[ScottGem]

When I bought my house there was a hedge on the left side (facing house) of the driveway. The hedge is about 4-5 feet from the property line with 2 trees behind it in a bed of ivy. My neighbor on that side has several shrubs only the property line so its really no issue of using the hedge for privacy.

The hedge is a pain to maintain. I've been lax in keeping it trim, so now its taking up about 2 feet of driveway. If I tried trimming it back to the property line, I woiuld probably have to cut off all the greenery on it. Its also grown so it's a problem keeping the top trim. I did some work on it yesterday, cutting off offshoots closer to the driveway. Now there are gaps that don't look too nice.

I'm thinking seriously of just getting rid of it entrely. If I take a chain saw the base and just run it through my chipper shreader will I have to do anything more to the stumps that are left? If I leave them and they start new growth, maybe I can keep that trimmed properly.

Opinions?

[alkalineangel]

Chop the sucker down. You can take the chainsaw to it and get it down to the stumps, but you will need to actually dig the stumps up, or you will have the root systems and the tumps sticking up from the ground. I think the chances of it regrowing are pretty slim though if you don't mind the stumps..

[treyball3]

It depends on the type of "hedge" I would guess. I have a not so friendly mulberry bush that was allowed by the previous owner to grow intertwined in the chainlink fence. It was over 20 feet tall last summer, so I took a chain saw to it and got it down to stumps. This summer its been sprouting new branches. I guess it depends if you want to entirely keep the hedge. If you want to keep it, you may be able to cut it down to its stump and start over. It may not necessarily grow back. If you want to get rid of it completely, I'd take steps to remove the stump. There's a powder you can buy that you drill holes into the stump, pour this powder in and it kills the stump. I'm about to try that with my mulberry bush. Or you could rent/hire a stump remover and take that baby out. In my experience mulberry bushes are TERRIBLE, hopefully whatever you have isn't as bad.

[ScottGem]

Not its not a mulberry. Its an evergreen, but not sure what it is. I'm not a plant person. But that gives me an idea. I think I'll post some pics to see if people can identify the foliage around the house.

I'll probably take the hedge out, but when would be a good time? I'm thinking the fall, when it will be cooler. But if I'd like to see if it will grow back would there be a better time?