Replacing hedge question!

[sandspider]

Hi all

Bit of a long winded question I'm afraid, but I'm hoping for some advice on hedging plants.

I bought a house last year with a multi level garden, one of which is directly behind the house (separated by a little passageway, the house is set into the ground). The edge closest to the house is shaded by the house, and slopes quite steeply. The previous owners put in a huge conifer hedge (2m tall by about 1.5m thick) about 1m from the edge of the plot and I pruned this a fair bit to try and get some of my garden back! The pruning was successful, but the conifers didn't really sprout again (I feared they wouldn't, but the hedge was so thick it had to be pruned).

Anyway, the hedge is now a bit ugly, but still rather thick, so I was thinking of taking it out altogether, and replanting a nicer hedge right at the edge of the plot closest to the house. I quite fancy a box hedge, or maybe privet - something relatively attractive, but not as hard to cut as the conifers. However, I think that box may need more light, and am not sure about privet. What could I plant right in the shade of the house that would make a nice dense hedge, but not get out of control? (I don't want roots coming through the wall of the passageway!) The soil is quite rich, but soggy I think. (Plenty of moss in my lawn).

Also, would extending the lawn to cover the land now occupied by the conifer hedge be a horrible job? (I imagine there would be lots of roots and things that would be hard to get rid of). May be simpler to leave that land as a flower bed instead...?

Here are a few pictures to give you some idea of what I'm talking about:

***Removed by Moderator due to size***

Sorry, this question rambled a bit!

Many thanks for any suggestions.

Giles

[PAULW]

SS
Would def take the conifers out looks like they got out of control many years ago, have you though about replacing with holly.

[sagegreen]

Hi, my first reaction was...call in a professional landscape gardener! Although it will be relatively easy to cut down this established hedge, the roots will have taken all the nutrients from the soil and it will be a fair old job to remove them. Replacing the hedge really depends on what is on the other side i.e. do you want privacy from a neighbour? If so golden privet is attractive, easy and quite quick growing;box hedging is very 'formal' and will only give you a couple of feet in height. For a more informal hedge I would suggest lavender - or the thorns of pyracantha or rosa rugosa will give you a fairly inpenetrable boundary. Or else just turf it over!!

[SarzWix]

I'm sorry, I've had to remove your photo links - they were so big they were pushing the page out of sync, and anybody still on dial-up (yes, there are still) would have waited all day for them to load...

Is there any chance that you could load from your computer files via 'Manage Attachments'? These then come up as clickable thumbnails instead.

[sandspider]

I'm sorry, I've had to remove your photo links - they were so big they were pushing the page out of sync, and anybody still on dial-up (yes, there are still) would have waited all day for them to load...

Is there any chance that you could load from your computer files via 'Manage Attachments'? These then come up as clickable thumbnails instead.

Whoops, sorry! Sorted now. The ones I linked to before were 1/4 the size of the originals, so it could have been worse!

[sandspider]

Thanks for the responses.

Yes, my neighbour's garden overlooks mine around the edge of the house, so I would like to put something prettier, smaller and more manageable back in its place. I've got a couple of professionals coming round to give me removal quotes, but I fear they might be quite pricey so I'd rather do it myself - up until I meet the roots, anyway!

I hadn't thought about replacing with holly, but I had thought about privet. Will golden privet grow in a fairly shady damp location? Oh, and is golden privet the one that smells nice on a summer evening? (You're right - box wouldn't grow high enough, or fast enough...)

Would I be right in assuming that spring would be the best time to plant a new (privet) hedge? How high and thick would lavender become? (Another nice smelly one...)

Cheers

[Scottishnewbie]

We've just taken out the first 4 of a 12 tree long conifer 'hedge' about 20 feet tall. It is really hard work and I'd urge you to think twice about doing it yourself - if oyu can afford someone else to do it it would be worth while. We chainsawed them down and then used our tractor to try and pull the roots out - didnt work and we had to dig right into the roots and try and chop them up before trying with the tractor again. we are exhausted and i think it'll take us weeks to get it all done.

not sure what we plan to replace it with (if anything) but the soil is definately depleted and will need lots of rest and stuff added in before we do anything - that's if we dont die of exhaustion first!

[Lovage]

Conifers are not that deep rooted and relatively easy to dig out. The trick is not to cut them down to ground level first - cut off the top and side branches leaving the main stem 4 - 6 ft long for good leverage. Then dig all the way around the plant perhaps 18in away from main stem, most roots can be cut by a spade, larger ones with loppers or an old saw. Once you've dug all the way round just pull back on the main stem and it should fall over perhaps exposing a few more roots underneath.

I agree with suggestion for golden privet, cheap, attractive and quick growing. Privet can also be kept as a fairly narrow hedge - it doesn't have to be 3ft wide!

[Two_Sheds]

I hadn't thought about replacing with holly

Holly is lovely, but very slow growing

but I had thought about privet.

have a look here for privet advice

How high and thick would lavender become?

about 3 foot high and wide max: very bare & straggly in the winter

[SarzWix]

Whoops, sorry! Sorted now. The ones I linked to before were 1/4 the size of the originals, so it could have been worse!

Brill Thank you

[sandspider]

Thanks one and all. I'll see what the quotes for hedge removal are like, and if they're high I'll get out the long arm loppers and the spade, and start bribing my friends! (Alas, I don't have a tractor!)

When should I plant a new privet hedge for best results? I assume sooner (spring) rather than later (summer / Autumn)?

Cheers.

[solway cropper]

Box is very slow growing so unless you plan on living to a very old age I'd give it a miss. I've just removed most of a 30 year old Lawson cypress that was too close to the house. As lovage says, roots shouldn't be too much of a problem. I've chopped through most with a spade or used a pruning saw on the thicker ones. Still some left but it can be done.

[tamsin]

We had one removed just over a year ago. The did as Lovage suggested, cut all the branches off leaving the trunks. Then they used straps and a had winch (dunno what it's called) and leavered the trunks out braced off each other. Not much digging at all. We did dig out a few big roots deeper down that were left over when we were digging the flowerbed to replace them though.

One thing you could do if they are a bit bare looking is grow a climber through them

[glasgowdan]

Once you manage to get out the bulk of the hedge with most of the main roots, hire a rotovator for the day and just turn over the whole area. Dig out a few spadefulls of the existing topsoil per m2 and buy in the equivalent of 50mm of fresh topsoil from a supplier (should cost no more than £30 per tonne). Spread new topsoil over the rotovated area, make it level by walking over it with tiny shuffly footsteps then decide what you want to plant, be it turf, hedging etc.

In the shade I would probably stick to a conifer but good idea to plant something nicer where the sun hits it.

[Nicos]

Is the area sloping?
Could the roots be supporting the slope ?
Just a thought!

I too would keep away from holly- when it sheds its leaves you need a really thick pair of gloves to handle them

A right pain!