Tree Planting Service in Hastings

Troy’s Tree & Hedge Services provides a tree planting service in Hastings. Our NPTC-qualified team plants trees and hedging across the town, alongside the tree surgery work we carry out here. This page covers the ground under Hastings, salt wind and shelter, species that hold up near the coast, planting next to ancient woodland and heath, replanting after a felling, and the first two summers of aftercare.

Hastings changes character inside a mile, and that shapes every planting job we take on here. On the high ground near the sea the wind comes off the Channel carrying salt, and a few hundred metres inland the land drops into steep wooded valleys where the air sits still and damp. A species that shrugs off one of those will sulk in the other, which is why we look at the site before we talk about what to put in it. All of our tree and hedge planting starts that way.

Three Different Rocks Under One Town

All three of the Hastings Beds formations reach the surface inside the town, which explains a great deal. The British Geological Survey maps the town centre and St Leonards as Tunbridge Wells Sand, a mix of siltstone, mudstone and sandstone. Silverhill, Hollington and Clive Vale sit on Wadhurst Clay. The Old Town and the ground out towards Ore are on the Ashdown Formation, the same rock as the cliffs running east to Pett Level.

So one garden can be sandy and sharply drained while a street away you are on clay that holds water all winter. That is not something to guess at. We dig a hole, see how far down we get before the spade changes note, and fill it with water to see how long it takes to go away.

Salt, Wind and Shelter

Exposure matters more here than soil pH. Salt-laden wind scorches soft new growth, and a young tree that is still putting roots out cannot replace leaves as fast as the weather takes them off. On the seaward side of town we plant tough stock, keep it low to start with, and let it thicken before it gains height.

Drop down into the sheltered valleys and the problem reverses. There is no wind to speak of, the ground holds moisture, and the risk is a tree that races away soft and leggy because nothing is checking it.

Getting the Stock to the Hole

Plenty of Hastings sits on a hillside, and a good number of properties have no vehicle access round the back. That changes what is realistic before it changes the price. A bundle of bare-root whips can be carried through a house. A root-balled specimen weighs what it weighs, and if there is no way in for a machine then it is the wrong tree for that garden, however much you want it.

Our tree planting service in Hastings is built around that. We will tell you on the visit whether we can get the size you have in mind to the spot you want it, and if we cannot, what the next size down will look like in five years.

Species That Hold Up Near the Coast

For front-line positions where the salt reaches, the reliable performers are sea buckthorn, tamarisk, hawthorn, Swedish whitebeam, holm oak and black pine. None of them mind being blasted. Behind the first line, once something is taking the edge off the wind, the choice opens right up and we can use field maple, rowan, hornbeam, wild cherry and the native hedge species.

In the valley gardens and on the shaded northern slopes we plant hazel, holly, yew and hornbeam, which are happier out of full sun than most people expect. Two gardens on the same street can want different trees, so nothing is decided until we have stood in yours.

Planting Next to Ancient Woodland and Heath

Hastings has serious habitat on its doorstep. Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve holds lowland heath at the Firehills along with three ancient gill woodlands at Ecclesbourne Glen, Fairlight Glen and Warren Glen, where the steep sides keep a humid, stable climate of their own.

If you are planting on ground that adjoins anything like that, species choice stops being a matter of taste. We plant native stock of local provenance next to ancient woodland and heath, because garden escapes are one of the ways non-native species get into habitats that have taken four hundred years to settle. This is a part of our tree planting service in Hastings that we will raise with you rather than wait to be asked about.

Replanting After a Felling

Some planting is not a choice. Where a protected tree comes out under a Tree Preservation Order, including one taken down because it was dead or dangerous, a duty to put a replacement in can follow, and the council can serve a notice where it has not been. Hastings Borough Council is the local planning authority for Hastings and St Leonards, so that is where the paperwork goes.

We handle the TPO and conservation area side of this regularly. If you are not sure whether your tree is protected, ask before anything comes down, because the time to find out is not afterwards.

Who Turns Up

Troy Mallyon has had this business going for more than seven years and is on site rather than behind a desk. His NPTC qualifications came through Plumpton College, the crew are trained climbers and groundsmen, and there is full insurance behind everything we take on.

Doing a tree planting service in Hastings week after week, alongside our tree surgery work in the town, is how you learn that one species can behave two different ways in two parts of the same town.

The First Two Summers

Most new trees that fail do it in the first couple of growing seasons, and the usual reason is water rather than anything exotic. A newly planted tree has a root system sized for the pot or the nursery bed it came out of, and until it pushes out past that it cannot reach what it needs.

We set out watering at the point of planting so you know what is expected: how much, how often, and when to stop. Mulch goes on to hold moisture and keep the grass back, and stakes go in low and come out once the tree is anchored, because a stake left on too long gives you a tree that never learns to stand up. On exposed sites we would normally recommend guards, and rabbits will strip a whip at the base given the chance.

Book Your Tree Planting in Hastings

Are you in need of a tree planting service in Hastings? Get in touch with our team at Troy’s Tree & Hedge Services and we can help you out.

Where We Plant Around Hastings

Our tree planting service in Hastings takes in the Old Town, St Leonards, Ore, Hollington, Silverhill, Baldslow and Fairlight, along with the villages out towards Westfield and Guestling. We also cover Eastbourne, Bexhill, Hailsham, Seaford, Pevensey, Horam, Heathfield, Crowborough, Uckfield and Mayfield, and we cross into Kent for Tunbridge Wells.

Planting is one part of what we do. The same team handles tree maintenance, felling and removal, stump removal, hedge maintenance and woodland and grounds maintenance, and there is a 24-hour emergency callout for storm damage.

Does salt wind really affect trees this far back from the seafront?

It carries further than most people expect, particularly on the exposed high ground. The damage shows as scorched, browned growth on the seaward side of the tree while the sheltered side looks fine. Choosing stock that tolerates it, and giving a young tree some shelter for its first few years, deals with the problem.

Can you plant on a steep garden?

Yes, and a good deal of our work here is on sloping ground. It changes how the pit is formed, because you want a level planting position rather than a tree sitting at the angle of the slope, and it changes how watering behaves, since water runs off before it soaks in. We build a shallow basin on the downhill side to hold it.

What time of year should the planting happen?

The dormant season, so anywhere between October and April. Bare-root and root-balled stock will not go in outside it at all. Container-grown trees can be planted later in the year, but a summer planting has to be watched and watered right through its first season, which is why we would sooner get you into the winter.

Can you take the old tree out and plant the new one?

Yes, and it is the usual way we are asked to work. We fell, grind the stump out so the root plate is not in the way, bring in topsoil where the grinding has left a dip, and plant into properly prepared ground rather than into a mess of old chippings.

CASE STUDY

Oak Crown Reduction at The Big Cat Sanctuary
Troy’s Tree & Hedge Services carried out a crown reduction on six mature oak trees at The Big Cat Sanctuary near Headcorn in Kent, working above the new decking at the sanctuary’s restaurant and around live big cat enclosures.
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WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS SAY

From beginning to end an excellent service. Arrived to quote when he said he would. Polite and friendly with reasonable prices. Staff arrived to do the work exactly when they said they would start. Both hard working and efficient. Walked me through the work once completed to ensure I was happy. I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone.
Brett Powell-Cullingford
Excellent work, really impressed with Troy’s communication and he did a fantastic job at a very fair price. Troy sent us before and after pictures as we do not live in the area where the tree work needed to be carried out and this gave us reassurance. He took all the rubbish away and left the area immaculate.
Fatima Gaffar

If I’m not up a tree, I’m eager to chat!

Ready for healthier, happier trees? Let’s chat about how our expert team can help. Whether it’s care, maintenance, or anything else, we’re here to help.

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