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Shrub/Hedge I.D please
We've had this privacy hedge out the front of our house since we moved in and I have never noticed these red tips before... I'm hoping to be told it's a Red Robin? Otherwise, what is it please? Also what's with all the dead wood at bottom of the plant! Have we cut it back too much in the past? And what should I do to make this better? I think this red tipped shrub is mingled in with a different type of hedge (Sorry I didn't capture much of the extended hedge but that's not my biggest issue i suppose.
Will be so greatfull for any advice thank you.
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Well you have a hedge but it's not a photinia. The red edged thing you can see is honeysuckle, but what the hedge is is another matter as I can't see any other leaves. There a hint of a hawthorn in the top picture but what else is there you !ay have to wait till there's more leaf.
I think the hedge may be privet from the look of the stems. Possibly not a healthy one, swamped by the honeysuckle maybe
In the sticks near Peterborough
Before this winter the hedge looked like a plain healthy full green hedge ! It's embarrassing as it looks like i haven't gave a donkeys... I don't have a clue what to do, I'm afraid if i try to save it i will kill it
Hi korno, the evergreen hedge is privet and I think that the red tipped one is a honeysuckle scrambling through it.
To green up the bottom of the privet you would have to prune it back quite hard and as it's a privacy hedge I don't know whether you could live with that.
I had one at the front of my house that was getting too big and was devastated to come home from work one day to discover that my mum and one of the neighbours had chopped it down to 2ft high. "Don't worry, it'll grow back" they said, and it did but it took about 3 years before it looked half decent.
I keep it tightly clipped now, and probably trim it 3 to 4 times during the summer to keep it in ckeck.
NutC Oooh the main hedge does look like a lot like a privet after having just googled some images, still a bit unsure about the red tipped one though!
Thanks Dave, I was still umming and ahhing over honeysuckle images when i got distracted onto the privet.
So i wouldn't mind pruning that hard if that's the case?
Hi Kitty, you're right plus i don't think the OH would like it half gone either, the privet hedge isn't so bad and thst's the majority of the hedge, the bad woody part is the red tipped one - Honeysuckle that is just a small part about 1/4 the size of the pivetat the end where the drive begins
You can hack honeysuckle back to the bottom, it will come back.
In the sticks near Peterborough
You could always try to keep the height roughly the same and hard prune only on one side. Give it a feed and see if it greens up lower down. If it works do the other side in a couple of years.
Mine was woody at the base on the east facing side, not enough sunlight.