Hello. Has anyone got any ideas if a product exists which can be
sprayed onto a privet hedge to reduce it's growth rate? A neighbourof
mine claims that a product used to exist - is she correct? Thanx,
Bob.

bob wrote:
> Hello. Has anyone got any ideas if a product exists which can be
> sprayed onto a privet hedge to reduce it's growth rate? A neighbourof
> mine claims that a product used to exist - is she correct? Thanx,
> Bob.

There are antiauxins which will dwarf plants without killing them--
think of poinsettias -- but I don't think they'd be available for
amateur use, and I imagine they're too expensive for a hedge. Plants
themselves produce these compounds for various purposes, but one would
have to be applied in a very specific way to get the desired effect
without doing harm.

--
Mike.

bob wrote:
> Hello. Has anyone got any ideas if a product exists which can be
> sprayed onto a privet hedge to reduce it's growth rate? A neighbourof
> mine claims that a product used to exist - is she correct? Thanx,
> Bob.

There's a product called 'cutless' in America, there's supposed to be one
called 'Scotts' Cutlass' in the UK but I can't find any links to it.

Try google for hedge growth inhibitors

Thanks for that, i'll have a look. Bob.

bob wrote:
> Hello. Has anyone got any ideas if a product exists which can be
> sprayed onto a privet hedge to reduce it's growth rate? A neighbourof
> mine claims that a product used to exist - is she correct? Thanx,
> Bob.

Reducing the size of the roots would do it, in my experience, but it
won't be easy!

adder1969 [at] yahoo.co.uk wrote:
> bob wrote:
> > Hello. Has anyone got any ideas if a product exists which can be
> > sprayed onto a privet hedge to reduce it's growth rate? A neighbourof
> > mine claims that a product used to exist - is she correct? Thanx,
> > Bob.
>
> Reducing the size of the roots would do it, in my experience, but it
> won't be easy!

Yeah, like trenching. That's a good idea. Better than some chemical
.....

bob wrote:
> Hello. Has anyone got any ideas if a product exists which can be
> sprayed onto a privet hedge to reduce it's growth rate? A neighbourof
> mine claims that a product used to exist - is she correct? Thanx,
> Bob

I had a Lawsonnia hedge cut back a couple of months back and the guy
asked me if I wanted it sprayed to inhibit its growth =A320.

Oh yeah! (hes gonna use snake oil I thought). I Let him do it. (Was in
generous mood)

Would you believe it! its working. The tips have gone slightly brown
and have stopped growing.

Cunning sod would not tell me what it was though. Anyone got any ideas?

Bookworm wrote:
> bob wrote:
> > Hello. Has anyone got any ideas if a product exists which can be
> > sprayed onto a privet hedge to reduce it's growth rate? A neighbourof
> > mine claims that a product used to exist - is she correct? Thanx,
> > Bob
>
> I had a Lawsonnia hedge cut back a couple of months back and the guy
> asked me if I wanted it sprayed to inhibit its growth =A320.
>
> Oh yeah! (hes gonna use snake oil I thought). I Let him do it. (Was in
> generous mood)
>
> Would you believe it! its working. The tips have gone slightly brown
> and have stopped growing.
>
> Cunning sod would not tell me what it was though. Anyone got any ideas?

Sorry this is ten days later. I've been away; but in any case I didn't
want to say anything till others had told us of their experiences. But
not a whisper! If I had to cut back a Lawsonia hedge instead of
ripping it out, I'd go through it with secateurs and loppers, making
sure I never went beyond a green shoot -- if I were being paid for it,
rather an expensive job, and probably with disappointing results. I
don't know enough to be sure about those brown tips, but they sound
like bad news to me. You want growth inhibited, not killed.

It seems possible to me that the reason he wouldn't tell you what it
was is that it was dikegulac (sold as "Cutlass"), which has been banned
for at least a couple of years now: if so, I don't think he should have
been using it. Maybe the low price of twenty quid reflects a desire to
get rid of the stuff. I don't know if the ban was because of human or
animal health risks or environmental damage. I also don't know if
Scotts and other makers have replaced the chemical with something more
acceptable -- more acceptable, that is, till they find out what's wrong
with the replacement.

There really aren't any short cuts in gardening: as far as I'm
concerned, you either do it or you don't. Plants are plants, and
concrete is concrete, and in the right hands either can look great: we
have to take our pick, and shoulder the cost either way.

--
Mike.