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Hedge pruning advice required

jonathanlcarpenterjonathanlcarpenter Posts: 19
edited May 2018 in Problem solving
Morning, We moved into a house last year and there is a large hedge at the front. We trimmed it last year about a foot around July time. It's grown since and has filled out nicely at the top but not so much lower down. We are wanting to reduce the height by approx 2 feet. Just wondering when is the best time of the year to do this, and what's the best technique. We are wanting it to be thick everywhere. Are we best cutting it lower than we need and then let it grow up to the height we want etc. I suspect the hedge hasn't been pruned or maintained for a number of years, does this cause issues. As you can see there are two different types of hedge. Any help would be very much appreciated as we are new gardeners. 

Posts

  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    They look like Cotoneasters so not totally fussy on when to prune but generally expect to lose flowers and berries. I can't work out the scale from the top and bottom picture, so not sure what the current height is from that mid section, you can start to reduce the height by pruning back. I would avoid going into wood that is beyond 2cms in diameter. See how it goes.

    If you do go further back, you will end up with very thick branches that will take a while to create side shoots from the branches. And even then, the growth will not be strong but tiny small branches which will spoil the look of the shrub.
  • Kitty 2Kitty 2 Posts: 5,150
    Borderline has covered the cotoneaster on the left.
    A possible id for the shrub on the right is 'viburnum tinus'. Not 100% certain from the pic ???
    More info here...
    https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/18950/Viburnum-tinus/Details

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