Removing a huge hedge

sunshineli

We have a corner back garden with a huge laurel hedge at the boundary. We’ve tried to maintain it, paying £500 earlier this year to reduce it in size but it grows so quick and now is out of control again.

We are now considering just removing the hedge completely and replacing with 6ft fence. It’ll be an expensive outlay as it is a large area to fence and a lot of hedge to remove, but it will reduce the amount spent on hedge maintenance in the future. The only thing I’m concerned about it the reduction in privacy. With it being a corner garden the hedge currently covers 4 houses. I’m worried that it will feel really overlooked if it gets removed.

Any suggestions on whether you would try to maintain the hedge, or replace with fencing and plant some other more manageable trees/bushes around the fence for privacy?

Any advice and suggestions much appreciated. I am not a natural gardener and I don’t really know where to start!

twopenny

You could check the overlook by cutting a square chunk out of the hedge to see what you can see. That could give some perspective on your choice.

Easy to do with a pair of long handled loppers. Get some cheap ones as you won't be doing this often and a garden bag for the trimmings.

Growing another hedge in the same spot would mean digging all the soil out and replacing with new. Then years for it to grow if you want slow growing so can probably be ruled out.

FlorayG

You don't say how tall the hedge is. Is it a lot more than 6ft?

Emmia

I think I'd keep the hedge but trim it myself (buying the appropriate tools) to keep it to the desired size. The advantage of doing it yourself is you can trim more regularly.

sunshineli

thanks for your thoughts everyone! Lots to think about. The hedge is about 12ft at the moment!

FreeBear

Going to be the bearer of bad news here. Laurel is a pig to get rid of. You need to dig out the roots or it will throw up suckers after the main tree has been cut down to ground level.

I had a small one (under 6 foot) that had been cut down. Kept throwing up new growth, and I eventually had a mini digger in to remove all the roots - It was done whilst excavating the base for a new driveway. But at least it got rid of the [redacted] thing..

You might have some success in killing the whole thing by drilling holes in to the trunk and injecting it with something like SBK.

Sapindus

You could try taking out alternate plants to keep some privacy but let them grow more like natural trees. Just because something grows 6ft in a year, for example, doesn't mean it will grow another 6ft the next year. The ones you cut down will be at ground level so if they do grow back you can keep on top of it yourself.

Dustyevsky

I reduced our wayward laurels from about 16' to chest height using a battery chainsaw. That must've been almost 2 years ago, because the logs are now ready as firewood.

I'd guess they've re-grown this year to about 7' so I'll be taking them down again to around chest height shortly. It'll be an hour's work, but as they're in an unsightly location, that won't include picking-up or disposal. Decomposing laurel leaves help to dissuade weeds from growing under the bushes.

Edited to add: Without a digger, you'll struggle to remove the roots.

FlorayG

There's a huge difference between a 12 foot hedge and a 6ft fence. If you want privacy it's probably worth the cost of paying for professional help every year to maintain the hedge

kimwp

If your back garden backs onto a road, check for any line of sight requirements.

Also, if you get a fence, please consider hedgehogs - they are dying out because the concrete baseboards prevent them roaming- you can get ones with little hedgehog holes.

Sapindus

Also on the subject of privacy. I have short fences around my garden. I feel safer knowing that people can see into my garden if anyone was up to no good there. I think people behave better if they feel connected to their neighbours. You can create places within a garden where carefully placed trees and bushes give you private corners without feeling hemmed in. I'd trade privacy for more sunshine.