"David" wrote in message
...
Hi,
There is a beech hedge at the bottom of my garden which has not been
properly maintained (doesn't belong to me). The hedge is some 20 odd feet
high and 90 ft long. The problem is that the growth is mostly in the top
half with the bottom being mainly trunks (some up to 6"). Yesterday I
spent
trimming back the overhanging branches and whilst doing this I wondered if
I
could "graft" some branches back onto the main trunks and re-establish
growth back toward the bottom? Would it be worth attempting and if so how
would I go about it?

regards,

David

Hi David,

I had the same problem with my 200ft long x 12ft high beech hedge when I
moved into my house. Over the years I've gradually been reducing the height
each year, and pruning (with secatuers and loppers) any outwardly pointing
branches back to a sideways or vertical facing branch or bud. The hedge
responds by growing buds on the trunk, which are again pruned back to
sideways and vertical facing buds once they are long enough.

The best time to prune/renovate is now and then give it a tidy up in the
autumn.

After 5 years, I've now got quite dense growth for the whole height of a 8ft
high hedge.

The other thing that I did was to take some of the clippings and stick them
in the ground, to fill some spaces.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Nick
http://www.ukgardening.co.uk