Neglected hedge help.

[jamesfwpurdy]

After being a very ungrateful grandson I now have to tidy up my grandparents garden including this hedge.

 

I tried two years ago to trim the top with a wolfgarten pole pruner/saw from the ground and small platform but I didn't make much of a difference.

 

My grandma like the hedge as it gives her privacy from the offices, only a two storey building, so removal is not an option. I would like to do it myself if possible to keep costs down.

 

To the rear of the hedge is a neighbours track and some offices. The neighbours are happy for us to have access to work on it providing we tidy up well. I had thought if I take it back to the stems so I could maybe get a ladder up to trim the top to a more manageable height.

 

Does this sound possible? Also would the neighbours have any come back if its an eyesore etc? It wouldnt be visable atall from their house or garden.

 

Sorry if Im rambling, just floting ideas as they come. If you have any ideas id love to hear them.

[Stephen Blair]

Climb up it, top it to the required height.

Trim the sides .

on the nieghbours side you could butcher it back to boundry, they couldn't say anything, but I would just give it a trim in, and work it back over a few years.

[daltontrees]

I would agre with Mr Balir. If you take it back to the stems, it will never go green again. Climb up inside the middle 'tree', make yourself comfortable, if it's bee topped bewfore there will be a little perch in there somehwere.

 

Pick a height, the height of previous topping or just above is the obvious choice, otherwise 10' (3m) is a good default. Get a Silky, cut a window through all stems at that height on the garden side till you can see civilisation, then just carry on cutting and chucking till the top's done. Then get down somehow, have a quick look at the sides to see how much can go while still leaving a bit of green, take off any of the thicker branches with Silky or loppers then give the rest of it the good news with hedge trimmers. Tidy up, job done. Neighbours will love it.

[Goaty]

If you really want to make it last long term if you hack it back hard at one side you could weave and bend in lowering branches and it will green up eventually. The secret to conifers is regular short back and sides.

[Jesse]

Simple for me, I would rather look at the office block than that over grown money demanding ,none native , unattractive green blot on the landscape, by the sounds of what you are trying to achieve I would advice removal.

[Eddy_t]

Climb up the centre and wallop it down, and don't be ungrateful again, I do all of my nan's garden, from the lawns, to trees, to flower beds, at my expense because grandparents will always help you when in need, and they've forgot more than you know! As for the sides, find out how far in the green stuff goes, and cut back 50%

 

 

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