Advice on overgrown privet hedge

robertspink321-W6DUK4Z · 5 January

Hi - I'm looking for advice. I have a privet hedge wrapped around my front garden which is looking straggly and unkempt. So, I'm aware that I need to renovate and aim to do so before the end of February (as we get a lot of nesting birds).

It's height varies from about 5 to 12 foot high and its got to about 3-4 feet wide (!). It goes down a sloping boundary so using a ladder to prune the top is really awkward. so, I'd like to reduce the height substantially in places (so that the height ranges from 4 foot to a maximum of 6 foot).

There's lots of online advice but it doesn't quite fit my situation. I guess my big question is

How to best deal with the fact that it is so tall - just brutally cut it back so it is below the height I want? I'm concerned that if I attack it in stages it will just get too tall to trim again and the hedge will start to get too big again.

Any other advice on this gratefully received!

Palustris · 5 January

Tough old shrub is privet, so you can cut it back as much as you want and it will re-shoot. I would cut it down to about a foot lower than the height you want. Then give it a feed. Then stand back and watch it grow!

KT53 · 5 January

Yup. Cut it back to a foot or so below the required final height. It may look a mess but as Palustris says, it's tough and will recover.

JennyJ · 5 January

I was going to say 18 inches below the target height, but yes, hard as you like. You could if you want to keep some green on it, cut back the top and one side this year and the other side next year, but it's privet, it'll grow back whatever. Maybe do the height reduction first and then take stock. What's left at the sides might be very spindly anyway so cut back narrower than the finished size you want as well.

JennyJ · 5 January

I should also have said, it will look dreadful at first because you'll probably be down to bare branches, but hold your nerve and it'll start growing in spring.

If it turns out to be a dry spring and summer, a good deep watering once a week will help to keep it growing and filling out. Keeping the area at the base clear of weeds and grass, and giving it a light sprinkle of something like blood, fish and bone meal or growmore, will both help too but neither is essential for privet.

Loraine3 · 5 January

If your hedge is thin on the bottom, keep some longer pieces from the top and tie down lower to thicken it up. Privet doesn't need feeding and will soon recover.

robertspink321-W6DUK4Z · 5 January

Gosh - you are all so helpful! Thank you. I'm reassured and will tackle it in due course.

Dovefromabove · 5 January

When trimming your rejuvenated hedge it’s a good idea to cut it ‘to a batter’ that is slightly ‘A’ shaped … that way the buds at the bottom of the hedge are not shaded out by the growth above them … the light stimulates the buds to produce leaves and thus your hedge will be green from top to toe instead of having ‘bare ankles’ 😊

Edited to add:
More info here …
“…Generally, formal hedges are best trimmed into a tapered shape where the base is bigger than the top half of the structure. This is called cutting the hedge to a batter and it enables light to penetrate through to the lower branches of a hedge and gives it a fuller appearance…”
https://www.hedgesblog.co.uk/how-and-when-to-trim-a-hedge … scroll down to ‘Formal’ section.

Advice on overgrown privet hedge

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