I've thinned my hedge. how do I stop it regrowing?

[gardenivice]

Do I need to dig out alll the old roots or is there a quicker/ easier way? I want to plant spring bulbs and make beds under and around it but I think the old stuff will grow back if I don't do anything

Anyone please?

By "thinned your hedge" you mean you've removed the front row of bushes by cutting them to the base? You could dig out the stumps or you could just rely on chopping/pulling off any regrowth as soon as you see it - they'll run out of energy eventually.

If however you've merely cut the hedge back, there's nothing you cna do apart from keep trimming it .

Most hedge plants will regrow after cutting back - their ability to survive regular pruning is why they make suitable plants for hedges. Thinning may not make much difference - the remaining plants may just expand to fill the gaps, especially if they are fast growing variety like conifers. Many hedge plants tend to dry out the soil - laurel and privet especially - it is difficult to grow other plants in the immediate vicinity.

Yes I've cut it down to the root as it was too wide but I want to stop the stumps regrowing abs plant some spring bulbs. Would weed control matting work?

I cut two large hedges down to stumps - took a few hours using a hand saw. I have spent the last two weeks digging out the roots!! I bought a 1.8m digging bar and a mattock specifically for this job - it's hard work and slow going (yesterday it took me 2 hours to remove six stumps) but doable.

You can buy 'ecoplugs', which are herbicidal plugs that you insert into the stumps to slowly kill them. You can hire a stump grinder. You can try stripping off the bark and pruning any new shoots that manage to emerge - eventually the roots will die, but this might take years.

Would weed control matting work? No. The first you'd see of any regrowth would be the weed matting haiving raised areas with strong new shoots below. And if you didn't do anything, it'd start to break through. Weed matting is for control of young weed seedlings, not established bushes.

Thanks @MereDintofPandiculation i thought if they didn't get any light through the matting they wouldn't grow

Do you know what plants they are?

We have just taken out a load of hedge, some we could root out, but the sycamore were far too big. We drilled into the stumps and filled the holes with stump killer, then strapped bags over the stumps to keep wildlife off. I am crossing everything it works! Sycamores are lousy hedge plants!

i thought if they didn't get any light through the matting they wouldn't grow That applies to seedlings because they're relying on light for the energy to make food. But your shoots are using the food reserves in the root - in the same way as chicory and rhubarb can be grown in the absence of light. Not a long term solution for the plant, and they will die, but I'd expect them to force their way through the membrane first , or lift it up enough that they start to see light round the edges.

Dig them out or poison. You will be dealing with large rootballs that will just send out new shoots.