Hi

I have a 2 metre high pyracantha hedge which I need to thicken up as its on the boundary between my garden and the main road.

Is this possible at all, I'm happy to lose some height if needs be.

Thanks
Sarah

"Sarah" wrote in message
s.com...
Hi

I have a 2 metre high pyracantha hedge which I need to thicken up as
its on the boundary between my garden and the main road.

Is this possible at all, I'm happy to lose some height if needs be.

Thanks
Sarah

Sarah. 8 years ago we moved into our house with a very thin untidy
Pyracantha hedge. It has responded well to regular pruning and shaping and
is now even and unpenetrable (except by the redwings which have recently
stripped every berry from it). Get stuck in.

Martin R

In article ,
M K Rogerson wrote:
"Sarah" wrote in message
ws.com...

I have a 2 metre high pyracantha hedge which I need to thicken up as
its on the boundary between my garden and the main road.

Is this possible at all, I'm happy to lose some height if needs be.

Sarah. 8 years ago we moved into our house with a very thin untidy
Pyracantha hedge. It has responded well to regular pruning and shaping and
is now even and unpenetrable (except by the redwings which have recently
stripped every berry from it). Get stuck in.

Yes, pyracatha responds well to being cut back hard. I would cut it
back to somewhere like 1-1.5 metres high in spring, give it a bit of
fertiliser as it starts to grow, and trim back again next winter.
Assuming it is healthy, it will be back to 2 metres and a lot more
solid by the summer of 2005.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Hello Sarah,
Thickening up your hedge is quite straight forward. The improvement will
come through pruning and, as necessary, feeding. You will find that if you
reduce the height of your hedge, the improvement will come more rapidly, but
if privicy is an issue, it certainly isn't necessary.

Start on a dry day, in late February/early march, just cutting back growth
extensions on the road-side of your hedge. Whilst doing this, also cut out
any dead, diseased or damaged wood. Any useful, strong extensions may be
woven into the hedge laterally. This will immediately give the hedge a
denser appearance. However, don't rely on this as a long-term policy; your
hedge will be stronger and thicker in the long term with correct pruning.
You should also aim to shape your hedge so that it is wider at the bottom
than the top. This stops the top growth shading out growth at the hedge
bottom.

There is no reason why you should not prune both sides of your hedge in the
same day/weekend, if you are able. After pruning, clear debris from the
hedge bottom and feed with a general fertiliser. You may want to gently
fork in the fertiliser to ensure it doesn't just run off the surface when
you water it in. After all, your hedge has been there long enough to put on
6ft (2m) of growth, so the soil it relies on is probably compacted.
(I suggested pruning the road-side of your hedge first, because of your
responsibility to keep a prickly hedge in order where people frequently
pass. I have 200ft of pyracantha hedge (that's 400ft, if you can't both
sides!), and I always trim the outside first.)

With the start of the new growing season, your hedge will put out lots of
new shoots. When you see flower buds forming, give the hedge a high potash
feed (rose fertiliser or tomato food) to boost its flowering potential.
Watch out for Pyracantha Scab (a greyish-black mould) on leaves or berries.
Spray, if you wish. I prune mine out. If this becomes a problem, avoid
using any nitrogenous fertiliser for a while. This will promote soft growths
which are more vulnerable to attack.

Later in the year you will need to cut back this years' extension growths.
Doing this will neaten the hedge for winter and show off your lovely
berries.

Oh yes .. wear gloves!
Enjoy your hedge.
Spider

Sarah wrote in message
s.com...
Hi

I have a 2 metre high pyracantha hedge which I need to thicken up as
its on the boundary between my garden and the main road.

Is this possible at all, I'm happy to lose some height if needs be.

Thanks
Sarah
--
Sarah
------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk

On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 17:23:17 +0000, Sarah wrote:
I have a 2 metre high pyracantha hedge which I need to thicken up as
its on the boundary between my garden and the main road.
Is this possible at all, I'm happy to lose some height if needs be.

Yes, it is indeed possible, although it will take some work and some time
to achieve.

If your hedge is really thin, you can buy in additional plants, and run a
second row in behind or in front of the main hedge, so that it grows up
and into it, and thickens the hedge. With this arrangement, it does get
very difficult pruning the old hedge while the new hedge is growing.

Assuming you hedge is just needs thickening up - try the following

1) Shorten it to about 6 - 12 inches below your desired final height.
2) Trim any sideways growth that is too wide to 6 inches inside your
desired final width.
3) Make sure when doing 1) and 2) that the overall side on profile of your
hedge looks like a capital A. The bottom of the hedge should be wider than
the top of the hedge so that it gets light.
4) Feed the hedge - give it a good 6 inch deep mulch of well rotted
manure.
5) Prune the hedge reguarly. I thickened up a privet hedge over a couple
of years - but that grows much fater in the summer - I was trimming that 3
- 4 times between spring and autumn to keep it in shape. Do not let the
hedge grow bigger than your planned size and shape.

6) Keep feeding the hedge whilst its growing.


What I have found is that the pruning of the hedge encourages it to throw
new branches, and thicken up. If you constantly keep the height and width
under control, the hedge will eventually respond by growing where you want
it to, rather than where it wants to.

Feeding is very important when trying to encourage a hedge to put on more
than normal additional growth - this gives it the wherewithall to put on
the extra growth. When the hedge has got to the size and shape you want,
cut back the feeding to once a year, so that it doesn't then go into manic
mode on you!

HTH, Sarah

In article ,
"Sarah Dale" writes:
|
| Assuming you hedge is just needs thickening up - try the following
|
| 1) Shorten it to about 6 - 12 inches below your desired final height.

I did that with a privet hedge and regretted it. It didn't work.
The reason was that shortening a tall hedge to 6-12" below the
final height is likely to end up with a hedge that is thick in
the top 12" and has bare stems below. Most shrubs will shoot from
close to the cut end, and pyracantha and privet are two such.

I have since seen recommendations that suggest cutting SEVERELY
thin and spindly hedges back to 1/3 of their final height, or even
less. But, obviously, tbe optimal amount will depend on all of
the circumstances.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message m
from Sarah contains these words:

I have a 2 metre high pyracantha hedge which I need to thicken up as
its on the boundary between my garden and the main road.

Is this possible at all, I'm happy to lose some height if needs be.

Bung some bonemeal down under it and gently fork it into the top layer
of soil. Some well-rotted manure wouldn't come amiss either.

Water it when it gets dry underneath, and you should see the difference
in the first season.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from Nick Wagg contains these words:
Spider wrote:

You should also aim to shape your hedge so that it is wider at the bottom
than the top. This stops the top growth shading out growth at the hedge
bottom.

I have heard this before but question the reasoning behind it.
Surely this would only make much difference when the sun is
directly overhead, which happens rarely in these Northern climes
and only for a short period of the year, for a short time each
day?

Rarely? Never!

As for ambient light, well if it isn't directional how is the cutting
going to make much difference?

The reason for cutting hedges in a truncated prism shape is twofold: the
first is that it tends to resist strong winds better, and the second is
to afford birds a choice of different nesting conditions.

(According to the old Agricultural Research Council, anyway.)

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 08:17:36 +0000, Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article ,
"Sarah Dale" writes:
|
| Assuming you hedge is just needs thickening up - try the following
|
| 1) Shorten it to about 6 - 12 inches below your desired final height.

I did that with a privet hedge and regretted it. It didn't work.
The reason was that shortening a tall hedge to 6-12" below the
final height is likely to end up with a hedge that is thick in
the top 12" and has bare stems below. Most shrubs will shoot from
close to the cut end, and pyracantha and privet are two such.

Hhhhhmmmmm.... that is interesting Nick. I'm just trying to remember how
bad the hedge was when I first pruned it - given my old hedge was a
privet (I have moved house since).

I think I was more after general shape, height and a bit of thickening up,
my old hedge was reasonably OK round the bottom. You are right, the new
growth does tend to occur at the cut end of the branch.

Perhaps this is why the advice is to trim inside your prefered profile,
so you get a layer of dense close growth at the edge of the hedge profile,
while it doesn't (necessarily) matter if the hedge is a bit thin & straggly
in the middle (unless you happen to need a stock proof hedge).

The feeding part is important to get the hedge to thicken up - I've been
nagging my parents these last couple of months about feeding their hedge
up as it desperatly needs it.

Over several years of feeding & pruning my somewhat neglected hedge, I
ended up with a 6 ft high, 4 ft wide (at the base) privet hedge which
looked good. Mind you it needed pruning 4 times a year, so I'd not choose
to have one!

My present "hedges" (if that word can be used in this context) are a mess
of dogwood, a prickly thing with pretty pink flowers in summer, a shrub /
tree type plant that has grown trunks through 10 yrs of mismanagement by
previous owneres, the odd conifer, a prostrate conifer (!), and one
pyracantha to cath the pruner unawares.....

It is quite visually interesting, although as it is not evergreen (well
only 10% is evergreen) it is just as well we have a wall and fence behind.
The pruning technique is totally different to privet, and in year 1
involved heavy sawing to cut the tree/shrubs down to about 4 foot....

Sarah

On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 08:17:36 +0000, Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article ,
"Sarah Dale" writes:
|
| Assuming you hedge is just needs thickening up - try the following
|
| 1) Shorten it to about 6 - 12 inches below your desired final height.

I did that with a privet hedge and regretted it. It didn't work.
The reason was that shortening a tall hedge to 6-12" below the
final height is likely to end up with a hedge that is thick in
the top 12" and has bare stems below. Most shrubs will shoot from
close to the cut end, and pyracantha and privet are two such.

Hhhhhmmmmm.... that is interesting Nick. I'm just trying to remember how
bad the hedge was when I first pruned it - given my old hedge was a
privet (I have moved house since).

I think I was more after general shape, height and a bit of thickening up,
my old hedge was reasonably OK round the bottom. You are right, the new
growth does tend to occur at the cut end of the branch.

Perhaps this is why the advice is to trim inside your prefered profile,
so you get a layer of dense close growth at the edge of the hedge profile,
while it doesn't (necessarily) matter if the hedge is a bit thin & straggly
in the middle (unless you happen to need a stock proof hedge).

The feeding part is important to get the hedge to thicken up - I've been
nagging my parents these last couple of months about feeding their hedge
up as it desperatly needs it.

Over several years of feeding & pruning my somewhat neglected hedge, I
ended up with a 6 ft high, 4 ft wide (at the base) privet hedge which
looked good. Mind you it needed pruning 4 times a year, so I'd not choose
to have one!

My present "hedges" (if that word can be used in this context) are a mess
of dogwood, a prickly thing with pretty pink flowers in summer, a shrub /
tree type plant that has grown trunks through 10 yrs of mismanagement by
previous owneres, the odd conifer, a prostrate conifer (!), and one
pyracantha to cath the pruner unawares.....

It is quite visually interesting, although as it is not evergreen (well
only 10% is evergreen) it is just as well we have a wall and fence behind.
The pruning technique is totally different to privet, and in year 1
involved heavy sawing to cut the tree/shrubs down to about 4 foot....

Sarah

In article ,
Nick Wagg writes:
| Spider wrote:
|
| You should also aim to shape your hedge so that it is wider at the bottom
| than the top. This stops the top growth shading out growth at the hedge
| bottom.
|
| I have heard this before but question the reasoning behind it.
| Surely this would only make much difference when the sun is
| directly overhead, which happens rarely in these Northern climes
| and only for a short period of the year, for a short time each
| day?

In the UK, only about half the light is direct; the rest is diffused.
It makes more of a difference than you think, but it is a small effect
compared with whether the sides are 'open' to the sky of shadowed by
buildings and other plants.

| As for ambient light, well if it isn't directional how is the cutting
| going to make much difference?

Not much comes from below.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article ,
Nick Wagg writes:
| Spider wrote:
|
| You should also aim to shape your hedge so that it is wider at the
| bottom than the top. This stops the top growth shading out growth
| at the hedge bottom.
|
| I have heard this before but question the reasoning behind it.
| Surely this would only make much difference when the sun is
| directly overhead, which happens rarely in these Northern climes
| and only for a short period of the year, for a short time each
| day?

In the UK, only about half the light is direct; the rest is diffused.
It makes more of a difference than you think, but it is a small effect
compared with whether the sides are 'open' to the sky of shadowed by
buildings and other plants.

Quite.

| As for ambient light, well if it isn't directional how is the cutting
| going to make much difference?

Not much comes from below.



--
Nick Wagg
TranscenData Europe Ltd, 4, Carisbrooke Court, Anderson Road,
Buckingway Business Park, Swavesey, Cambridge, CB4 5UQ, England.
Email: URL: www.transcendata.com
Tel: +44 (0)1954 234300 Fax: +44 (0)1954 234349

Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:

The reason for cutting hedges in a truncated prism shape is twofold: the
first is that it tends to resist strong winds better, and the second is
to afford birds a choice of different nesting conditions.

(According to the old Agricultural Research Council, anyway.)

I can see the logic in those arguments. Thanks.
--
Nick Wagg

The message
from "Sarah Dale" contains these words:

My present "hedges" (if that word can be used in this context) are a mess
of dogwood, a prickly thing with pretty pink flowers in summer, a shrub /
tree type plant that has grown trunks through 10 yrs of mismanagement by
previous owneres, the odd conifer, a prostrate conifer (!), and one
pyracantha to cath the pruner unawares.....

Dogwood shouldn't be prickly - you may have a new variety there......

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:

| As for ambient light, well if it isn't directional how is the cutting
| going to make much difference?

Not much comes from below.

pedant

Well, not much *VISIBLE* light, anyway.

/pedant

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/