severe privet pruning

[oddjobgeorge]

It is November. Can I safely cut my privet hedge in half?
It is two feet thick and overhangs the pavement .
Local Authority require it to be 'trimmed'.

 

[breezer]

either way you have answered your own question

 

[Pushfit]

Hi,
Privet is a very hard plant.
You should cut it back MORE than you need, and next spring it will sprout like crazy. You can then trim the soft growth back to where it needs to be.
If you don't cut it back hard enough then the thick cut ends will always be visible.
Some years ago I needed to cut my neighbour's privet hedge back by almost three feet where over the years it had encroached into my garden. It survived OK and looked better for it after a couple of years.

Hope that helps.

 

[coldshowerkid]

i agree with previous answer. the privet i had i too had to cut back about 18inches so i cut back more and was then easy to trim. mind you after a few years i got fed up of all the trimming a dug it up, problem solved!

 

[IJWS15]

Yes you can cut it back very hard.

Around 25 years ago my father trimmed a party hedge back to the boundary with a hatchet - left an 18" wide hedge entirely on the neighbours property. a year later he had a lovely green face to the hedge and the neighbour asked him if he would do the same for his half of the hedge . . . . !