how long do they live . I have a Caragana hedge and don't know how long its been here I only know the house has been here since 1915 and some areas of the hedge I can pull the root right out with no effort just like the branch is sitting on top of the soil I imagine that could be root rot but it could also be the tell tale sign of its life span coming to an end . The best answer I could find is, "average"... 'whatever that means'