Overgrown Laurel Hedge

BarraOG

Hi,

I recently bought my first house and I have an overgrown laurel problem that I'd like to get to grips with. Its over three meters high, as seen in the attachment.



The front of my house (not shown in the above picture) borders the main road for about 20 meters. The entire length has a picket fence and gate which is on its last legs (never oiled), with an overgrown laurel hedge, never pruned, growing behind the fence for about half of this length.

Ideally, I would be fine with the laurel hedge if I could grow it for the entire length and if I could keep it tidy with a height of say two meters. Should it be possible for me to keep the hedge, and using cuttings grow the rest of it? Or would you recommend starting from scratch with a new hedge?

What about the picket fence? I wish to replace it but I'm also aware that the new fence will need to be oiled every few years. How can I do this if I have a large laurel growing behind it? I have small children so I need to keep the front secure.

Thanks for your help,

Barry

Lumen

I wouldn't get rid of it. Do you want/need a hedge there?

I think common/cherry laurel will grow (or can be pruned into) a tree if given the space. I have a couple myself that look lovely (at least I think that's what they are).

So maybe you could crown lift it into a series of nice looking trees.

Can get get any pics of the branch structure inside?

BarraOG

Here are some more pictures. I want to keep the hedge to preserve a sense of privacy at the front of the house. There is a lay by at the front where people stop to talk on their phones. Am I right in saying that I can cut back the hedge fairly drastically once the spring has established itself. How high would you recommend I cut it back to?

Thanks for your help!

macraignil

Not cut a laurel hedge back by as much myself but I see no reason why you shouldn't try cut the hedge back in height by about half of what it is now especially in the spring when it should recover relatively fast. You probably will need to trim the sides back as well to be able to reach in to cut down the growth closer to the centre of the hedge. You should bring it down to a height below what you want so it can grow back to the height you want and then keep it trimmed once or twice a year at the size you want. You can get laurel hedging at good nurseries at a variety sizes so if you want the hedge to appear better sooner it might be worth buying some more mature hedge plants to extend the length of the hedge more quickly. It will take longer if you have to wait for your own cuttings to form roots and start to grow actively. Not sure about your fence which looks OK in the photos. If you are worried about security a flimsy old fence is not going to keep much out and at the same time a hedge to hide unwanted visitors to your garden might not be advisable as well.

Lumen

This is what my laurels (I think) look like. I'm suggesting that you might be able to develop that hedge into something similar, taking advantage of the strong root system, and/or maybe deal with the privacy by underplanting shade-tolerant hedge or with a solid fence.

Samuel T. Cogley

I have hedge envy!

Wanderer78

It's an easy to work with plant, if keeping it, I'd cut it to the bone, it recovers very well and very quickly, but before approaching the job, first consider your waste management options, depending on how much you remove, you could have a lot. Best of luck with the house