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Advice on cutting back an overgrown hedge
Hi all,
I'm after some advice and have two questions. First of all, I need to work out what this hedge is because I have no idea. Can anyone help me out?
Secondly. this is in the garden of the house I'm moving in to in a few weeks time. It's growing desperately out of control and is absolutely huge. The photo doesn't quite do it justice. However, after identifying what it is I then need to know how I should go about cutting this back hard, without killing it off. It forms the boundary between two gardens so I really can't afford to kill it
Any advice will be gratefully received
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Hi Santy - looks like privet - nice healthy one. You can cut it back with no issues. Usually you would try and shape it so that the top is a bit narrower than the base so that it gets plenty of light. It might look a bit sad if you really hack it, but they recover well. A good watering if you do that, and a little general fertiliser will soon see it perk up. Alternatively, just tidy it up for the winter and do more severe pruning in spring.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Great stuff, thanks for the reply. It's going to need a severe hacking so I guess this is a spring job after a little tidying in preparation for the winter. Would it be best to do this in early spring? I don't know whether late frosts will damage it.
It's pretty robust - if you're worried just wait till later ie April/May, but I've never had a problem before. It can look very dead if you cut it right back but it actually does it the world of good! It does need trimming a few times during the year to keep it looking sharp though. It's also only semi evergreen so don't worry if it looks a bit sparse over winter.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Excellent, thank you. I can't wait to get hacking away at it!
Don't leave it too late in the spring - it's just the sort of hedge that blackbirds and robins like to nest in
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Ah, yes, didn't consider that. When should I do it to avoid this problem?
dare I mention the leaves are poisonous?
When my parents moved into their brand new council house, the council gave away privet to anyone who wanted it ( which most did ).
We all lived to tell the tale.
The RHS advice is as follows:
"When undertaking work on garden hedges check that there are no birds nesting, as it is an offence under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 to damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built. The bird nesting season is usually considered to run from 1st March to 31st July (though it may last longer for certain species or multiple broods so always check if in doubt). "
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=352
Hope that helps
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
It certainly does, thank you for that. I'll be giving the hedge a good makeover earlier than I thought then!