... to think I've killed it?

[LakieLady]

We have a hedge between us and NDN. It's ancient and leggy and gappy. NDNs are responsible for that boundary, but we put chain link on our side to keep our dogs in and theirs out (after the vicious bastard crashed through the hedge and nearly ripped my dog a new arsehole - the NDN dog actually pulled some fur out of his bum!).

We didn't cut the hedge in the spring. It was pissing wet for weeks, and by the time it wasn't raining we had sparrows and robins in residence.

It had got too tall for my liking and half my lawn was in the shade all day, so I've just cut it right back to the boundary line and reduced the height by about 2'.

It looks fucking dreadful. It's like lots of little saplings about 1 or 2cm in diameter and hardly any green bits. It actually looks dead. I cannot believe it will ever recover and get leaves again. I can actually see through into their garden. I'm sure I've killed it.

Relations with our neighbours were just getting civil after 20-odd years (fine with her, he is a cunt). They're going to be really pissed off if I've killed it.

Is anyone knowledgable enough about hedges to reassure me? It's a lonicera nitida and it's ancient - the hedges were put in in the 1930's when the houses were built and ours is one of the last ones left. I' scared it's too old to recover.

Please tell me IABU...

From what I'm reading, lonicera nitida do quite well out of lots of regular trimming. Could put up a temporary bamboo screen if neighbours think they lost privacy. Or replant it if it truly never recovers. Pic?

I've successfully butchered hydrangea & roses down to hardly more than stumps & they came back. It's amazing how tough some plants are.

You're unlikely to have killed it but if you are pruning Lonicera nitida back hard, you should have done that in spring. It really needs pruning several times a year to keep it in good shape. It should bounce back next year but it probably won't do much until then. You could try feeding it (use a feed for shrubs) to encourage it to grow as much as possible before winter.

@sotiredofthislonelylife

You have to offer the branches back

From citizens advice

If your neighbour won’t cut branches hanging over your garden, you’re allowed to chop them off - but only the bits on your side of the boundary. Check if your neighbour will let you throw away the branches - legally they own them

The RHS also advises the same

It will be absolutely fine. Hedges are robust and it takes a heck of a lot to kill them. Relax.

I cut back some tree and bush branches that were impinging on my garden. The things are massive and thick and out of control and they were coming right through the wall. They were taking up a lot of space on the patio so I got my secateurs our and cut it all back to the wall.

NDN (owns the tree and bush) who, due to wall height, cannot even see the bits that have been cut back, went fucking mental. They are usually quite reasonable. I genuinely don’t see what the big deal is 🤷🏻‍♀️

Lol at the idea of offering back the branches.

This is precisely why I am refusing to consider moving to a house with a hedge! I don't want to have to cut the bloody thing, fall out with the neighbours about it or have to put up a fence on my side of the boundary line to hide it!

Sorry I can't offer any advice OP but I have to say your pruning skills sound about as good as mine!

It will bounce back, the gappy bits will have been the bits getting no light. If you've cut it back to your boundary they can hardly say anything.

What on earth was in your mind to massacre your neighbour’s hedge ?

We have several of these in our garden, thanks to previous owners. I can't get rid of the darn things. I chop them back to a stump and by the next year they're at least 30 cm high and the same wide.

Don't give up hope OP!

@Aridane probably to do with fact it was overtaking her garden

Actually, I don't feel so bad now. I went and inspected the top bit and bits of the hedge there are actually dead from top to bottom (possibly strangles by the old man's beard that's consuming all in its path).

I've taken a pic in case they get arsey, so it's clear that that bit was dead already, so nothing to do with me! I'll give it a good feed in the spring, and nothing but gentle haircuts next year. And hopefully before the robins and sparrows return.

It may well benefit from lots of regular trimming, but there were 2 (abandoned) nests in the bit I cut today, and I haven't got near the bit where the robins were living yet.

I couldn't possible trim the hedge while the birds are living in it, that would be very wrong.

We've got one of those hedges.ive tried my hardest to kill it but it just regrows, they are hard to kill.

It'll bounce back. If its still got green and its getting light and water, it'll live.

You could try feeding it (use a feed for shrubs) to encourage it to grow as much as possible before winter.

Don't do this now, any new growth will just get nipped by frost. Wait until spring.

You've done the right thing trimming the shape to slope out at the bottom, most people trim vertically but this affects the amount of light getting to the bottom, as you've realised!

Hopefully your NDN won't be too annoyed. Most species used for hedging are robust and rapidly regrow, it won't be long until it looks like it did.

Ah, I see you're not planning on feeding it now, great.

To be fair, in parts of the country where there's no chance of frost yet it wouldn't be unreasonable to give it some mulch.

or have to put up a fence on my side of the boundary line to hide it!

Who in their right mind would put up a fence to hide a hedge? It would be the other way around surely?

@MiddlesexGirl maybe I'm not in my right mind but I'd rather have a fence than have to cut a hedge! They're fine in the countryside but not in my back garden - I look at houses on Rightmove and factor in the cost of a gardener.

(As you can tell I hate gardening - I like looking at a nice garden but I have no intention of doing anything to it!)

I can’t believe you took the top off a hedge that doesn’t belong to you!
Cut it back to the boundary fine but I’d be absolutely livid if someone reduced the height of one of my plants without asking me.

My BIL cut mine back from about 5 foot to tiny and it looked twiggy and dead but it has bounced back to its nearly former glory.

Probably just cut it wrong time of year and it will take a few years to recover, but i doubt you've killed it by cutting it back.

@LakieLady will you come back and tell us if there is any response from the neighbours?

Lol, yes @Blankblankblank.

I'd welcome the opportunity to discuss it with them, tbh. I could use it to ask them to do something about the ivy and the old man's beard that are constantly growing through from their side and that I can't get to because we had to put chain link to keep their dog out of our garden!

As soon as it gets to a respectable hour, I'm going back out there to finish the job, although the height reduction will be minimal once I get to the next bit.

To be fair, in parts of the country where there's no chance of frost yet it wouldn't be unreasonable to give it some mulch

We only had a couple of light frosts all last winter, we're only a few miles from the south coast.

I can't actually mulch, because I can't get to the bottom because of the fence, but I could give it a liquid feed or use pellets and let the rain water them in.