Shrub help please

Hi,

I need a bit a help with this shrub outside the front of my (new-old) house.

Firstly - could someone please identify what kind of shrub it is?
Secondly - I want to trim it right back so that it is flush with the wall, will this be ok to do in one hit, or something I need to do over time?
Lastly - How to get the most fullness/ greenery out of it? Should I feed it?

Many thanks in advance.

 

Its a hedge, wouldn't like to say what kind of hedge, maybe some close ups of the leaves, does it flower etc. more info.
I would have said privet from the pictures but it looks too leafless to me and might well be something different.

I'd probably cut it back about 4 ins or more behind the wall and then cut the new growth back flush with the wall.

 

Sorry, yes, I meant a hedge.

I wasn't sure if it was a privet or not.

 

Some more closeups might help the ID, but it looks well established as a hedging plant so I think you could cut it back a bit, by going back a bit further than the face of the wall you will then be able to clip the new growth back to the face of the wall and hopefully have a greener appearance.
Obviously it not going to happen until next year now, so I'd do it around early March myself.

 

Thanks, I will post some better pics tomorrow.

 

That looks like privet to me. It can take any amount of cutting back, at virtually any time, but it also depends where you are as to when it's ideal. It's been very mild almost everywhere, but cutting back now in colder areas can mean new growth will be damaged if it suddenly turns even colder. Having said that, it would still come back, but you'd get a rather brown hedge for a while. Privet isn't evergreen, but stays pretty green all year round in mild parts of the country.

It isn't a great idea to feed at this time of year. That's better done in spring, with the odd feed through summer if you want - a seaweed feed is ideal for that, but if the soil's in good condition, it shouldn't need any artificial food. Always better to improve the soil - clearing away anything growing around the base and adding organic matter, compost, leaf mould, rotted manure etc.
They also like lots of moisture, and that can be difficult in drier areas through summer, or if the hedge is top heavy and rain isn't getting into the base. Shaping it so that the top is narrower than the base can help with that.

 

Wow thats brilliant thanks for the advice.

I wasn't sure if cutting it back too much might kill it off, and I assume it took a while to reach its current height.

Hopefully a bit of a feed in spring helps create more leaf growth as it is a bit patchy at the moment.

 

It does look like privet and in need of some rejuvenation, A good cut back fairly hard in all areas would be my approach, next spring, followed by a trim of the new growth later in the summer.
I wonder if the previous owners let it get out of hand and just gave it a quick tidy up.

Personally I'm not a fan of rounded blobby type hedges and would try to get it to a squarer shape over a year or two.

 

Yes, exactly that. I want it neat and square to the wall. It looks a bit of a mess and you are correct that it was just trimmed a couple of times a year to keep it in check. I'll cut it right back in Spring. Thank you.

 

In the right conditons and climate, it grows very rapidly, so they can need trimming several times a year. Privet grows very quickly here due to the amount of rain. In drier areas it'll tend to be less green and productive.
You don't need to worry about cutting back hard - it'll actually do it good.

 

When you cut it back in spring @Beatts, if you don't have an opportunity to improve the soil beforehand, some blood fish and bone will help to revive it. In a previous garden, I inherited a privet hedge which was over 6 feet high and 200 feet long which had been badly neglected and on poor, sandy soil. I reduced the width and height within days of moving in and it responded well, greening up nicely. Just take your time and invest in a good hedge trimmer if you don't already have one. Mine stayed green all year but it is comparatively mild here over winter.