Overgrown privet hedge

[draig]

Hi

I have recently bought a house with an old garden which has privet hedging which is 20ft plus tall, all the leaves are at the top. Does anyone know if it will grow back if I cut is to about 4ft?

[Eco-Chic]

Yes it will grow back over quite a long time. Wait until Spring before cutting it back and give it a good feed in the Spring too.

[lynda66]

i cut mine down to about 4ft in november, and right back to about a foot wide, no green stuff left at all, when i moved in, it grew back quickly when spring started (and is just starting to sprout now) and was covered in leaves completely by summer and by the next year was beautiful

[nick the grief]

Don't so it during bird nesting time just in case. One thing to consider is that it can be a bit of a thug and does take water and nutrients out of the soil so you might want to think about taking it out and putting something else in it's place.

[Two_Sheds]

I have recently bought a house with an old garden which has privet hedging which is 20ft plus tall

That is incredibly tall for a privet. They normally don't get much taller than 9ft at most

[shirlthegirl43]

Hi and welcome to the vine.

Our privet was 20 foot tall - we keep cutting it down but it always gets out of hand. This spring it is coming out completely and we are going to put a fence in instead. Remember the long straight bits can be used instead of canes for your beans and the twiggy top bits are good for pea supports.

[Snadger]

Don't so it during bird nesting time just in case. One thing to consider is that it can be a bit of a thug and does take water and nutrients out of the soil so you might want to think about taking it out and putting something else in it's place.

As long as it's not Leylandii!!!!!

[lynda66]

That is incredibly tall for a privet. They normally don't get much taller than 9ft at most

one of my neighbours privets is so tall, you can only see his house roof above them ..... don't think he likes people much.

[Flummery]

It will regenerate from very low down and be all the better for it - thicker and leafier.

Reminds me of a lady who lived near us - English was not her native language and she usually did very well, even with colloqialisms. However, she had the whole drive in stitches when she said her huband was very proud of how big his privates were!

[Alice]

Welcome to the Vine Draig. You can cut that privet all you like - you can't stop it. It will be back.

Thanks for the laugh Flummery.

[nick the grief]

As long as it's not Leylandii!!!!!

Thats not a plant ... it's a disease

I've got some lawsons cyrpess at the bottom of my garden ( it keeps the fairies dry) they're a bit more manageable but if I had my time again it would be either a mixed jobby or Yew

[draig]

As long as it's not Leylandii!!!!!

I may have over estimated the privet but the leylandii are much much taller.

Thanks to everyone for their comments

We are mostly working on the house at the moment but I cant wait to start on the garden. I am keeping a record on a blogg

Gwynterrace’s Blog

[Flummery]

By heck, you've made some progress there. I'd love a bit of woodland that went down to a stream. Fantastic!

[spiderpig]

good luck with the privet,i did something similar myself in the last couple of years and it definately comes back thick and healthy.The main challenge you'll face though is getting rid of all the stuff you chop down!