Old hedges

Hopeful gardener

we have Holly hedge over 60 yrs old which separates the pavement from the garden bed. We have cleared out the base of the hedge from other plants and weeds, but now there are very thin areas that could be opened wider by animals. The hedge is about 6 feet tall and there are holes in the hedge where birds go in and out.

any suggestions on how we can thicker the hedge at the base and in the middle?

thanks

Jimmy Crawford

You can try taking hardwood cuttings once the bushes are dormant and use these to thicken out the base. Always a good idea to have a new layer in places when dealing with slower growing trees such as holly. Info here https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=387

 

As far as the holes in the middle, if you trim a few inches of a branch, taking it back to just in front of a pair of buds or leaves, it usually stimulates the branch to put out more and thicker growth

Dovefromabove

As has been said, cut the hedge back hard to rejuvenate it - give it some Fish Blood & Bone to feed it - and it will grow away strongly. 

In future try to clip it to an 'A'  shape - wider at the bottom than the top - that way you'll get a lovely 'fat bottom' to your hedge with no gaps!