Newbie questions about pruning privet hedge

 
Hi folks - first-time poster here with some pretty simple questions I'm
sure, so please be kind!

I grew up in a hot and dry climate and so I'm pretty clueless when it
comes to caring for and hedges.

At the place where my front garden where it meets the pavement, I
planted a row of privet hedge plants last September.  They are spaced
out about 18 inches apart and are about five feet tall and still quite
young, but have begun to sprout lots of little leaves over the past few
weeks (of course).

As they have now started to grow, I have some questions about how to
prune the plants so that they grow into the shape I want.  Can you help
me?

I want the plants to grow about 6-8 inches taller than they are now,
and I also want them to "flesh out" a bit more.  Little sprouts are
starting to stick up.  Should I trim them now or should I let them grow
more?

How often should I trim privet hedge during the growing season?

Should I trim the sides as well?

Many thanks for your help and advice!




--
ajax

 On Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:12:46 +0000, ajax


I will assume privet means you have Chinese privet.  These plants, if
it's what yo have, will want to grow 10 feet wide by 15 feet tall. You
can keep them smaller, but it may take a lot of work to keep them as
smalll as you want.


As often as necessary to keep them the size and shape you want.


No, not if you want them to knit together, but if they are planted too
close (which they are, sorry to say) they will start to grow into each
other.  Do trim the fronts to keep them from overcoming your walkway.

When you prune or shape hedges and remove the growing tips, you are
breaking what's known as the apical dominance. When you do this, you
are forcing branching to occur lower on the plant, making it more
bushy than normal.

I have Chinese privet and they are mature at 20 feet wide by 18 feet
tall.  I don't hedge them up, they are the natural shape.  I will
eventually have to remove them.  They are beautiful shrubs and I have
variegated foliage privets, but they are just not a good idea where I
live in Texas.  They do spread around by seed.

I hope you have info now.

 Good question.  pruning information here:

Many tree problems are associated with the following: They are Case
Sensitive.

Pruning
http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/tree_pruning

Some people just use hedge trimmers.  Thought you might desire targeted
information.

Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Forester & Tree Expert
www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.

 Privet is not a tree.


On Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:49:48 -0400, "symplastless"

 ...and the OP does not have a "problem". Either I watched too many Sopranos
episodes, or someone needs to take the resident tree shmexpert out behind a
dumpster for a tuneup, using a baseball bat.