I have a mixed hedge which is about 6 feet high. I think it is privet and hawthorn.

Currently, it is very top heavy in terms of the growth, and it has a lot of bare stems lower down. Please see the photographs.







I want to try and get the hedge to be bushy all the way down to ground level.

I've read about pruning back hard, which I take means to basically chop the whole thing down to within 12" of the floor.

However, I don't know if this is the right thing to do, especially at this time of year (April). There are buds appearing on the hedge, so I don't know if a hard prune down to ground level at this time of year would kill the hedge.

I've got no gardening experience, so I'm nervous at taking such a drastic step.

Please does anyone have any advice.