Privit hedge
Kevin & Karin
First time posting for me....gulp!
We have a 75ft (approx.) privit hedge that is a bit straggley on top (8ft in
stocking feet). We've let it grow a little too fast and the top is long
strands without much substance. I really do need to trim the hedge but by
how much and when? I also need to fill a couple of small holes in the base,
can I just buy a small privit and plant in the space or is there a better
way.
Hope you can help
cheers
Kevin
Nick Maclaren
Don't worry - it gets easier :-)
>We have a 75ft (approx.) privit hedge that is a bit straggley on top (8ft in
>stocking feet). We've let it grow a little too fast and the top is long
>strands without much substance. I really do need to trim the hedge but by
>how much and when? I also need to fill a couple of small holes in the base,
>can I just buy a small privit and plant in the space or is there a better
>way.
Whenever you want. Now, for example. Privet is very hard to kill.
Don't prune it VERY hard after midsummer, or the new growth may
not survive the winter. I would take it down to c. 1' below where
you want it now, and allow it to thicken.
Yes, you can interplant. Loosen the soil, add some compost, and
water it in dry weather until it is established, because otherwise
the existing plants may take all the water etc. I haven't done this,
but have seen it done.
Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QG, England.
Email: nm...@cam.ac.uk
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679
Andy Mabbett
>I also need to fill a couple of small
>holes in the base, can I just buy a small privit and plant in the space
>or is there a better
>way.
Grow your own, from cuttings.
--
Andy Mabbett
"There's nothing really influencing the weather at the moment"
Shefali Oza, BBC Midlands Weather presenter; 30 March 2001
Karen Mountford
I'll add to this Nick :-)
You may not need to do the interplanting bit, depending on how big your gaps are.
If you trim away any dead wood, make sure that the light can reach into the base
of the hedge by ensuring the hedge is narrower at the top than at the bottom, you
will probably find that the hedge will fill in any gaps itself.
I had a three foot gap almost to the ground where I pulled dead wood out of an
old privet hedge which filled in within three years and that was in the shade of
a hawthorn tree on soil that is about as good as gravel pit diggings.
Karen (Coastal Suffolk)
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