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Dead section in yew hedge- help!

kate.bourlakiskate.bourlakis Posts: 1
in Problem solving
Hi - I wondered if anyone has any idea what might be causing the dead section in our yew hedge. You will see in the pictures that there a strip of dead foliage. Not sure what has caused it or what to do? Any ideas? Thanks in advance! 

Posts

  • AuntyRachAuntyRach Posts: 5,291
    Hi there @kate.bourlakis. We have a Yew hedge (about three or four car lengths long) and we have a bald patch at the moment.  The one side we trimmed the brown and dead leaves and twigs away and trained over a few branches and it recovered (literally) over a year. The other side has just received a similar treatment and I am hoping for a similar result. Yew is fairly robust and will regenerate in the right conditions (not too wet). 
    Not sure what caused it - usual suspects are wet, wind, snow, salt and damage. 
    Maybe other replies will suggest better ideas. 
    My garden and I live in South Wales. 
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    That does look extremely odd.  Is it next to a busy road at all? Could it be continual water splash from a puddle or exhaust fumes maybe?  
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    How high is the hedge?  I'm finding it difficult to judge from the photos.
    I ask as it could be the results of dogs 'scent marking' as they pass that corner, if by a public footpath.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • mrtjformanmrtjforman Posts: 331
    looks too high for dogs. Is a very weird for just the middle bit to be missing in such a straight line. I am suspecting a flatbed truck did a U-turn on your drive and took some of your hedge with him. All I can think of at the moment. 

    If it was that then it should regrow. There literally is a chunk missing from your hedge
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    That’s the most feasible explanation I can think of too @mrtjforman ... I would give the whole hedge a good close clipping and a feed with Fish, Blood & Bone ... clear any weeds/rubbish/dead leaves from the base and a good soak ... even in this weather the soil at the base of a hedge can be very dry ... then I’d mulch with some compost of soil conditioner and stand well back ... thankfully yew responds really well to being cut back ... this time next year the damage will be invisible. 👍 


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





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