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Hello
I am trying to prepare a piece of ground that has had a mature & overgrown hedge removed. There are hedge roots left that go down into the subsoil. Do I need to dig into the stoney subsoil to remove the roots??

I have read that the sub-soil should not be inverted/mixed with the top soil but I have no idea how to get the roots out without doing that. ?

I want to plant my Raspberry Canes
Will it all be ok if I just leave the sub soil as it is, chop the roots off above the sub soil, add my well rotted horse manure & worm-cast, & plant the raspberry canes?
Any advice would be very appreciated.
Thanks.

Lucy Ghinn wrote:I am trying to prepare a piece of ground that has had a mature & overgrown hedge removed. There are hedge roots left that go down into the subsoil. Do I need to dig into the stoney subsoil to remove the roots??

No.

I have read that the sub-soil should not be inverted/mixed with the top soil but I have no idea how to get the roots out without doing that. ?

Subsoil is often as you have noted very compacted. Burying top soil with subsoil ends up with comparatively sterile soil where you want to plant.

I want to plant my Raspberry Canes
Will it all be ok if I just leave the sub soil as it is, chop the roots off above the sub soil, add my well rotted horse manure & worm-cast, & plant the raspberry canes?
Any advice would be very appreciated. Thanks.

Yup, thats what I would do. Some flexible edging to herd in the roots of your new rasberry canes, or a bit of every other year ruthless rototilling and a fence to tie rasberry canes up onto will make for a tidier berry patch.

Berry like to 'tip-layer', IE set roots at the tip where it touches dirt. Tie those puppies up to a fence with some jute twine.

Prune out this years (fruit bearing) canes late in the fall. Or if your having a hard time recalling, next year prune out dead canes...

Just letting brambles "go", turns your garden onto a jungle.

Lucy Ghinn wrote:... Will it all be ok if I just leave the sub soil as it is, chop the roots off above the sub soil, add my well rotted horse manure & worm-cast, & plant the raspberry canes? ...

That may be a tough situation.
I suppose it depends on the type of plant that currently makes up the hedge, how vigorous the roots are, and how much of the root system you are able to remove.
A "complete digout" may be required to insure that the hedge does not regenerate from the roots. Also, the soil could be full of seeds that will regenerate the hedge.
I think I would dig out the hedgerow as completely as possible, and then import a "clean" topsoil into the site, before planting the Raspberries.

That's my theory, but I don't consider myself an expert on that ... maybe someone else here on the forum will provide you with some better advice.

what kind of shrub was it? because if you just cut it at the base chances are it could re sprout again.

Privet. It was dug up by a digger so the whole hedge is gone, there are just some roots left in the soil that go down into the sub-soil.

Thankyou all so so much for your replies. They are really very useful.

tomc
Would you not worry about the hedge roots that are left in the sub-soil growing & causing problems to the raspberry roots??

Thanks for your responses to me, I really appreciate them.
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Young Fat & Useless

If the top six to eight inches of root mass were mechanically removed, the shrub is pretty well dead. Burying them with six to eight inches of new soil without shrub in them should seal the deal.

That said a chestnut or a hackberry tree might regrow your removal attempt.