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Pruning new hedge - have I killed it?

Rachy2Rachy2 Posts: 15
in Problem solving

I planted a new hedge a week ago. They are bare root, some five foot and some three foot. I read some pruning instructions on the internet and I thought it said snip off every bud, so I did. Literally every bud, large or small. Very conscientiously. It took a while. I've just looked on the internet for the instructions that I read, but I can only find instructions saying remove every leading bud. Now I wonder whether I misread them and failed to notice the word "leading." Have I killed these poor plants?  What will they feed on Without leaves? Or will new buds form? I wonder whether I could remedy the situation by cutting them down to a low height, but I really don't want to this.

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  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,888

    what plants are you talking about?

    Devon.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190

    Let us know what it is, I can't imagine who wrote instructions for you to snip off all the buds! 

    If they were 3'  when you planted, you can cut them back to 2ft, that will allow them to shoot out from the bottom.

    need to know what they are, but that's generally what you do with hedging

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    Lyn has given the correct advice re new hedging - you cut back the tops to encourage new, bushier growth from the base. 

    An ID will help with advice and hopefully your hedge can be saved Rachy. Many hedging plants are very tough so fingers crossed. image

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Rachy2Rachy2 Posts: 15

    Thank you for your replies. They are beech.

    Could it be a method for triggering dormant buds? I remember it said this is the secret to a good thick hedge.

    In case it's relevant, the buds were very tiny. The biggest were less than half a millimetre.

  • Rachy2Rachy2 Posts: 15

    Hostafan 1, Lyn and Fairygirl, thank you. It sounds as if I should cut the tops off. Most of them are five foot high, and some of them are three foot. I was hoping they would eventually become a hedge of about 8 foot high. 

  • Rachy2Rachy2 Posts: 15

    Some of the tiny buds may have even have survived because they were hard to find, hiding away at the base of each leaf. I searched for them conscientiously and delicately, while trying not to disturb the leaves. How can I have been so foolish! Or is this really a little known technique?

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    Smaller whips establish quicker Rachy - so it's rarely worthwhile buying bigger specimens unfortunately. However, you are where you are, so have a look and see if there are other buds breaking on the whips lower down. I think all you can do is - wait and see. Ideally you want them all at the same height to start off with, but I think I'd leave any more chopping for now! image

    A bit of warmth in another month or so, and they should start into growth which you will see. If nothing happens, then you may lose some of them. I'll keep my fingers crossed - beech is pretty tough image

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Rachy2Rachy2 Posts: 15

    Thank you for the advice, Fairygirl. Just so I don't seem completely mad, I should explain that the three foot ones are to hopefully give it a natural looking tailing off in a curve at the end. 

    Sadly, I committed my delicate butchery on the buds even on the lowest little branches, kneeling the mud to do it for hours! I'm so glad you advise to leave any more chopping for now as I think these poor beeches would die of fright if I approached them with a sharp blade now. 

    Thanks again and I'm glad to learn beech is tough.

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    Cross your fingers Rachy and pray as well if that's your inclination - you never know! image

    Not much you can do at the moment. The weather will start to  improve soon - depending on where you are in the country - and you'll see a bit of growth if they're going to come away. If not - it's all a learning curve! We all do these things at some point. 

    Even the experts have made similar mistakes. I remember  Alan Titchmarsh saying that, when he was an apprentice, he took every bud off thousands of chrysanthemums because he misunderstood the instruction!  image

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Rachy2Rachy2 Posts: 15

    Thanks Fairygirl. After this I am inclined to pray, to Fairies. It was your telling of the Alan Titmarsh & the chrsanthemums story that did it. Thank you xx

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