Anotherone bites the dust?

It Was always a bit patchy but brown seems to be overtaking!

is it finished?

 

This year I noticed one of our privet hedges has 5 large patches that are really struggling . I examined it closely I thought perhaps it was short of food So I give it spot of Tomato food. No improvement after a fortnight. I discussed this with my wife over coffee, she said you were treating an infestation of blackberries last year on the same hedge. Indeed I was and with Roundup. I was, I thought extremely careful, using newspaper behind Blackberry to save the hedge and using a very small hand sprayer. But on reflection That is all it could be. A big mistake on my part. Some Weed killers kill from root up and as the leaves are minute this may be the case here.
So there you have it a real shame and I thought I was above mistakes.
The hedge came as cuttings from my late fathers home 50 or so years ago. I may have to plant some more cuttings.
Will it recover .

 

It's common with many conifers @enc, if they experience long periods of drought, and very few types come back from brown wood. The damage isn't always visible until it's too late.
However, it can also be animal urine that's caused it. The outcome's the same though.

If you've killed it off with a weedkiller @hans , then it may not recover, and if it was going to - it would have shown some growth by now, so you'll probably have to plant new cuttings or plants. Don't feed it though - feeding something that's already struggling is never a good idea, and tomato food isn't suitable anyway. Just ensure the new plants aren't dry though, especially going into summer conditions if you're in a very dry part of the country, with irregular rainfall.
Beef up the soil with some good organic matter first. That's far more beneficial than any separately applied food, although once you get to the stage of getting the new plants in and once they're thriving, a liquid seaweed food is good now and again for boosting green growth.

 

fairlygirl. thanks for input. there is growth but very poor indeed. The hedge is fine the other side no gaps. I will wait and root from good parts later.

 

yes , I thought as much... ill give it a few weeks..thanks for the reply.

 

I can't remember if I've grown privet from cuttings in the past, but it's probably better to buy a couple of plants @hans .

The site your conifer's in looks very tight @enc, and with the nearby fence as well, it would be quite hard for rain to get in well enough, unless you're in a very wet part of the country. They're shallow rooting, so once they get dried out near the surface long term, that's when they decline.

 

The conifer is in a poor spot surrounded by impenetrable surfaces. A battery hen.

re hedge :- grown totally from cuttings 50 + years ago but they were already rooted.

 

[QUOTE="fairygirl, post: 1479316, member .

The site your conifer's in looks very tight @enc, and with the nearby fence as well, it would be quite hard for rain to get in well enough, unless you're in a very wet part of the country. They're shallow rooting, so once they get dried out near the surface long term, that's when they decline.[/QUOTE]

It started at 30cm from Morrisons gardening section. As I said it’s always been a bit patchy more so as it’s grown. It’s always been well watered but the soil is pretty shallow where it is situated.
also there’s lots of cats in the area…so your theory about animal pee could be a contributing factor.