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Holly hedge help

Vicky CashmoreVicky Cashmore Posts: 1
in Problem solving

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We have a lovely old holly hedge at the front of our house. However before we moved in over 3 yrs ago it was hit by a car.  Since then it has had large gaps. One part was totally taken out the previous house owners planted a new one but it doesn't seem to have taken well and is still very sparse. Our lovely next door neighbours part of the hedge is  wonderful and full.

Any advice on how we can get the hedge to fill out? We are complete garden novices and are clueless 

Many thanks 

Posts

  • LearnincurveLearnincurve Posts: 290

    Uh oh,  you prune now it encourages new growth but I suspect those particular bushes would take years to recover.  Like all shrubs Holly will suck out all the nutrients in the ground so you can’t just plant new ones without undoing the soil damage.

    If it were me I’d  rip out all the damaged ones, leaving a clearly defined line and really dig in a lot of compost and manure and then plant a new ones.  It won’t fill out for a while but at least it will look like a tidy new section rather than an old sparse one. 

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147

    I would hard prune the whole hedge ... right down to about one foot tall, and then mulch with lots and lots of compost and well rotted manure and maybe a sprinkling of Fish, Blood and Bone ... holly responds really well to a hard chop back ... within a few years you'll have a lovely dense hedge.  image


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





  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355

    I'd go with Dove's suggestion - established bushes usually respond well to a really hard prune and good feed. I'd lay the mulch to a depth of about 6" /15cm - but maybe just pull it away from the trunks by an inch or two.

    If the soil gets very dry in the summer you could also give it a good soak once a week during the driest months (see what it's like about 8'' down - if still dampish it's fine).

    Pretty cottage BTWimage - looks like an old estate cottage in the Suffolk or Essex countryside.

    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147

    I remember Pa attacking an old straggly holly hedge along a field boundary with a tractor and flail ... he took it down to virtually ground level ... a few years later it was a really handsome hedge image


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





  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147

    I remember Pa attacking an old straggly holly hedge along a field boundary with a tractor and flail ... he took it down to virtually ground level ... a few years later it was a really handsome hedge image

    Planting odd replacements might result in a mismatch of colours which would always be irritating image


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





  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147

    image  Whoops!  How did that happen image


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





  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618

    I agree with Dove. Prune it down hard and give it a good feed and mulch.

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