How to Prune a privet hedge with This Old House

Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to prune a privet hedge.

Steps:

1 Use loppers to remove one-third of the older stems, so sunlight can penetrate the hedge's interior.

2 Find long stems that grow out of hedge, and snip them close to the ground.

3 Where one stem branches into two, cut just above the Y-shaped split.

4 Continue cutting older stems, but leave new growth.

5 Use hand pruners to thin stems.

6 Place clippings in trash bags.

7 Next spring, apply a shrub fertilizer.

8 Next summer, repeat pruning by removing one-third of the large stems.