Ok i have a hawthorn hedge, its about 9ft high 23m long and very see through, its in really bad condition at bottom(bare, weeds etc) i bought stuff to build a fence and was going to rip it out, problem is i have bad neighbours across the street and hedge blocks them off, my wife now wants me to put the new two meter high fence in the inside and leave the hedge up, is this a good idea? what would happen to the hedge? would it die off?

thanks mark

On Apr 26, 5:48*am, squirreluk
wrote:
Ok i have a hawthorn hedge, its about 9ft high 23m long and very see
through, its in really bad condition at bottom(bare, weeds etc) i
bought stuff to build a fence and was going to rip it out, problem is i
have bad neighbours across the street and hedge blocks them off, my wife
now wants me to put the new two meter high fence in the inside and leave
the hedge up, is this a good idea? what would happen to the hedge? would
it die off?

thanks mark

--
squirreluk

Try "plashing" the Hawthorn. My English husband, who has lived all but
ten years of his almost 60 years in the UK, has seen many examples of
this having been done to Hawthorn. He said at first it would look a
bit rough as it healed and grew in, but you can make it as thick as
you want and the fence would mean you'd have to maintain it. Plashing
is making a cut and bending a branch over horizontally and as it
heals, and grows, it sends new shoots upwards making a more dense and
thick impenetrable hedge which is what you want. .He says there are
certainly nurseries that have a special tool that does this. Google
the term, or ask a local nursery about it, he says that he's seen many
wonderful examples of this in Somerset and other areas. Good luck
with your solution. If your wife is patient with the plashing, you
will have a hedge that won't have to be maintained like the fence
would.

madgardener in Tennessee

;841711]On Apr 26, 5:48*am, squirreluk
wrote:
Ok i have a hawthorn hedge, its about 9ft high 23m long and very see
through, its in really bad condition at bottom(bare, weeds etc) i
bought stuff to build a fence and was going to rip it out, problem is i
have bad neighbours across the street and hedge blocks them off, my wife
now wants me to put the new two meter high fence in the inside and leave
the hedge up, is this a good idea? what would happen to the hedge? would
it die off?

thanks mark

--
squirreluk

It will take more than a fence to kill hawthorn hedging. The branches on the "fence" side of the hedge will probably lose their leaves, but the rest will be fine. If the hedge itself is scrawny you can either get it layed (look up the National Hedgelaying Society for a member near you), or you can simply cut it back REALLY HARD. Say to 12-18" above ground level. It will resprout and produce a thick hedge from the base which will be 2 metres tall again in (probably) 3 years. Never underestimate hathorn hedging....

Get a good pair of hedge cutters or hedge trimmers and cut it back before you do anything else.