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poorly privet

Hi, my neighbours' privet hedges are dying. Our gardens are about 30+metres in length and each garden is losing hedge on each side of the gardns and in front gardens too. In some sections the hedge is completely devoid of any leaves and others are looking thread bare.I am fortunate that I have holly/hawthorn hedging but am concerned if the disease may contaminate other species. Any ideas?

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Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190

    How old is it, mine didnt live too long, only about 20 years, just started to die off and the trunks went brittle. I have replaced it with laurel, longer lasting and thicker and evergreen.

     

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190

    Usually they keep the leaves once they are established, I thought, I have a row that I planted 4 years ago, never lost any leaves, are there different types of privet?

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445

    Mine loses its leaves in severe winters but you can see buds ready to open.

    Bits of mine have started to die though, the hedge dates from 1960, had been severely neglected for years, tall enough to tangle in the phone wires til we gave it a short back and sides a few years ago. 

    One cause of death here is having its stems nibbled at ground level. I blame the voles of which we have lots.

    We do have HF in the garden but, as far as I'm aware, not close to the hedge.That's probably the one thing that would affect other shrubs, most diseases are specific to certain plants.



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • treehugger80treehugger80 Posts: 1,923

    privet is as tough as boots, so if looks like its dying its probably terminal (old age or disease), you should start looking for replacements.

    on the plus side, unless its honey fungus your other plants should be fine, most diseases are fairly plant type specific.

  • Mrs GMrs G Posts: 336

    I've got a strip of privet that doesn't lose its leaves in winter and a strip that does, maybe I have two different types I don't know but it comes back every spring.

  • NakiNaki Posts: 13

    I have bald patches in my (over 40-year-old) golden privet. I've tried cutting out the bald areas, but the problem is always there. It's a long hedge and will be expensive to replace, whatever I use. My questions are

    1. Is it terminal?
    2. What easily maintained and reasonably priced evergreen alternative can anybody suggest, please ?

    I guess this should really be a new thread, but I'll take my chance on getting a reply,

    Thank you

  • NakiNaki Posts: 13

    Hi Verdun,

    Thank you for taking the trouble to reply in such detail. The bald bits are high up and football-sized. As the hedge doesn't lose its leaves it's not easy to spot shoots. It's difficult to say whether it's spreading - all I can say is that I've tried cutting out the dead patches over the past few years, leaving gaping holes, yet I always seem to have the same number every year.

    Your suggestion for replacement certainly looks as if it wil fit the bill, so I think I'll try for one more season to cut out the dead bits, then if there's no improvement I'll just have to bite the bullet and replace it.

    Thank you once again.

    Naki

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