Replanting a hedge

I did some googling and I think its ESCALLONIA. The lower half looks dead and is pretty ugly.Much of it just comes away in the hand. I was going to rip the whole lot out and purchase a replacement of the same. But there is still much life in it and I wondered if it would be possible to take cuttings and regrow from them, then rip out the old and replace with the propagated ones? The pics show the mess. Some are for ID purposes and one to show you the length of some of the living plant. Where would I cut it and how easy is it to grow from cuttings? Any help would be fantastic thank you

 

Yes it is Escallonia.

They might regrow strongly if you cut them down to 12"-18" (I don't know, hopefully others will). If that works then they will regrow more strongly and quicker than a replacement hedge.

Cuttings will be a couple of years before they are big enough to plant out. But you could do both - take cuttings now and either soldier-on with the current hedge, or try harsh pruning.

Autumn is the ideal time to plant a hedge using bare-root plants (which are cheaper than pot-grown, and establish more quickly), so if you are of a mind to rip it out then doing the preparation during Sep-Oct ready for planting end Oct or early November is ideal timing.

 

Welcome to GC Andy,

Kristen is right, it is Escallonia, if you crush the leaves they will have a citrus smell and a sticky feel to them. The flowers are perfumed as well.

I have sixty feet of Escallonia hedging and I took cuttings from mine two years ago to create hedging for my son-in-law, they are now almost 3ft high. Take cuttings now from the soft wood or tips of the stems, about three to four inches long, strip off the lower leaves and dip the remaining stems in rooting powder and grow them on in pots, they will take a a month or two to root. Shelter them from frost over the winter months. When they've reached about 6 inches in height, snip off the growing tip, this will encourage them to bush out. As the plants grow on, again snip the tips off the side shoots to stop them becoming leggy. They should be ready to plant out this time next year.

Escallonia are hardy, but don't like continuously wet ground as the leaves tend to yellow and drop, they are quick to recover and replace the leaves though. They can handle hard pruning.

 

When I take cuttings of the Escallonia I take straight branches about 12 - 15 " long, take of all the leaves from the bottom 9" and remove any flower buds.
I then just push into the soil in my Nursey Bed. They usuall take and can be transplanted the following year.
Once established they get to 6'+ and spread more than 4'.
The worst trait in my experience is the annoying tendency to throw new growth downwards at the bottom of the plant. I do more pruning at the bottom than the top of the shrubs. It's still a valuable privacy plant.

 

Sorry for the lateness in my reply. I have been job hunting like crazy!

Wonderful advice guys and I am extremely grateful. There is ample for me to use as cuttings. I will take and pot a few amount. Then I will cut the existing hedge right back, as suggested by Kristen. Once again I thank you for the warm welcome and the valuable advice.