Open Association of Landscape Industries
Dying hedge - any ideas?
A garden that i've recently taken over has a 3.5m conifer hedge (think its leylandii but could be lawson's) running on its north-east boundary.
It looks like its dying, although it does seem to have regrown slightly over the last 6 weeks. The brown areas don't feel dry and stiff like they've been too deeply cut, and the client is adament that this just developed towards the end of last year rather than after a trim or over winter
What could be the cause of this? Aphids?
I have suggested taking it out and replacing but the client is unwilling to do this - there's a high-speed railway on the other side of the trees, and they think even if its dead this hedge will stop more noise and flying grit than a fence, and if we plant a new hedge it'll take a while to grow to the same height.
The client does think that it looks like an eyesore though - so they want me to think of any shrubs or climbers that can be planted up it or in front of it. The whole garden is very dry, especially around the hedge.
So does anyone have any ideas about how to hide it, or anything else that could replace it that would provide the same kind of barrier?
Replies to This Discussion
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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Chris Auld on -
looks like red spider mites to me, the hedge can be treated with insecticide to kill them but it may be a little late on this one, once the damage is done the hedge never fully recovers. I would advise the client to rip it out and replace with Laurel.
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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Graeme @ BGS on -
You would probably be able to tell if it is spider mite - could just be a case of lack of water.
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Permalink Reply by John on -
It could depend on a number of factors,
Exactly when the hedge was cut last year,how long was the new growth
before it was cut, how much rain did Newcastle get last year,
(especially towards the end of the year) how windy is the site, what
type of soil is it growing in, how much competition is there for water from
surrounding trees.
It looks in a bad way, I don't think it is a thuja hedge from the photo (and
without my glasses on) which is a shame, as there would be some hope if this
was the case. Thuja and Taxus are the only two that will shoot again from branches
heavily pruned.
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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Helen Dawe on -
I've only had this garden on my round for the last 6 weeks (3 visits), they say it was cut last summer, but have been quite vague about it.
No i don't think its thuja either (though conifer identification is not my strong point).
I don't think Newcastle was particularly dry in the last half of last year - unlike the rest of the country we don't have low water reserves, but we did have a spring/early summer drought. The site doesn't seem particularly windy either. The soil seems to be sandy clay.
Cheers for the input so far.
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Permalink Reply by Tim Haywood on -
Aphid damage tends to be a bit less 'uniform'.
Good photo here: http://www.progreen.co.uk/protect-leylandii-from-conifer-mite/info_...
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Permalink Reply by John on
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If they have been fairly vague about it then perhaps they know
that something wrong was done, possibly due to their instructions,
(CSI - eat your heart out :) )
I would guess that the hedge was allowed to grow too much before
it was trimmed, and then trimmed too hard for that time of the year.
The guilty party though is the person who cut the hedge, if it is the
wrong thing to do then don't do it, regardless of what you are asked to do.
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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Helen Dawe on -
The guilty party though is the person who cut the hedge, if it is the
wrong thing to do then don't do it, regardless of what you are asked to do.
Yes i agree - if you are being paid to maintain a garden, it should be for your expertise in making plants and features look their best, not for just carrying out whatever labour you are told to do and damaging the garden in the process!
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Permalink Reply by Colin Hunt on -
Looks on the way out, doesnt it? As said above, Aphid, spider mite or being trimmed too late and attacked by cold wind.
The close up looks a bit more encouraging than the distance shot tho as there is quite a few live bits.
Before doing anything drastic, I would rake out the dropped needles, break up the ground along the bottom of the hedge, fertilize, give it a good water, install a seep hose with a good mulch of decent compost and see how it goes. Hopefully you will get some good growth. Let it get 'shaggy' this year and then layer the longer bits across any bare patches.................it might just work!!
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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Helen Dawe on -
Thanks for the advice Colin - i was going to get all of the beds in that back garden broken up and mulched anyway because its so ridiculously dry (well until this week when its turned to mud with some heavy rain).
The client isn't that keen on getting the hedge removed and replaced, and there's plenty of improvements that she does want me to do, so it seems worth trying to save it if i can.
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Permalink Reply by John on
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One thing we don't know is the state of the hedge on the other side,
looking at the photo I can see through the hedge in a couple of places
so I am assuming it is quite a narrow hedge. If both sides were cut
back too hard at the same time this would have also put the hedge under
a lot of stress during a dry period.
If the other side has not been cut too hard and is ok, then in time the hedge
could grow through from the other side. I have seen it happen on small areas
but doubt whether it would look ok on such a large area. It all depends on how
important the hedge is to the client.
I would plant another hedge in front if that one died, leaving the old hedge there as
a sound break and sacrifice a couple of metres of the garden, then remove the hedge
when the second had grown. Cover it with climbers in the meantime.
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