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My neighbour poisoned his lawn last year in order to rip it up and lay new lawn, in the process some of my hedges died as the roots are on the border of each others property (was not happy). Anyway they have come along way since then as alot of new growth has come back but i am still not happy with the way they look as there is still alot of dead branches. I have been watering regularly applying seasol and powerfeed. Can anyone suggest a way to bring the dead branches back to life?
Hello @sam00
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about reviving your hedges.
Unfortunately, there is no foolproof way to remove all the poison in the soil. Weedkillers generally have a lifespan of 72 hours and then they dissipate. However, residual chemicals that travel deeper into the soil sometimes find their way to the roots of your existing plants.
In order to dilute the poison, I suggest a period of heavy watering to wash it clear of the area. Adjusting the ph level to neutral will help to balance the soil chemistry. Adding garden soil with compost to improve the soil quality will also help.
The parts of your hedge that have turned brown can no longer be saved. The poison has reached a part of the root system and has killed it from the bottom up. I suggest cutting the damaged areas off. Keep watering the poisoned area to dissipate any chemicals that might be left there. I suggest waiting several weeks before attempting to plant anything in the poisoned spot.
Let me tag our experienced members @Noelle and @Adam_W for their recommendations.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
Hi EricL thank you for your informative response that's some great info. If I cut out the dead brown branches as suggested this will leave large gaps/holes in the hedge will these grow back over time?
Hi @sam00
Sorry to say it ... but dead branches are exactly that: dead. It isn't possible to bring dead parts of plants back to life even with watering and soil/plant tonics.
My advice would be to remove the one or two plants that are predominantly dead and replant with a couple of advanced box that will grow reasonably quickly to re-establish the hedge.
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