Cutting privet hedges back

I've allowed one of my privet boundary hedges to become quite wide and I'd like to try and reduce the width if possible to keep it manageable. I know from my bonsai experience that privet in pots back buds quite easily growing on old wood but I'm not sure if the same would happen on a hedge.

Can anyone please advise if it's OK to reduce the width of a privet hedge and, if so, when would be the best time to do it? Any help or advice would be most appreciated.

 

Yes, privet can be hard pruned and it will bounce back. This is ideally done in late winter before the fresh growth starts but as long as there are no nesting birds in it you could do this now. I had over 200 feet of privet over six feet tall in my last property and it responded well to reshaping when I first moved in, followed by regular pruning in spring and late summer.

 

Brilliant, thanks for the help.

 

Privet not only survives hard pruning, it seems to take it as a challenge. When I lived at home we had a privet hedge and it always seemed to grow even stronger after being given a short back and sides.

 

Thanks for the help.

 

It certainly doesn't mind a good haircut @FiestaRed , as the others have said. If anything, it can benefit from one as it rejuvenates the whole thing.
It also means you can clear all the area around and below it, and beef up the soil a bit with some added compost or similar, a good watering if you're short of rain over summer, and a mulch. That'll set it up for the next few years.
It certainly does best with plenty of rain and mild conditions.

 

Thanks for the help.