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Privet hedge been cut back too much

dean_richmandean_richman Posts: 3
in Plants
We shared a hedge on a boundary but I put a fence up against it on our side as we had a neighbour from hell, be he's since passed. His brother (who we get on with fine) owns the house and has cut it down and back so far that it looks like bare branches! The biggest ones are 30mm thick. I'd like to remove the fence as a couple of posts are rotten anyway. The hedge is still alive and leaves are sprouting but I assume it's going to take years to get to 6' high again, and any branches above its current height will be very thin or will they thicken up if I keep cutting it? It's also quite bare at the lower level and looks quite bare on our side (facing the fence) which is also the south facing side. Is there a way to encourage growth? What about gaps too, even if it does turn green, there's a couple of areas where a small child could climb through. Would these areas need a new plant added?

Thanks


Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Looks to me like they've done a very neat job and, since it has shoots, it should recover but may appreciate some encouragement.   Taking down the fence will allow extra light to get to the stems and encourage shoots to grow.   You could stretch cheap mesh stock fence along it till it grows back. 

    Give the hedge a good feed of pelleted chicken manure scattered along its length.   Repeat in a month or two but don't feed after mid July as you need to let new shoots ripen before the frosts.   Keep it lightly trimmed 2 or 3 times a year to encourage the new growth to thicken.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • dean_richmandean_richman Posts: 3
    Obelixx said:
    Looks to me like they've done a very neat job and, since it has shoots, it should recover but may appreciate some encouragement.   Taking down the fence will allow extra light to get to the stems and encourage shoots to grow.   You could stretch cheap mesh stock fence along it till it grows back. 

    Give the hedge a good feed of pelleted chicken manure scattered along its length.   Repeat in a month or two but don't feed after mid July as you need to let new shoots ripen before the frosts.   Keep it lightly trimmed 2 or 3 times a year to encourage the new growth to thicken.
    Thanks - but trim 2-3 time a year? I remember when I used to cut it it would need about 6 unless you like the ragged look...?
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    When it starts branching out it will look neater for a small but regular trim than if just given one haircut a year and it will thicken more quickly.

    https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=352 
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • dean_richmandean_richman Posts: 3
    So what about the gaps, new plant? Never been much of a bush at low level, can that be changed?

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    One way to encourage it to grow new stems/leaves lower down would be to cut some of the branches down to that height - they normally grow most of the new shoots from just below the pruning cuts.  I know that probably sounds a bit scary and will make it thinner higher up, but maybe try shortening a few of the thinner branches to start with and see what happens. You could try to put in some new plants but they'll be competing with a lot of roots from the established hedge.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Also, increasing the amount of light that reaches the lower parts of the hedge will help stimulate new growth there, so removing the fence will really improve the hedge. 

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





  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    I think you'll be amazed at just how fast it does grow once it gets going again.  My mum had a privet hedge and that needed trimming back every 4 to 6 weeks, I know that for sure because I used to get lumbered with doing it.
    Regular trimming also encourages it to bush out and fill the gaps.

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