters so much on beech hedges. For a bare-based beech hedge near Adisham or Bekesbourne, the options are planting new material at the base (see the replanting section below) or accepting the bare base as a permanent feature of that hedge. The hedge trimming technique guide on this site covers the A-profile method in detail and applies to every formal species on the Wingham round.
How the chalk side and the sandy side change the approach
The chalk ground west of Wingham, out toward Adisham and up onto the higher drier land between Adisham and Nonington, means thinner soils with less available moisture through the growing season. Bare-root whips planted into a gap on chalk in November will often sit dormant into June before showing meaningful establishment, and may not close a 1m gap for three full seasons. On these plots, the investment in 2-litre or 3-litre container-grown specimens pays off: the root system is already established and the plant moves into active growth faster in its first summer. Hornbeam or beech planted in a gap on chalk near Adisham will show visible closing within 18 months from a container start, versus three seasons or more from a bare-root whip.
East of Wingham toward Ash and Staple, the soil changes to Thanet Sand: freer-draining, warmer in spring, and noticeably more productive for most hedge species once rainfall is adequate. Hawthorn whips planted in a gap on sandy ground near Ash in November are visibly further on by the following April than the same whips on chalk near Adisham. On Thanet Sand you can use bare-root material with confidence and it will perform. The practical rule: chalk-side gaps get container-grown stock; Thanet Sand gaps can go bare-root.
Training-in: filling small gaps without new planting
Where a gap is under about 1 metre and the stems on each side are young enough to be flexible, training adjacent growth into the space is faster and cheaper than any planting. The principle that Tom Hynes demonstrates in the Hedgelink gap-curing series: select the longest, most flexible stems on either side of the gap and bend them into the open space, crossing them if the gap is wide enough to allow it. Secure them with soft wire or a cable tie looped around a short stake pushed into the centre of the gap. The stem will root if it contacts soil, or simply grow into the gap space if it does not. On hawthorn field-boundary hedges near Preston, where the stems are often long, flexible and growing at the hedge base, this can close a 1m gap in a single growing season.
Species that train-in readily: hawthorn, blackthorn, privet, hornbeam, field maple. Species that are too brittle once mature: beech, yew, established leylandii. Do not try to bend a mature beech or yew stem at a sharp angle without very gradual work over several months: it will snap and you lose the material entirely.
Replanting: position, species and timing
Set new plants inside the existing face
Place new planting 20 to 30cm inside the existing hedge face rather than flush with it. This gives the new plant room to thicken before it is incorporated into the formal outline, and avoids the situation where every formal trim cuts through a young plant that is still trying to establish. On a formal garden hedge, you will be trimming the face over the new plants after two or three seasons once they have filled out. If they are set flush or slightly outside the existing line, every trim cuts through them before they have thickened.
Formal hedges: match the species exactly
On a formal garden hedge, match the existing species as precisely as possible. A gap in a beech hedge near Bekesbourne filled with hornbeam will be visible for a decade: the leaf shapes and autumn colour are different enough to read clearly as a patch, even once the height matches. On chalk-side gardens, plant container-grown beech (40 to 60cm pot size) in October or November, firm it in well with a short cane for support in the first season, and maintain a 30cm weed-free mulch ring for the first two years. On chalk the competition from established grass roots matters more than it does on the moister loam at Littlebourne or the Nailbourne valley ground near Bekesbourne.
For gaps in privet and hornbeam hedges in Wingham village, bare-root whips of the matching species are available from UK nurseries from October onwards and establish well on village-side loam over chalk. The main risk on this round is rabbits: even within a garden setting, rabbits work along hedge bases and can strip the bark from a newly planted whip at night in one visit. Spiral rabbit guards from planting day are not optional on CT3 plots; almost every young hedge plant I have seen fail in this area has had rabbit damage at the base rather than a soil problem.
Native hedge gaps at Wickhambreaux and the Little Stour valley
Gardens and field boundaries along the Little Stour at Wickhambreaux, and on the lanes toward Ickham and Elmstone, often carry genuinely species-rich native hedges with real wildlife value. A gap in a mixed hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel and field maple hedge near the river is a gap in a habitat as much as a boundary, and the replanting choice matters beyond appearance. Use native species that match the existing mix: hawthorn bare-root whips (60 to 90cm) are the workhorse filler and establish well on the alluvial ground alongside the Little Stour. Add field maple or hazel where the adjacent canopy already includes those species, to maintain the diversity. Avoid filling with laurel or privet: in the fertile moist soil beside the river both species will outcompete the natives within five years and reduce the hedgerow's ecological value over time.
For any gap near woodland edge or along the river corridor between Wickhambreaux and Ickham, check for hazel dormouse dreys in the adjacent sections before cutting any existing growth back in preparation for gap work. Kent is a dormouse stronghold county and hazel dormice are protected under the same Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The dormice and hedgerows guide on this site covers what to look for and when to call in an ecological survey before touching species-rich hedges near woodland edge.
Timing: when to plant
The ideal window for filling a gap is October through to early March. This covers the entire bare-root season (cheaper material, better establishment rates than container stock on most soils), sits entirely outside the 1 March to 31 August nesting window, and gives the new planting a full first growing season before the East Kent dry-belt summer tests it. If a gap must be filled in summer, use container-grown plants, set them into well-prepared ground with plenty of compost worked in, and plan for watering every two to three days through July and August. A summer-planted whip on chalk near Adisham that is not watered through its first August will not survive.
Large gaps: partial hedge laying near Preston and Nonington
For gaps over 3 metres in hawthorn or mixed native hedges, the traditional approach used on field boundaries in this part of Kent is partial laying: cut the stems on each side of the gap partway through at the base and lay them into the gap space at a low angle, weaving them together where they meet at the centre. The Hedgelink "Part 3: Curing a gap" video (Tom Hynes, Devon Hedge Group) demonstrates the principle clearly: the same laying-in technique applies directly to the hawthorn field-boundary hedges on the larger rural plots around Preston and Nonington, even though the Devon style itself differs from the South of England style common in East Kent.
This approach works well on hawthorn and blackthorn because both species lay without snapping if the cut is made correctly: leave a hinge of about 30 percent of the stem diameter and lay at 35 to 40 degrees. It requires confidence with a billhook or pruning saw and some feel for the stem under tension before the lay. A stem cut too deep snaps and you lose the material you needed. If the hedge is more than five years old and the stems are substantial, it is worth having someone with laying experience look at it before starting. The hedge laying guide on this site covers the full technique and the setup across the different soils on the Wingham round.
Conservation area and Section 211: the gap-repair version
Planting new material into a gap within the Wingham Conservation Area does not require a Section 211 notice to Dover District Council. The obligation applies to works on existing stems over 75mm diameter at 1.5 metres. Where a gap was caused by the failure or physical damage of an existing stem and that stem needs to be cut back or removed, check the stump diameter before sawing: any remaining stump over 75mm at 1.5m requires a six-week notice before it is touched. In practice, a stump that size has usually fallen or collapsed rather than been cut, which creates a grey area; the safest course is to contact the Dover District Council planning department informally before sawing any large stump inside the conservation area boundary. The Section 211 guide on this site covers the filing process with Dover District Council.
When to get a professional in
If the gap is over 3 metres, if the cause is disease (honey fungus especially, where root material needs assessment), if structural stems within the conservation area are involved, or if the adjacent hedge needs partial laying to close the gap: send a postcode and a photo to hello@winghamhedges.co.uk or WhatsApp 07763 100 477. Fixed price, no charge if you do not accept the quote.
Video credit: Tom Hynes (Devon Hedge Group), “Part 3: Curing a gap”, Hedgelink / Moor Meadows, YouTube. Hedgelink is the UK's national hedgerow partnership, coordinating hedgerow conservation and management advice across England and Wales.
Common questions
When is the best time to fill a gap in a hedge in Wingham?
October to early March is the ideal window. It coincides with the bare-root planting season, giving you the cheapest material and the best establishment results, and it falls entirely outside the bird-nesting window (1 March to 31 August) under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. If a gap needs filling urgently in summer, use container-grown plants rather than bare-root and water daily through the establishment period.
Can I fill a gap in a beech hedge near Adisham or Bekesbourne?
Beech will not regenerate from old bare wood after hard cutting, so training-in adjacent stems is rarely an option on a beech hedge with a serious gap. The realistic approach on chalk-side ground near Adisham or Bekesbourne is to plant two or three container-grown beech specimens (40 to 60cm pot stock rather than bare-root whips, which establish more slowly on thin chalk) set 20 to 30cm inside the existing face. They need a weed-free mulch ring and rabbit guards from day one.
Does filling a gap in my Wingham hedge need a Section 211 notice?
Planting new material into a gap does not require a Section 211 notice. The obligation applies to works on existing stems over 75mm diameter at 1.5 metres within the Wingham Conservation Area. However, if the gap was caused by a fallen or diseased stem and that stump needs to be cut back, check the stump diameter first: any remaining stump over 75mm requires a six-week notice to Dover District Council before it is touched. See the Section 211 guide on this site for the filing process.
What species should I use to fill a gap in a native hedge near Wickhambreaux?
Match the existing mix as closely as you can: hawthorn, blackthorn, field maple, hazel and dog rose are the most common native hedge components in the Little Stour valley. Hawthorn bare-root whips (60 to 90cm) are the most cost-effective choice for larger gaps and establish well on the moist alluvial ground alongside the river. Avoid introducing laurel or privet into a species-rich native hedge: both species will outcompete the natives in fertile riverside soil and reduce the hedgerow's wildlife value over time.
Sources: Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 ss.1 and 9; Town and Country Planning Act 1990 s.211; Hedgelink, Hedgerow Management Guide (2021); RHS, Hedges: renovation techniques; Cranfield Soilscapes chalk and Thanet Sand series notes; Kent Wildlife Trust, hazel dormouse guidance; Dover District Council, Wingham Conservation Area appraisal.