I have an overgrown Thuja.plicata hedge. It's green and apparently healthy on the outside, woody on the inside. It is starting to take over the street, and the neighbours are complaining. I'd like to hard prune one side of it; i.e., take it down to its woody stems. My question, should I do that, will that pruned side eventually green-up again? Thanks for any advice you can provide. CMC
Thuja usually do not respond well to trimming in to the brown wood. I have seen exceptions but generally speaking its not pretty. can you selectivley reduce the overgrown branches and make it a longer term project, the likelihood of regeneration may be higher. take 1/3 of the largest branches back with an appropriate pruning cut this year. wait a year or two and see how the trees respond, then if it looks like the trees are healthy and no under unde stress, do the same thing again. Or trim the branches that are an issue for clearance of pedestrians or vehicles only.
How did this work out. I have just moved toa house witha very mature garden and a hedge similar to the one you describe. I don't want to cut down the whole hedge, but there is a lot of dead looking material inside - nearly two feet of it and a bout three or four inches of green stuff on the outside. Interested to hear from anyone with similar experiences.
