What variety is it? I have never seen an Ilex like that before.
Just wondering why you cut off the lower branches? To make a dense hedge yo leave on the bottom ones and trim the top usually. Are the leaves meant to be golden or are they suffering please?

That is no Ilex that I've ever seen... leaves are completely wrong for starters. What makes you think it is Ilex Gerrad? Regardless of what it is I doubt it is going to do well for you if it has to contend with rabbits, children and their footballs.

It is Ilex crenata, the box leaved holly, often now being suggested as a substitute for box hedging. It likes acidic soil, and yours looks a bit chlorotic - do you know if your soil is alkaline or acid? Otherwise it could just be they need a good feed, either a balanced 7-7-7 feed like Growmore, or a higher nitrogen one - what fertilizer have you used, if any? recommended times for clipping back are May and September, so if you haven't fed them this year, do so and clip back the tops by an inch or three to try to get them more or less the same height. The cutting and feeding should induce more bushy growth.

Was there any advice from the supplier regarding pruning back during their first year to get the plants to thicken up?

Thanks for the responses.

It's Ilex Crenata as Bamboo says. Also known as Japanese holly. I'm not sure what the ph is but will certainly check. I have used a general fertiliser like evergreen on it but perhaps I should pick something more specific.

I haven't cut the bottom stems it is just not growing there.
Should I cut the top growth off completely to encourage new growth at the bottom?

Thanks
Gerard

I have a golden leaved Ilex crenata...but mine looks a lot healthier than these. Trouble with Ilex Gerard, is its very slow growing. So if you were to remove a lot of the growth to get it bushier, then you'd be waiting years for it to look any better at all. Sorry, not sure what I would do with this. To be honest, if you are looking for a low hedge, you might be better with Lonicera nitida. It's also evergreen and responds really well to clipping, but it grows fast and it's not expensive. I don't think it flowers either, so you'd not have bees around the children as you would with Lavender.

When hedge plants first go in, its usual to cut of a fair amount, depending on the plant used, in the first year to encourage thickening up at the base to make a solid, dense hedge all the way down. The trouble is, Ilex crenata is very, very slow growing, so I am not certain whether this procedure can or should be carried out, because recovery will take so long. It will be necessary to remove some of the topgrowth, I'm just not sure how much. Which is why I wondered what the instructions from the supplier were regarding this, if they gave any.

When you say 'Evergreen' fertilizer, what does that mean? the only Evergreen I know is actually a lawn fertilizer, usually with weedkiller and/or mosskiller mixed in, is that what you used?

It's an evergreen general purpose fertiliser but I only put it on recently to try to help the hedge.

It's really hard to know what to do. I don't want to just take it out as it seems like such a waste but I want it to thrive.

Is there a reason why some of the lower outshoots are dead or don't have leaves?

Maybe if I just keep the top trimmed it will eventually fill out at the bottom?!

Sometimes knowing what to do in gardening is so difficult.

"evergreen general purpose"? Is "Evergreen" the brand name, Gerard? Or does it say on the label, "for evergreens"? What are the three numbers on the front?
If they were bare at the base when you bought them, chances are they were kept too close together at the grower or garden center. Fixing the problem involves gentle feeding, and light tip cutting of the topmost and widest branches. I would also remove the mulch from about 5 cm around the base of each plant. Mulch piled around the base of a plant interferes with root development, and can cause the main stems to rot.

Agree with Tugbrethil, and there is no question regarding the need to take them out, its not necessary. But am still concerned about what fertilizer you used. What does it say on the box? Evergreen only make lawn fertilizers, so what exactly have you used?

Sorry for the confusion on the fertiliser I just found the bag and it's Scott's Evergreen fertiliser 11-7-7.
To be honest I don't think they were bare at the bottom when I bought them. I think it was the rabbits that did the harm there.
I'll remove some of the mulch. What fertiliser should I use? How often?

Okay, got it, its Evergreen flowering tree and shrub fertilizer. If you used it recently, you cannot use any other fertilizer for at least two months since you applied it - this is a granular formulation that takes two months to break down and feeds the plants while it does so. If you applied it a month ago, wait another four weeks, and you'll just have time to apply it one more time before the end of June, but after that, do not feed again until March next year. If the two months since you applied it is up after the end of June, do not feed again this year. I am a little curious as to how you applied that Evergreen fertilizer, given the soil is covered with wood mulch though.

All you should do is tip prune, that is, remove an inch, maybe two, of the top foliage, but no more, because this plant is slow growing. If you're anywhere in the south of the UK, we had a very dry period from early April right through to the last couple of weeks, and that would have meant they didn't grow very much.

The other thing to do is, if you can, remove that rather lumpy and woody bark mulch (I assume that's what it is) and replace it with composted animal manure, spread an inch or two deep, but don't let it sit against the stems of the plant near the base, keep those clear. This will degrade over time into the soil and improve it, making conditions better for the plants so they are better able to seek out their own nutrients, as well as keeping moisture in and discouraging weed growth. If you know you will want to fertilize the plants again in, say, the next month, then wait till then to remove the woody mulch, spread the fertilizer at the recommended rate (do not overdose) and then apply the composted animal manure as a mulch over the top. My feeling is, though, if you used that fertilizer recently, you don't really need to reapply this year, especially if you use the composted animal manure.

I applied 5weeks ago or so before the mulch was applied. I put the mulch on as I was afraid the hedge was drying out too much and wanted to retain moisture.

I have a farm so I will get some well rotted manure and take your advice Bamboo.

Regarding the light tip cutting. When should I do this? Is it something I should be doing regularly or do I do it once/twice a year?

The advice is formative pruning in spring two years running (that means the tip cutting as described for this plant) then what's called a 'maintenance' cutting in summer if necessary, which it doesn't look like it will be for your hedge yet, its too young, so clip the tops now. Keep well watered in dry spells, particularly if its hot or windy, for the first couple of years.