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So a #gardening question. I have a lot of privet hedge in the place I moved into. One part of the hedge is very sparse and another has been overtaken from within by thick cotoneaster. Cut the cotoneaster out or just make it part of the hedging?
Plant new privet in the sparse section?
#hedge #hedge #hedging #GardeningQuestion #GardenQuestion
Mar 30, 2023 at 2:22pmWeb
Show threadLionelBMar 30, 2023

@emsquared

I am firmly in the camp that the feral cotoneaster (not the restrained wall fan) is a weed which must be eliminated with ruthless vigour. It is very invasive scrub.

Privet grows to such an age and loses so much through pruning that it runs short of trace nutrients like manganese and molybdenum. Feed it by all means (are dogs a problem?) but Vitax Q4 or similar should be the priority.

Show threadThis account has movedMar 30, 2023
@LionelB Big thanks for your input.
Show threadToni ScottMar 30, 2023
@emsquared
Cotoneasters grow quite slowly, so if you hack it back it will take some time to recover. The privet will quickly fill the gap. In the bare patch, you could stick in some cuttings to thicken it up on the cheap. Privets get a bad press, but they make great hedges - a nice plain background for everything else. I "laid" an overgrown privet hedge (6m tall). It looked scruffy for a season, but is now thick and fabulous.
Show threadThis account has movedMar 30, 2023
@ToniScott Thanks. I did cut a large bit of cotoneaster out of one of the hedge "pillars" by the gate when I moved here 3 years ago and the privet has just about filled it in now. I do like privet. Had thought about layering in a variegated variety in the weaker bits.