Will my hedge grow back?

pimento

Here is a view taken from my upstairs back window of what is left of our hawthorn hedge. It was taken down from approx 10 feet to five feet while we were away on holiday by the fire station contractors (we're next door to a fire station).

Can someone who knows hawthorns tell me whether the hedge will grow back and if so, how long it it likely to take?

Thank you.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28905253@N07/9493766696/

molerat

Hawthorn grows at around 6 -18 inches per year depending on conditions. In spring there should be new shoots appearing from the cut stems. The only problem could be if the hedge has not been properly managed (regularly trimmed) and all the young growth has now been cut off of the top so most of the remaining stems are old wood which could leave a gappy hedge for a few years.

Davesnave

It will be fine, regardless. Hawthorn is tough and will re-sprout, even if reduced to almost zero.

If it really is your hedge, by accepted garden law they should have offered you the trimmings. I bet you are glad they didn't though! :rotfl:

DaftyDuck

Being contentious, the best thing for that hedge would be a severe prune... and that was simply not severe enough. I know from your previous thread that's exactly what you don't want to hear, but the hedge is too thick for good low growth, has too much mature wood (wanting to make trees, not hedge), and is simply not dense enough for a good screen.

Will it grow back? Undoubtedly yes, and greener and more vigorous than before. In a year's time you'll not see the older wood. The top part of the hedge will be greener, healthier and denser than the lower portion.

Have you given any thought to having the hedge trimmed even more severely? Thinned from the FB side, trimmed down to two feet high and two thick, say? It would be up to five feet again in 18 - 24 months, then as high as you liked after that, but would be a far finer hedge for it?

I've had several hawthorn hedges, some of which have been flailed to the ground by a farmer & tractor (asked for by me!). The resulting controlled growth made a vast improvement on the mismanaged mess that was there before.

Your hedge will regrow. It will be better than before. It will be better for wildlife than it was. The new growth will partly come from the now-exposed timber in the middle of the hedge, where it was too dark for growth before.

Mojisola

Davesnave wrote: »

It will be fine, regardless. Hawthorn is tough and will re-sprout, even if reduced to almost zero.

It will grow back and probably be better for the drastic pruning but it will be a few years before it gets back to the height you had before.

Has the Fire Service come good with their promises to find some way of giving you your privacy back until the hedge grows?

pimento

Thanks everyone. They have offered to put temporary fencing (like this)

http://www.maltaward.co.uk/media/temporary-security-fencing.jpg

covered with a camoflage of plastic leaves. I'm more inclined to ask them for a proper fence their side of the hedge.

I agree that it is very wide and could do with a proper prune. It's (it was) a beast but we did what we could with it. We never expected that they would so drastically cut it without prior consultation, though. It didn't really need too much off the height, to narrow it on one side one year and then the other the next might have been the best thing.

azzabazza

I personally would not want this heras type fencing which reminds me of building sites. I think I would push for proper boundary type fencing.

DaftyDuck

I'm really not sure you should push for fencing of any kind. The hedge will grow back, and won't take long. The over-trim was a mistake, but not necessarily 100% fault of the other party.Any money for the fence may well be money diverted from fire services. Frankly, I'd suggest just waiting for nature to take its course!