Hard Pruning a Bay Hedge
Dave Humby
Posts: 1,145
Hi, this is my first post as a novice gardener so please go easy on me. We recently moved into a new property with a very mature bay(?) hedge as per the pic below
I guess the hedgerow is probably around 10ft in depth. The trunks are on the other side of the fence which you can just about see in the pic. The fence is around 4ft high at this point. I've read that this type of shrub can be cut back hard and we regrow. I'd like to 'raise the crown' as such to the top of the fence and cut it back from the road side so it's pretty much in line (vertically) with the boundary.
im guessing it will look pretty ugly to start with but will it recover if I go down this route? I'm thinking it should be done in the spring to coincide with the growing season?
i would appreciate any comments as to whether this is a sensible plan lol.
Posts
Hi Dave, welcome
A close up would confirm bay (or not). I can't tell from that distance but suspect not. Does it smell like bay when you squeeze the leaves?
In the sticks near Peterborough
Looks like Portuguese laurel, prunus lusitanica
Thanks for the welcome NC. I will take a close-up pic tomorrow and post up for an ID.
The leaves are very waxy and its evergreen. I have given it a gentle trim with an electric hedge trimmer on the 'house' side and it re-grew nicely but I'd like to be somewhat more aggressive as long as it's a sensible thing to do aesthetically.
thanks again.
Most things will take a hard prune but there are always exceptions.
In the sticks near Peterborough
Rhod I did a quick Google search and I think you're right. I'll take a snap tomorrow for you to look at.
If that is the beast would I be OK to go hard at it in the spring?
I'd wait for the spring, it's not to grow much over winter. Hard pruning will be fine, you should see regrow the within 4-6 weeks.
Took a close-up pic as requested
Does look like the Portuguese Laurel suggestion. On close inspection there are just a couple of main trunks on the property side of the fence but quite close to it. I'm guessing if I cut back from the road side I should leave branches extending 18" or so rather than right back to the main trunks themselves? Sound right, or?
thanks again.
Yes, Portugal laurel, Prunus lusitanicus.
How short to cut the branches is a difficult one to answer. The odd one might die back but over all it will be OK. I favour cutting back to the main stem as it looks less ugly initially. But see what others think.
The important thing is to cut it well back from where you want the hedge to be eventually, otherwise the stumps are exposed too easily after trimming
In the sticks near Peterborough
A couple of months back I went ahead and had the hedge cut back to the fence line and also reduced by c1.5m in height by tree surgeons to allow me to be able to prune in future at a manageable level. I left the house side of the hedge in tact with the intention of doing that side myself next summer as I didn't want to have a skeleton of a hedge this year.
However the new growth has been quick in coming and it is already resembling a nice solid hedge once again. My question is, is it OK to go ahead and trim back the house side now and still expect good recovery growth in the coming weeks or should I leave it till next year? It seems these Portuguese Laurels pretty much just grow and grow with the exception of the winter months.
Here is the 'after' from the roadside trim and height reduction.