Golden Privet 'Splitting' ?

Hi,

We have a 10 year old Golden privet hedge about 10 mtrs long and a steady height of 1 mtr.

However the south facing side is growing much faster than the north and the total width is nearing 1 mtr as well and its starting to spill over onto the lawn.

Have read about splitting were one year you cut back hard into just one side and then do the other side the next or the following year.

We really need to take the south side back a good 300mm.

Anyone used this method and would it recover enough by the end of summer rather than looking as mess for the rest of the year ?

Suppose the other easier option would be to cut back the lawn edge, though the hedge does seem a bit odd being as wide and it is tall.

 

Hiya Ricky101
I see nobody has responded to you.
I grow a specimen, individual, golden privet and not a hedge of it. It is maintained as a dense cone but I have cut it hard back without any problems.
Golden privet responds well to pruning back...hard or otherwise....so I would cut both sides and do so now. I see no point or reason to cut one side now and the other next year. It will respond quickly at this time of year.
However, try to trim your hedge so the top is slightly narrower than the bottom. This encourages light to penetrate all parts of the hedge
The hedge is short but in proportion I think; 30 cm is relatively a lot so I would “hedge my bets” and prob aim for 15 to 20 cm for now. You could trim again in September maybe a little harder according to how it has responded

 

Hi,

Thanks, will follow your suggestion and go with a 15cm at a time, plus it will be lot easier to do.

 

Just seen your post Ricky.
I have a Golden Privat at least 25 years old and keep it neat and it’s a good doer.
A couple of years ago my neighbour had a garden makeover and asked if the contractors could split the privat it seemed a good idea as it was spreading more each year ,so they did his side only ,I decided to leave my side.
It does take time to regrow ,but make no mistake it will grow.
This is how it looks now.

My neighbour is not a gardener...

 

Im a little confused....my golden privet doesn't look like yours @roders mine looks like this.....

so i dont know if my input is of any use now lol but "my" priver is as tough as nails! I wouldn't worry about upsetting it as 2 yrs ago we had to get the boundary fences replaced & the privet was in the way so i had to be cut it back to about 2ft from the ground. It was just a cluster of branches & completely bare of leaves, i thought it was a gonner but nope, up it sprang with lovely new fresh foliage so i wouldn't worry about giving it a hard prune :rasp:

 

Golden privet, in my experience, is very tough and responds well to hard pruning. My experience echoes that of honeybunny