This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
removing hedge roots
Yolanda2
Posts: 2
Can anyone tell me what is the easiest way to remove these hedge roots without damaging the fence behind them. The roots are from 80 year old privets, the fence was put in about 8 years ago. Most of them are totally solid and digging is really tough. I cannot get a van or any large diggers in the garden as its in the back garden. Thank you in advance.
0
Posts
If you can't get machinery in your only real option is hard graft. In a similar situation I used a pick or mattock to dig around each section of root, and then an axe to cut down through to soil. Then it's a case of rocking each section back and forward to expose more root ... cut, rock and repeat until the root ball comes loose.
Try a stump grinder - one of the smaller ones about the size of a petrol lawnmower. We got someone to grind out a large tree root and he also dealt with the roots of some large shrubs at the same time.
You can hire them yourself or get a landscaping firm or gardener to do the job.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
My concern with trying to use a car engine hoist is that the roots will definitely be going under the fence, and hauling on the stump is likely to disturb the fence too. If there is nothing growing on the other side of the fence it might be worth removing the panel and gravel board as you tackle each section. That would avoid potential damage and give more working space.