What to Do With This Hedge!

Zak Flaps

Hi.

So here is my hedge.



Half of it seems to be dead. How would I deal with this?
Is it salvageable?

Thanks.

blackbox

I can't see from the picture what variety of hedging plants they are.

Most hedging plants will regenerate if cut back severely (this is why they are used for hedges).

Reckless Abandonment

Looks like beech . Where them planks of wood covering part of it.? Looks healthy at the top and bottom.

_Brian

I would feed that hedge to strengthen it.

It looks like it dried out terribly during the drought. Make sure and keep plenty of water to it.

Then research pruning it to encourage it to thicken you more.

looksee

It could just be snowberry, but its impossible to see any real detail of leaves or growth, a better pic would help. My first thought was privet, going on the long stalks at the top, but the leaves don't look quite right. If it is snowberry they are a sprawling weed of a plant which is fine in a wild environment but never looks tidy otherwise. It appears to have partially died back at some stage then frantically produced some new growth in an effort to survive, which suggests it would survive pruning.

You need to establish what it is before deciding how to treat it.

It looks as though it is not happy in the spot where it is, possibly too overshadowed. Without further identification, I would be inclined to cut it right down, past the dead part, clean it out and put some mulch/feed around the roots (not up against the trunk). If it rallies keep it trimmed and under control right from the start - you can allow it to grow taller but trim the tips of the new growth as it does so. If it does not grow again dig it out and start again with something suited to the site.

Zak Flaps

Thanks for your input guys.
I've no idea what it is but here are some better photos.





They are a little sheltered by some trees from trees in our own garden and neighbours, but the hedge does get sun.



It's weird, the leaves at the bottom of this stalk are dead, but they are fine at the top.


PS: I am a beginner gardener. Result of Covid 19 lockdown.
But enjoying it much more than i thought i would.

looksee

Yes, that does look like snowberry. Have you seen the large white berries on it? (Poisonous). They are a rather scruffy, rampaging, vigorously suckering shrub that tends to grow wider than it does high. You might be advised to look along the bottom of the bush and find the old wood and cut it out, and leave new suckers to replace them, they do grow in a tangle. Its quite likely that there are also other things mixed in there - the tall shoots growing out of the top could be privet, they are a bit high for snowberry. The snowberry leaf has a few variations though so its hard to tell. You also have a young ash tree.

On balance you can do pretty much what you want, if it is snowberry or privet it will be hard to kill it - if you cut it down and dig the roots you are still likely to find odd suckers coming. Its a good hedge to practise on!

standardg60

looksee wrote: »

Yes, that does look like snowberry. Have you seen the large white berries on it? (Poisonous). They are a rather scruffy, rampaging, vigorously suckering shrub that tends to grow wider than it does high. You might be advised to look along the bottom of the bush and find the old wood and cut it out, and leave new suckers to replace them, they do grow in a tangle. Its quite likely that there are also other things mixed in there - the tall shoots growing out of the top could be privet, they are a bit high for snowberry. The snowberry leaf has a few variations though so its hard to tell. You also have a young ash tree.

On balance you can do pretty much what you want, if it is snowberry or privet it will be hard to kill it - if you cut it down and dig the roots you are still likely to find odd suckers coming. Its a good hedge to practise on!

Spot on, bit of a relic of Victorian times like Leycesteria, no Privet that i can see but yes an Ash and Honeysuckle in your hand.
Suffering from drought but will recover fine, berries are lovely but are rarely seen due to Summer trimming, a good prune over Winter are all they need.

Zak Flaps

I've lived here for 21 months....i don't think i've ever seen white berries on it!

westsidestory

IMO snowberry makes an untidy unsatisfactory hedge. It wants to sucker all day long and outgrow it's space while never really being a solid hedge/boundary. Small thorns and whispish growth but the white berries are ornate, I'd be in there like a MF digging out what I can....a mattock a good job to go at the stubborn roots. It's a persistent old pest to get rid of but clearing out the re-emerging growth will be handy enough till a replacement hedge will thicken out and take hold.