Conifer Hedge – Brown Ends.
Question
Conifer Hedge:I have an 8′ high conifer hedge and need to remove 2 trees at the end, to provide better access to my property.
When I remove the trees I will have a brown ‘dead’looking end to the hedge. Will this eventually grow back green or will I need to remove the whole hedge and start all over again? Obviously I would prefer to keep what is already there as it is well established and healthy.
Answer
The plants will recover but only over a few years, but you may be
able to tie healthy branches in to minimize the effect.Do not cut back into old wood as this rarely promotes growth.A risky strategy, depending on how bulky rather than tall the trees are,would be to take out the second trees in the row,rejuvenate the soil around the hole with plenty of organic matter,then cut out the end trees with as big a rootball as possible. Taking care,you would then be able to literally slide the end tree back into the vacated position.
This is only possible because conifers have very fibrous roots and tend to be surface rooting,they would benefit from plenty of watering during the first growing season until they settle in.
I must underline that there is an element of risk with this procedure, so unless you feel confident in what you are doing do not attempt it.A quick fix would be to take out two trees at each end and replace with one nursery grown mature specimen. For More information:
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