I'm pretty new to this, but in the back of my local park theres a bit of land with a few bushes and rabbits that kids like to hang out it sometimes. Thing is, company bought it up a while back and are planning on clearing it all out for who knows what.

So, im thinking of planting a few hawthorn saplings (and maybe some blackthorn) to hopefully give it some enviromental protection. Im not completely sure of this, but im pretty sure that hawthorn and blackthorn are protected species in Ireland and cannot be cut down (I hope). Theres also a bit of folklore around the two trees, being bad luck to cut them down, so we'll see what we can do with that.

Im looking for both tips on how to care for a Hawthorn and Blackthorn, and also legal advice on on the felling of the plants. grma

I know very very little about Ireland for the record, but I’d say ideally plant at the start of the rainy season, or in the spring. Early rainy season is probably better if I had to choose though. Add some wood chip mulch around it to help them out. If the species are protected, generally speaking that doesn’t stop people from cutting them down when the plants are very young, so don’t get too attached. From my understanding, tree protections tend to only really prevent certified arborists from cutting it down without potentially getting in trouble, but that doesn’t mean a cheap landscaper won’t weed-whack a young shrub and claim ignorance, knowingly or unknowingly. Or even if it’s a small tree, if it’s on private property and can be cut down by a property owner or an unlicensed arborist, it’s pretty much just a matter of what the rules specifically say and/or if you get caught or reported. But it generally can’t hurt to try, and if you add something like a tree stakes and straps or other things to make it look like it was professionally done, it might be more likely to stay

3 points Confident-Peach5349

I know very very little about Ireland for the record, but I’d say ideally plant at the start of the rainy season, or in the spring. Early rainy season is probably better if I had to choose though. Add some wood chip mulch around it to help them out. If the species are protected, generally speaking that doesn’t stop people from cutting them down when the plants are very young, so don’t get too attached. From my understanding, tree protections tend to only really prevent certified arborists from cutting it down without potentially getting in trouble, but that doesn’t mean a cheap landscaper won’t weed-whack a young shrub and claim ignorance, knowingly or unknowingly. Or even if it’s a small tree, if it’s on private property and can be cut down by a property owner or an unlicensed arborist, it’s pretty much just a matter of what the rules specifically say and/or if you get caught or reported. But it generally can’t hurt to try, and if you add something like a tree stakes and straps or other things to make it look like it was professionally done, it might be more likely to stay