Hedges need regular trimming. A hedge may be cut for a number of reasons including neatness, to thicken the hedge, to keep it under control, and in situations where there is a health and safety risk, for example alongside a road. In the photos below, trimming the hedge enabled pedestrians to use the pavement again
Our Top Tips for a healthy hedge
Keep it thick and dense
Closely interwoven branches in your hedge provide safe nesting and roosting places for small birds like thrushes, finches, robins, hedge sparrows and wrens. Open hedges tend to attract magpies, crows, pigeons and squirrels.
Cut at the right time
Leave trimming your hedge until late winter if you can. Hedgerow berries and other fruit provide vital food for birds like fieldfares, redwings and other thrushes throughout the winter. The earlier you cut, the less food will be available to help these birds and other wildlife survive through the most hostile time of year. It is important to be careful during the bird breeding season (1 March to 31 August). Ideally this season should be avoided. If a hedge needs trimming during this time, Chopwell Trees will always check for nests before starting work.
Don’t cut too often or too tight
Although cutting is necessary to keep a hedge thick, if it is cut back to the same point every year it will produce few flowers or berries. If a conifer hedge is cut back too much, the hedge line will grow brown and the hedge will struggle to grow.
Rejuvenating your hedge
Hedges can be kept bushy for many years by cutting them occasionally, but eventually they will become open at the base. If this happens they need to be cut down close to ground level so they can send up a crop of new stems and begin a fresh cycle of healthy growth. (This won’t work for conifers which do not re-grow when cut to the ground.)
If you need help or advice with your hedge cutting or trimming, please get in touch with Chopwell Trees.
We are based in the heart of Warwickshire which gives easy access to offer Hedge Cutting and Trimming services in Leamington, Warwick and surrounding towns.
