Looking after / growing privet (?) hedge

Hi

Our garden has what I think is a privet hedge as one of its borders. Part of it is growing well but one side is a lot lower and thinner.

I want to grow it as high as possible for privacy reasons so would appreciate some tips on how best to do this. I've read you must 'feed' hedges - but with what ? how ? and when ?

The same species of hedge was also growing in another part of the garden but is a lot older. It had started growing sideways! - ie it had got to about 5 feet tall then clearly fallen to one side and ended up being about 2 metres thick - How can I avoid this with the younger version that's still growing?

Thanks

 

Privet doesnt grow well over about six foot, as it doesnt self suport itself. Is the area thats not thriving in shade, under or close to trees?

As for feeding, a mulch of compost or multch to retain moisture and about four doses of a high nitrogen feed, feed during spring and summer.

Dont be tempted to NOT cut the top so as to let it grow up, youll get better upward growth by cutting the top and removing a few inches.

 

6 foot really ? hmm, perhaps it's not privet then as one around the corner (at a house nearby) has one that's probably 8 - 10 feet and looks the same species ...

The bit that's not thriving has the same amount of light. The only thing I can think of is that our house was unlived in for some time and people used to climb over into the garden at this point ( to retrieve balls) but I don't know whether this is the cause.

So for high nitrogen feed what would this be? I had a look in a garden centre today and saw feed for roses, shrubs etc but none mentioned hedges. Is there a brand to look out for ?

Also - there's quite a bit of grass growing around the roots that the mower won't get - should I get this out with a strimmer or by hand of leave it ?

Thanks for the advice!

 

Miracle grow, or growmore will do the trick, Id pull the grass up by hand.

If you post a picture up then we can identify the hedge. When i say doesnt grow well, it will obviusly grow past six foot but is prone to snow damadge etc, ideally if you grow it past six foot then you want it growing with a taper to the top so snow doesnt lie.

 

i have the same problem with mine(i think its a privite hedge)

this is what it looked like last yr

snapped my achilles 2yrs ago so garden went to pot.So I'm back with a vengeance this yr:thumb:

 

Hi paul

Here are some pics - you can see how much lower it is on the right - the hedge runs roughly north - south.

Be great if you can identify it...

Cheers


Roger

 

I rekon it is privet, possibly a bit of golden lonicera aswell in picture four. First off you want to cut it, regular cutting will encouradge more growth, try and cut it with a taper to the top as I mentioned so as it sheds snow.

As its a good length, growmore will likely be the cheapest feed or perhaps blood fish and bone.

 

Thanks Paul that's very useful - I'll be sure to trim the top this weekend.

Snow's not really a problem as we're by the coast - we only had about half an inch in that mad week last winter when other parts had over a foot!

 

Hi Paul

I had look at a 10KG tub of blood fish and bone - the instructions stated it was best dug into the soil. Obviously this won't be possible so do I just scatter it all around the roots and then water it?

Roger

 

Hoeing in would do, is that an option?

If you just leave it on the surface it may blow about, its quite fine (unlike granular fertilizer which is heavy enough to stay put!)

 

Not really - the ground is very hard and not much room between the trunks (if that's the right term for a hedge stem thing!) ...

 

The solution is to mix it with some sand or cheap compost, this way its easyer to spread and stays put.