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Curing my hedge? - Dying in parts

I moved in to my house a year ago, with some some of privet hedge in the front garden forecourt. I like this - I want as much privacy as possible. It is higher now than when we moved in. I have cut it several times on all sides, my a cordless hedge trimmer.

But it's not in a good way. There is a patch in the lower-middle that has become bare.

I cut it back again today following yet more summer foliage growth. I aimed to get rid of some dead twigs and give it some air to circulate. My efforts revealed more dead patches than I had expected. In the middle, there were even some larger branches than twigs which were dead I snapped them off and got rid. Today, I also took secateurs to it, to try to get rid of some of the larger branches in the hedge, trying to limit upward energy as well as shade.

 Here are some pictures...

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What's going on and what can I do about it?

Is the hedge sick or is there a simpler solution?

I'm new to all this, so unclear exactly how I should be maintaining this. True, the hedge is probably a foot higher now than when I moved in a year ago. But I hae topped it frequently, and I taper the hedge at the top as per some YouTube instructional videos on hedge maintenance.

Thanks.

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Posts

  • wrighttwrightt Posts: 234

    It could be that it is too shady as the other side of the hedge looks ok. Root restriction due to the closeness of the path may also be a problem or it could be that the hedge as a disease though I suspect not as it is ok on the front. Cutting it back may help and you could try feeding it but if it is caused by problems mentioned at the start of my reply are the case, pruning and feeding will not help.

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    Privet's pretty indestructable Robert so it should grow back. If you're trying to keep it narrow to stay behind the path, you will tend to make it look a bit bare because you'll constantly be cutting back into older growth. Once it greens up try just to trim lightly at that side to avoid that. It's probably not had much attention before so it's quite normal for the inside of the hedge to get a bit bare, and you've just exposed that by giving it a good haircut! Try clearing as much debris away from round the base and giving it a good watering as it's likely to be pretty dry there, and mulch with some fresh compost. A general granular feed (like blood, fish and bone) after cutting for the first time each year is beneficial when the area it's in is quite restricted like that. Ideally, you would let it have a bit more space to grow at it's best, but I'm sure it will come away and look fine. I once had a privet hedge which had been allowed to get far too big for where it was, a few feet from the front window of a flat, so I hacked it back to the ankles. By the following year it had all greened up and I could keep it at a more appropriate size. image

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Dave MorganDave Morgan Posts: 3,123

    The secret with privet is to cut it at a angle so the lower part gets as much sunlight as the upper parts. You leave it wider at the base than the upper part, thats why it's bare at the bottom. You haven't tapered it enough really. A good mulch will help and a feed of a slow release fertilzer like bonemeal tickled in . Privet needs light on the wood to produce new shoots. From the picture, I'd be tempted to cut out some of the older wood which will encourage new growth from the bottom. It will look rough for a year but if your'e patient as fairygirl has said, it's pretty indestructible and it will come back. 

  • Thanks, all.

    @Fairygirl: "If you're trying to keep it narrow to stay behind the path, you will tend to make it look a bit bare because you'll constantly be cutting back into older growth."

    Not much concerned about the slabs. I was just trying to aerate the hedge.

    I'm considering removing the slabs and mulching the whole area where you see the other shrubs and tree, partly for cosmetic reasons and partly to avoid weeding - either bark or slate chips. But I understand I must wait to autumn/spring before doing this. Does this sound like a good idea? And would I spread them right under the hedge or give it a bare channel?

    Do you think there are just to many little branches at the base?

    Do these hedges need just one or a few main trunks, with branches emerging higher up?

    @Dave Morgan: "The secret with privet is to cut it at a angle so the lower part gets as much sunlight as the upper parts." Thanks. Certainly tried to do this today more than previous cuts.

    I also took secateurs to a few mid-sized twigs, mostly in the upper hedge, trying to thin it out there.

    What is the general approach to maintaining these - I'm happily using my cordless trimmer as it creates a flat edge but, afterwards, it feels like i'm looking at a lot of serrated branches on those sides. Should I be cutting some of these with secateurs - would that encourage regrowth from further down?

     

     

     

  • wrighttwrightt Posts: 234

    The privet hedge that I have, had to have one part taken out as I wanted the down pipe from the house fed into the well as it has a pump in this well to top up my pond. The privet hedge that was taken out was put in the pond to make sure it had enough water whilst trench was dug from down pipe to well and then it was replanted. The back of it was brown and did not change due  to the cherry tree behind it casting full shade. Despite pruning it is only just beginning to recover after two years.

  • Dave MorganDave Morgan Posts: 3,123

    Robert, from your picture the hedge is too wide at the top, it should be wider at the bottom, it's also quite heavily shaded by the Pieris and the rhododendron to the left of the path. It needs light at the base and if you cut the hedge as in the picture you are cutting too deeply. Privet should be trimmed lightly regularly every 2 months during the growing season. Light at the base will encourage new shoots, and if it's like the picture, mulch to a depth of 6 inches around the base of the hedge as well, you'll get new growth if you do. The alternative is to cut it down to a foot high and let it regrow.

  • Can some say what's wrong with my hedge. On close inspection it looks like lichens. Can this be removed or is it coming to the end of its life??
  • A photo would help us to identify what is on your hedge Sue - but it may well be lichens - they will be doing no harm and are a sign of good air quality.  Something to be thankful for image 

    They're also an important part of the nest of Long-tailed tits, so if you watch your hedge in the spring you may well see these lovely little birds helping themselves to your lichens image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Verdun, I think you've answered Robert Andrews' query from back in July.

    Sue Lane asked another query on this thread yesterday - my response was to her image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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