How hard can you cut back a hedge?
- Thread starter Keitai
- Start date
I'm not an expert and don't know what type of shrub or hedge that is ( possibly privet )but my guess is that the side in the pic. is north facing or gets very little sunshine. If it were mine I would cut it back very hard,to about 4 foot high and definately off the pavement. Then thin the other side until it was a about 2' 6" deep. That should allow more sun to get through to the pavement side and thicken the hedge evenly when it regrows. I would guess it's pretty fast growing so once it gets to the dimensions you require trim both sides regularly and don't let it get out of control again.
According to Google's image search:-
"The plant in the image appears to be an Elaeagnus hedge, such as an Ebbing's silverberry (Elaeagnus × ebbingei) or a similar oleaster variety".
And according to ChatGPT:-
"Oleaster (Elaeagnus × ebbingei) generally responds very well to hard pruning and can regrow vigorously afterwards.
It tolerates being cut back quite severely, even into older wood
The best time for a hard renovation prune is late winter or early spring, before strong new growth begins.
If the hedge is very overgrown, you can reduce it substantially, but for a very severe cut it can be safer to do it over 2–3 years, rather than removing everything at once."
"The plant in the image appears to be an Elaeagnus hedge, such as an Ebbing's silverberry (Elaeagnus × ebbingei) or a similar oleaster variety".
And according to ChatGPT:-
"Oleaster (Elaeagnus × ebbingei) generally responds very well to hard pruning and can regrow vigorously afterwards.
It tolerates being cut back quite severely, even into older wood
The best time for a hard renovation prune is late winter or early spring, before strong new growth begins.
If the hedge is very overgrown, you can reduce it substantially, but for a very severe cut it can be safer to do it over 2–3 years, rather than removing everything at once."
You've trimmed it. See post #5.
If I was doing it, I'd cut it back further, lower the height, and at least attempt to cut it in a straight line...
First one looks like rosemary ---get yourself 48 legs of lamb and stuff sprigs into the lamb, beautiful.
Chop it all back
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