Pruning a hazel hedge to increase density

[waterbuoy]

Evening all

 

Part of our boundary is a mixed hedge which faces onto a single track road - the other side of this is the foreshore and then the sea.

 

Most of the hedge is impenetrable rhododendron and similar, but a short section of it is hazel - photos below taken in January.  This part of the hedge is relatively 'transparent', even when in full leaf.  I'm hoping to prune it to encourage fresh growth to increase density of cover etc.

 

Having previously researched this I concluded that February would be a good time to do this.  However, I managed to reconfirm that gravity still exists at the start of the month and broke three ribs whilst skiiing.  I'm close to being mended just now, but catkins have begun to form on the hazel.

 

My questions are as follows:

 

1  Is it still OK to prune the hedge just now, or have I missed the window?

2  If pruning now is OK, any suggestions as to how this should be done to encourage fresh growth to increase density?

3  If pruning now is not OK, when should I plan to prune it?

 

Thanks in advace.

 

 

[organic guy]

IMO

[Mick Dempsey]

Now is good. 

[organic guy]

Best to lay it.

[waterbuoy]

That is kind of what I was hoping to do - but in these parts (west coast of Scotland) it isn't really 'a thing'. 

 

I was thinking of:

 

• Cutting the top down to about 10' high - with loppers and secateurs
• Trying to weave as many of the horizontal branches back into the hedge as possible.  My understanding is that it is no great problem if they split provided they don't actually snap.

 

Does this sound Ok and, if so, should I be cutting anything off the horizontals before I weave them back in?

[Guest Gimlet]

If you just reduce the height, I doubt it will thicken up lower down, which is where you need the density for privacy. When you cut a hazel stem it sprouts new shoots just below the cut and puts most of its energy into those so you could end up with more top (and top-heavy) growth and even less leaf cover at the bottom. 

 

As OG says, laying that section is the best option for the maximum density of leaf cover. Laid, it will probably put on two feet of side shoot growth in the first season and be much thicker low down. If you trim the green side shoot growth back again the following winter it will encourage it to produce more. After a two or three years though new leaders which will grow from the pleach cuts will start to overtake the side shoots. When they get to that point you really need to let them grow out and lay them again when they become big enough. 

 

You could learn to do this yourself and do it regularly as it's only a short stretch of hedge, in preference to heavy pruning.  

You could even lay the side shouts when they get big, rather than pruning them. But you can't go on doing that indefinitely, adding layer on layer of pleached stems. At some point you have to let the leaders from the bottom of the stool mature and then lay again from scratch cutting out the old stuff. 

[Guest Gimlet]

15 minutes ago, waterbuoy said:

That is kind of what I was hoping to do - but in these parts (west coast of Scotland) it isn't really 'a thing'. 

 

I was thinking of:

 

• Cutting the top down to about 10' high - with loppers and secateurs
• Trying to weave as many of the horizontal branches back into the hedge as possible.  My understanding is that it is no great problem if they split provided they don't actually snap.

 

Does this sound Ok and, if so, should I be cutting anything off the horizontals before I weave them back in?

I would happily come up and show you the ropes when it comes to laying, if you like, so you can manage it properly yourself in future. But it would mean leaving it untouched til the autumn.  

Edited February 27, 2023 by Gimlet

[dumper]

I’d take the offer 

[waterbuoy]

Thanks - very generous offer (and attractive!)

 

The total length of the hazel section is as shown in the photos - about 12-15' - so hopefully manageable for a newbie (even with cracked ribs!) once I know what I'm doing - but I suspect that does not make it a viable trip! 

 

I realise that simply giving a haircut is likely to exacerbate the issue, hence the questions.  Maybe I need to revert to further research before attempting anything, or at least look back through some of your own threads etc.  Do they tend to be in the 'today's thread' or elsewhere?

[waterbuoy]

Just managed to find the whole sub-section relating to hedge laying.  That should keep m busy for a few hours or so!

[Dan Maynard]

For the simplest possible answer, I think you'd be better off just cutting the whole lot at ground level than at 10 feet, it will bush out loads of new shoots.

 

This does mean that if you have a go a laying and don't like it, worst case is cut it all off and start again.