Leyland cypress hedge looks like it's dying!

[Rebecca611]

Hi, I have a leyland cypress hedge in my garden. When we bought our house 1 and a half years ago we trimmed the hedge for the first time around August. The hedge now looks like it's dying slowly as there are huge dry patches across it. How can I make the hedge sprout new growth in the dry patches?

[skylight]

Hi again Rebecca, This will probably be due to the very dry weather we had, especially it it was a young hedge. It should have been kept well watered. The other cause could be if you have trimmed it too hard. You only trim the green growth and dont cut back into the old wood. If you do it will not sprout again. Meanwhile cut out the dead patches and give it a good mulch. You can only wait until growth starts next spring and see what happens, but it doesn't look too good. cheers skylight