What time of year are you shearing the hedge?

Thank you for responding Embothrium. These privets are located in Southern California. I usually trim them throughout the Summer, Fall, and Winter. When the bushes are flowering in the Spring they grow like crazy, but I hold off on cutting them until the Summer.

When do you recommend trimming them? Do you think my trimming habits are related to the plants sickly appearance?

I have noticed that one section of the privet hedges are thriving and grow quite rapidly, no matter the season; while another section has yellowing leaves and slow growth.

is the driveway/patio side of the hedge always in shade? .. especially as it gets taller ... is there the same damage on the tops which appear to be in full sun????

one issue is how close they were planted to the driveway ... necessitating the constant shearing.. to keep them off the driveway ...

eventually you will have to go deeper into the plant.. to remove all the hard older wood so that you can maintain the shearing .... what some might call a renovation pruning at height ... or all the way to the ground.. with no insult to the root mass and presuming a healthy plant.. you might be surprised how fast they will regrow ...

dead wood is dead.. it should be cut out ... sooner or later.. the only question when you do that.. is whether you need to sanitize your clippers between cuts to be safe ...

ken

Yes the parts of the hedge that receive the most shade are thriving compared to the rest. I have not considered trimming the hedges way back. I may try this soon and see what results.