If the green fence around your property grows over your head, it not only takes up a lot of space, it can also be a nuisance due to unwanted shadows. Then a radical pruning is required, which should be done with care, so that the plants sprout healthy again.
A hedge may only be pruned radically very late or very early in the year
How hard can you cut?
If the hedge has grown sprawling and getting old, a radical cure will ensure that it grows nice and evenly dense again. With almost all hedge plants, there is no reason to worry that the plants could die as a result of this measure. As a rule, the hedge closes faster than the garden lover might suspect.
In particular, if the bushes are bare from the inside, it is worth pruning them hard, as the bushes will produce many new shoots. After a few months, the enclosure looks almost freshly set. Plants that have grown too large can be cut back by about half or even a third.
How is it cut?
If you radically shorten the hedge, you can hardly do without optical compromises for a while. The reason: almost always only the outer, young branches are juicy green. As soon as you cut off a few centimetres, leaves or needles will be missing.
Nevertheless, cut boldly into the old wood. This stimulates the plant to activate the sleeping eyes. From this, numerous new shoots and a lot of leaf mass are formed.
It is important that you cut back at a time when the old wood has enough reserves for strong new growth. You should therefore preferably reach for hedge trimmers (€24.99) in late winter, just before the growth period begins.
method
- Pruning should be done on a frost-free day when the temperature is at least five degrees.
- First, prune the crown at the planned height. Here it makes sense to work with a tension line. This will make the top edge nice and straight.
- Then it goes to the sides of the hedge. A slightly trapezoidal shape is ideal, with the shoulders being narrower than the base. This cut gives all shoots enough light.
- Alternatively, you can cut the enclosure at right angles, but this will result in light losses in the lower part.
- Never cut the shrubs only at the top, as this pruning only stimulates growth in the upper area. This makes growth irregular, since hardly any fresh shoots grow back below.
tips
From March 1st to September 30th, the Federal Nature Conservation Act does not allow heavy hedge trimming. However, you can also carry out superficial repair work, which is almost unavoidable due to the radical pruning, during the summer months.