Help: First Aid and recovery therapy for a hedge pls

asuran2571928 · 1 January

Hello all,
I am all at sea here. A neighbour has launched his car through my tenanted property's hedge and neatly flattened it in the car's path. The hedge is mature.

In a panic, the tenant had pushed back the hedge to nearly it's original position which has probably helped. I returned after about a month to see the hedge still has some signs of life.

Could I please have some advice on trying to keep it alive, please? I don't want the insurance company just ripping out the hedge and putting new saplings in. I want to do everything possible to keep the old life alive.

Warmest Regards and Happy New Year!
U

Lizzie27 · 1 January

@asuran2571928 , oops, was he drunk!

Your hedge looks like privet which is very tough and I think it will probably survive.
Assuming the car's now been removed, you could start by cutting off any broken stems and if you have any, insert some bamboo canes. You can then gently pull some of the flattened stems upright and tie them to the bamboo canes to encourage them to grow upright again. You might also be able to weave some twine (string) in between the stems to help pull them upright.

In the Spring (March/April) get some chicken pellet fertiliser and sprinkle this around the base of the hedge according to the instructions to help boost the new growth.

Hopefully, your neighbour's insurers might pay for the bamboo canes and fertiliser.

Good luck.

JennyJ · 1 January

I agree, privet will grow back, just remove any broken-off branches, prop up what you can of the rest, and when cutting season starts, just chop off anything that's still sticking out from the "line" of the hedge. You'll get better growth from lower down/within the hedge if you can keep the other side trimmed as well. Hopefully the neighbour will be amenable since it was them that caused the damage.

Feeding won't hurt, but for the quickest growth keep it well-watered if we get another dry spring. March to May is when my privet puts on the most growth, but if the weather's dry it grows noticeably less than if it's wet. A good deep soaking once a week or so would be good if there isn't any rain, and if you can get there to do it, or get the tenant to do it. If the water is metered, you might be as well to compensate the tenant if they pay the bill. Maybe the insurer will pay for that rather than for new plants (which would, in any case, need probably more watering). Or maybe the neighbour could do it rather than involving their insurer and probably getting their premiums put up, if the car itself is OK.

asuran2571928 · 2 January

Thank you so much for the advice. My gardening skills fall just below "Agent Orange".

I will source some canes to support and the mentioned fertilizers for Spring.

Regards
U

ViewAhead · 2 January

asuran2571928 said:

Thank you so much for the advice. My gardening skills fall just below "Agent Orange".

😂

Gotta start somewhere! 😁

Help: First Aid and recovery therapy for a hedge pls

Posts