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Rejuvenate red Berberis hedge

phill4phill4 Posts: 23
in Problem solving

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Hi all. I managed to get out for a few hours today and have started to plan the renovation of a hedge. 

We have lived in the house for 18 months and have started to renovate the mature but in kept garden. Most of the shrubs in the garden have been left to grow for many years and have gone woody and leggy. 

The hedge doesnt grow properly. It's got a lovely colour on the tops where I trimmed it back last year but I would like to bring it back to a full and thick hedge. You'll also see in the photos that there are some big gaps. The spacing seems rather wide to me. 

How best should I deal with this hedge or should I rip it all out and replant from new. 

Thanks!

Posts

  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307

    First of all pruning deciduous Berberis is normally done after flowering, but as long as you do not mind losing any flowers, you may do it now.

    You may cut all those stems back to just a few inches above ground level. They will then produce lots of new stems during the year.

    Might be worth giving them a feed with a high nitrogen fertiliser afterwards to get them to make new leaves.

  • phill4phill4 Posts: 23

    Thanks. That's what I was hoping. I don't mind losing flowers for this year if they'll come back in the future. Do you think the spacing looks ok? Some of the gaps are quite wide. I might put some new plants in between the existing. 

  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307

    I think that once they begin to shoot you would be able to prune them to grow together to fill the gaps.

  • OnopordumOnopordum Posts: 390

    I wouldn't give nitrogen fertiliser to the berberis but you could add a good layer of organic mulch. Be good to add some early flowering bulbs like snowdrops underneath.

  • phill4phill4 Posts: 23

    I was looking for bare root plants to interplant into the gaps. Now I'm confused about which barberis varie to purchase. Some of the purple varieties are slow growing low hedges. the existing hedge is approx 1.5m and that is the height I would like to maintain. What variety should I order?

  • phill4phill4 Posts: 23

    Could it be berberis thunbergii? Would that be suitable for a 1.5-1.8m hedge? Or maybe this https://www.best4hedging.co.uk/berberis-x-ottawensis-hedge-plants-pp10

    Last edited: 05 February 2017 17:20:48

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