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Thin privet hedge

dasukeuajUWvkYdasukeuajUWvkY Posts: 2
in Problem solving
Hi everyone, 

Any advice would be appreciated on how to thicken up my privet hedge. It's south facing and as you can see from this 8am shot, gets good sunlight. I moved in August 2020 and the garden was horribly overgrown and untouched for years. There are lots of brambles growing in the hedge which I plan to rip out. Also there are twigs from the overhanging trees throughout the hedge canopy, which I plan to remove. The soil looks like clay when I dig below a foot, but until then looks like good soil. The conifers above the hedge seem to have shed tonnes of detritus over the years on the garden side of the hedge. I can't do much about the other side, because it's a road. 

I'm wondering whether, when and by how much I should cut the top of the hedge, as well as whether you'd recommend any particular fertiliser;  I'm assuming I should put something down the hedgerow to feed it? I think between the trees and brambles, and clay underneath,  the hedge is likely starved. 

Posts

  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    Yes, it will be starved and thirsty too, so feeding and watering in dry spells will help. but if you want it to thicken up at the base you will need to cut it back by about half.
    Probably best done soon, while everything is in favour of growth, but I'm not an expert on hedges, so better check first :)
  • ManderMander Posts: 349
    I have a privet hedge that tends to have the problem of getting out of control huge but I've cut it back pretty drastically in an effort to get it to grow a little thicker and so far it seems to be working. I reckon you could cut it to the height you want and maybe cut some of the thicker branches down a bit further and it will recover. Might take a year or two to get it to look how you want it but if you feed it you might have better results than I did.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    I agree, cut it back by half, roughly level with the top of the iron fence to make it easy to judge.  This will promote growth low down.  As it grows back, trim it into an 'A' shape so that the hedge is wider at the bottom than at the top.  This will ensure that the bottom of the hedge gets enough light - at the moment all of that growth at the top is blocking light to the lower sections, which is why the leaves are sparse lower down.  You will temporarily lose some privacy of course, but cutting it back hard will reap huge benefits in the future and the hedge will look great.  After cutting, give the base of the hedge a feed of fish, blood and bone fertilizer which will help it bounce back quickly.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • Mrs-B3-Southampton,-HantsMrs-B3-Southampton,-Hants Posts: 732
    Privet can be cut to the ground and grow back to 10' easily enough. My neighbour did that at the bottom of his garden.
    Southampton 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    edited April 2021
    It's hard to tell from the picture, but it looks as if the top of the hedge has been allowed to get wider than the base so the lower parts have been shaded out by the top. I agree with cutting it  well back - take off all the bushy part at the top and it will grow back from lower down. Then trim it to a "batter" - sloping sides, narrower at the top, wider at the bottom.


    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    For feeding, the best thing to do would be to make sure the grass etc is kept out of the base of the hedge and give it a general balanced fertiliser like blood, fish and bone, or growmore if you're not organic. It wouldn't hurt to give it a good drink occasionally if we get a dry summer to keep it growing, but it won't die without watering, it'll just slow down.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • dasukeuajUWvkYdasukeuajUWvkY Posts: 2
    Thanks guys. I've ordered some fish blood and bone fertiliser. I've pulled out all the brambles and took away a lot of dead branches, though still need to remove all the broken conifer detritus from the hedge canopy, which is maybe making it look fuller than in reality. It's looking even more sparse below though, which goes to show how brambley it was! Here's an updated pic below. I'll keep you posted with my progress! 


  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    That’s looking better already ... well done 👍 

    Now cut it hard back exactly as @BobTheGardener has described ... aim for it to the wider at the base than the top ... then as it thickens up you can leave it a bit taller each time you trim it. 
    And remember, the more you trim it the thicker it will grow. 😊 

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





  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    There's an opportunity to have some fun when you are cutting the top of the hedge back, to encourage more bushy growth.  Most people go for flat-topped hedges, but you can create interesting, organic shapes instead.  Here's our front garden Privet, we love sculpting it.


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