In the past, hedgerows were used to keep farm animals in or out of fields and to mark property and boundaries. It is highly valued by people nowadays for different reasons. Hedges help reduce pollution, prevent soil loss, and have the potential to reduce flooding and regulate water supplies.

Hedges consist of evergreen trees that have dense leaves or deciduous shrubs. Hedges are planted in rows close together. Hedges can be tall or short depending on the type of shrubs you use. They provide useful borders, partitions and living decorative elements for your garden.

You need to maintain your hedges frequently to keep them looking neat and desired at the right size. Normally you need to trim your hedges twice a year. But you need to consider the variety of shrubs you have planted and their growth rate. To prevent them from overgrowing, cut your hedges frequently. Here are some helpful tips for trimming your hedges to create a beautiful landscape.

How to trim hedges

1. Before you start trimming your hedges, you need to determine your habits. If you have dormant buds, and when you cut the end of a branch, new branches will sprout below the cut. But make sure you don’t trim the hedges too harshly. Therefore, prune your evergreens only to new growth for the current year. If you have deciduous shrubs, it can put up with pruning back into old wood from previous growing seasons.

2. Now start assembling all your tools. For small hedges, use manual hedge shears or trimmers, and for larger ones, use electric ones. Your cutters should have a trim notch near the base of the blade. If you don’t have the pruning notch, you’ll need hand pruners. Also, you will need a tarp to collect all the clippings.

3. You should always trim your hedges at planting time. When planting a new hedge, trim back the privet and reduce the height of the bush and the length of its branches by a quarter to a third. Privet is nothing more than a flowering plant in the Ligustrum species. This type contains about 50 species of erect, evergreen or deciduous shrubs. For dense evergreens and slow-growing conifers, do not trim the tops until they reach the desired height.

4. Now lay out a pattern to ensure you trim your hedges neatly and evenly. To establish an outline, you can drive stakes into each corner of the hedge. Take a stake and tie a rope a few inches above the ground. Take that string to the other stake at the end of the hedge and tie it down at the same level. Do the same for the top end and the other side. For the top section, keep the string below a few inches from the top.

5. Create a beautiful shape when you are trimming your hedges. Use the stakes as a guide to cut out the top and the strings for the sides. Cut any stems and foliage sticking out of the string. All parts of the plant need enough sunlight for growth. And as they start to grow, trim the sides. Keep the bottom of your plant a little wider than the top, so the upper branches don’t shade the lower ones. For locations with snowy climates, give your hedges a sloped or rounded top. In this way, your hedges can easily get rid of snow.

Always maintain a good shape and fullness to your hedges when pruning. Trim deciduous hedges when they are dormant in late winter and again in the summers. For new growth on evergreen trees, cut them back in late spring and mid to late summer. But don’t cut into old wood.

Now, after you finish trimming your hedges, fertilize them with compost to help them grow faster.