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Should I cut the tops off my new holly hedge to encourage bushy growth?

cherylwood05cherylwood05 Posts: 1
in Problem solving
Hi, 

We planted a new holly hedge (Golden King) about 4 years ago & although they are making steady progress in height, we would like to encourage them to bush out. 

They are healthy plants with lots of berries on & we would eventually like the hedge to be as tall as the fence. 

Would cutting the tops off encourage them to grow out aswell as up? Or are we best to continue to let them grow to their eventual height before cutting the tops off? 

Thanks in advance for advice. 

Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Yes, prune out the tops.

    We planted a holly hedge along part of the boundary of our last garden in a bid to reduce wind flow from the east.  We chose holly as we thought the neighbouring cows wouldn't eat it but they actually loved the tender new shots in spring when they came back to the pasture.   We had the fattest hedge you could wish for but short!



    Eventually I put in some builders' rusty mesh for reinforcing concrete, between the hedge and the barbed wire fence and cut in half to make it 1.25m high so they couldn't lean over anymore and then we got a lovely tall but bushy hedge.
    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
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    A good layer of well rotted manure and maybe a sprinkling of Fish, Blood and Bone would help too. Maybe building up the edge of the border so it can hold organic matter and moisture. It looks to be on a slope.... Everedge or the like might be an idea, it's hard to tell from the picture. I have personally used Everedge to build around a border to hold in soil and it has worked really well.
  • ErgatesErgates Posts: 2,953
    Obelixx, what a gorgeous picture of your nosy neighbours!
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    They do have gorgeous faces don't they @Ergates . That was good few years ago now and all the girls, but not the bull, came to see what I was doing as I was laying out plants for a bed to the right, far end of the grass.
    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
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