Woodland creation
Woodlands are among our most beautiful landscape
features. However, Britain is one of the least wooded
countries in Europe. In the last forty years almost half of
our remaining ancient woodlands have been destroyed.
With care and hard work, it is possible to plant trees and
shrubs to create an area which looks, smells and feels like
a real woodland within 20-30 years.
Choosing a place to plant your wood
New woods can be planted in a wide variety of places
from school grounds and parks to farmland, or as part of
an industrial or housing development. Areas close to
existing woodland can be allowed to grow up naturally.
Seek advice if you are planning to plant a large area.
Wherever you choose to create a woodland, remember
these points:
• Do not plant your wood on an area that is already
good for wildlife. For instance, a wildflower meadow
would be destroyed if trees were to grow over it.
• Find out where services, such as gas and electricity,
run and plant well away from them.
• Avoid planting wide rooting trees such as willow and
poplars near buildings.
• Don’t plant big trees such as oak or ash on a small site.
Choose trees which grow locally. Try not to plant trees
which are not found naturally in your area.
New woods should be planned to reflect natural
woodland with different layers of trees, shrubs and
wildflowers. The diagram shows a suitable planting plan
to create this natural structure.
Creating a diverse structure
• Trees should be planted at 2 - 3 metre intervals.
Shrubs should be planted between the trees at
distances of 1 – 1.5 metres.
Suffolk Wildlife Trust
dog rose and field maple at the edges. Shrubs which
enjoy shade, such as hazel, holly, hawthorn and wild
privet, should be planted in the centre.
• Plant tall-growing trees such as oak and ash to form
the canopy of your woodland. These will reach a
reasonable height in about 25 years!
• To create a woodland effect more quickly, plant fast-
• Think about the shade your trees will cast.
•
• Plant light-loving trees and shrubs, such as blackthorn,
growing trees such as birch, willow or alder. These will
create a woodland effect in about 10 – 15 years.
For details on tree planting see our ‘Creating a Hedgerow
for Wildlife’ factsheet.
Improving existing areas of trees
Simple changes can transform old trees in parks and
gardens into new woodlands for wildlife:
• Allow the grass around the base of the old trees to
grow up. With luck woodland wildflowers will begin to
blossom.
• Plant shrubs which enjoy shade, such as hazel and
holly, beneath the trees.
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Creating a Living Landscape for Suffolk
• Plant some replacements for the existing trees. Make
sure they are of the same type. For example, if you
have an area of oak, plant a sprinkling of oak seedlings
among the shrubs.
• Try to make sure you keep the new trees and shrubs
well watered – conditions could be hostile to start with.
• Introduce dead wood – this is very important to
woodland wildlife. Log piles are ideal.
• In urban areas, you can plant a mix of native woodland
wildflowers. Primroses, violets, bluebells, wood
anemone and ramsons may do well. See our
‘Suppliers of Wildflowers’ factsheet.
• If your wood is big, you can create open areas such as
glades and rides. These are good for bringing light and
warmth into your woodland. This will be attractive to
many plants and animals, especially butterflies. See
our ‘Woodland Management’ factsheet.
Looking after a new wood
It is important to look after a newly planted wood by:
• Pruning shrubs down to 40-60cm in the first winter
after planting - this will stimulate bushy growth and
provide cover and nesting sites for wildlife.
• Watering regularly, especially during the first summer.
Shrubs may die and will need to be replaced during
the following winter.
• Weed around new trees and shrubs to stop
competition for food, water and light from brambles
and grasses. This problem can be dramatically reduced
by mulching around the newly planted trees with bark
chippings.
• Thinning trees - as your woodland develops it may
start to become crowded, so you will have to thin the
trees. This involves removing the smaller or weaker
trees and shrubs to give the more successful ones a
chance to survive. See our ‘Woodland Management’
factsheet.
Making your wood a better place for wildlife
Once the trees and shrubs have become established, there
are lots of things you can do to make your wood a better
place for wildlife:
• It is important to consider the long-term future and
management of your woodland. Please see our
‘Woodland Management’ factsheet for advice on this.
Examples of trees and shrubs to plant
Shrubs — blackthorn, dog rose, field maple, hazel, holly,
hawthorn and wild privet.
Canopy trees — oak, ash and wild cherry.
Fast-growing trees — birch, alder and willows.
Other relevant SWT factsheets:
• Creating a hedgerow for wildlife
• Suppliers of wildflowers
• Woodland management
For further advice, contact Suffolk Wildlife Trust on:
01473 890089
[email protected]