Has my hedge ceased to be

mdori003

Hi there, first time posting in the green fingered section (and only recently got a garden!) so please be kind!
I have a mature leylandii and laur around house (just moved here) whilst getting a dead tree removed the tree surgeon said that a large amount of ivy was smothering the leylandii- I've since killed the ivy and removed a fair chunk of it...underneath it does look quite dead, particularly beside the tree.
I was wondering if it was salvageable and how you would tell? If it is dead I'll take my time clearly the detritus from the hedge but if it is saveable I'll get it all off today. Keen for any advice - not afraid of hard work but have no technical skill 

Maxson

Unfortunately that hedge may grow back in places but I doubt it will ever look good again. That type of conifer won't grow new shoots from old wood. It's probably not dead but some parts won't be green again in other words but give it a month or so and see how it goes. It will need digging out and replacing or you could grow an evergreen climber on it.

Davesnave

It's had it.

As for growing an evergreen climber on it, the OP's vendor just did!

Justagardener

Rip it out and start again 

MysteryMe

Be careful ripping it out right now in case you have nesting birds using it.

Hasbeen

Op your hedge has not ceased to be. Its actually deceased. 
Cut it all down to ground level, if possible even below that and put up a fence.

mdori003

Thanks all...in my heart I knew this but just didn't want to face the truth! I'd be tempted to use laurel rather than leylandii as it just seems much more resilient - for continuity's sake can anyone tell me exactly what hedge it is on the other side of the tree stump so I can plant more of that?

[Deleted User]

mdori003 said:

Thanks all...in my heart I knew this but just didn't want to face the truth! I'd be tempted to use laurel rather than leylandii as it just seems much more resilient - for continuity's sake can anyone tell me exactly what hedge it is on the other side of the tree stump so I can plant more of that?  

Possibly Privet ? Can you take a detailed shot of the leaves ?
That makes a nice, dense, hedge.

Laurel is a large shrub and will require a lot of pruning to keep it in check; it's gorgeous and definitely a contender in large gardens as excellent hedging.

It's a pity that the conifer has gone; I love conifer trees, there are loads of different types and it's the mass planting of Leylandii, in the '80's, that led to its bad reputation, people planted many huge varieties of conifer back then with no proper knowledge of the species,  suburban gardens are not what they're for really - however, small birds love them for their density.  

Thuja and Juniper are some of my favourites for suburban use as they can be  slower growing and less of a canopy. 

Thuya smaragd are what I have planted this year in my own garden    


Edit: 

This needs professional removal, by the way; removing the body of the hedge aswell as the stumps and roots; do a search for gardeners/tree surgeons with stump grinders because you can't plant anything until that's all cleared out.


Regarding replanting your hedge; unless you want to wait 5-10 years for the new plants to reach that height you'll need to buy 'established' or 'instant impact' plants.

If you plant them this year you'll need c-o-p-I-o-u-s watering for the remainder of the year; maybe consider doing this next year late winter/early spring which is more conducive to new plant roots establishing as insufficient watering, this year,  could cause the whole lot to not embed well enough and as this will take up a lot of your hard earned money it's not worth the risk.

Davesnave

I would leave the main body of the hedge there for security and privacy until next autumn. By then you'll be able to organise professional removal and have a plan decided. For example, there's the option of temporary woven bamboo screening until a new hedge establishes. Bare root plants will be available mail order from November and they will be cheaper than pot-tended instant stuff - your choice.

You've already supplied a picture of the hedge beyond the stump (penultimate one) which shows clearly that it's privet.

mdori003

Thanks folks, lots of good ideas there. I'll leave it until autumn and see what the wider situations are around covid and start replanting. The bamboo fence is a great shout- we have a young daughter so keen to maintain the protection from the road.

In the meantime ive started trying to propagate some cuttings of the neighbouring bush as an experiment, but doubt they'll grow to be 3metres time! 

Justagardener

The sooner you get rid of it the better it looks like Brian May's plug hole. If you are not going to put in mature plants, you could cut the dead hedge back to the trunk on your garden side and slip privet in  so it gets established this season. Then when times become normal, you can have  the old hedge removed (cut back to ground level) and still keep your privacy. It looks like the garden faces west? So it will grow towards the road anyway