You start out with an idea to create a hedge to screen neighbours or to add definition to an area that needs some structure. Everything starts out fine but before you know it the hedge has grown too large or at best unwieldy and it has lost the objective of why you put it in in the first place.
Whether a hedge is small or large it does need regular attention to maintain an appearance that is attractive.
Pruning hedges is not as easy though as you might think. You need to consider height, width, straightness, density, impact on other nearby plants and shrubs, etc. You also need a range of pruning tools, from simple secateurs, to shears, to light trimmers to heavy duty trimmers to long range trimmers, most of which are costly to purchase and maintain.
One other aspect with hedge trimming that is worth mentioning is the physical strength required to operate trimmers. At Tappy's we recognised that attempting to lift a device weighing 6-10 kg's for extended periods of time would affect the quality of finish we could achieve, so we've moved over completely to battery operated tools. These devices are not only much lighter, they are also much more maneuverable, quiet and incredibly more effective due to the stop start nature of hedge pruning.
Finally hedges are best pruned a couple of times a year. Generally we advise pruning mid Autumn and late Spring/early Summer. When pruning make sure you water in sufficiently afterwards as the plant will want to go into "grow" mode and to do that it will need to draw up moisture from the soil to assist with the growth.
Needless to say that a move to hedging is one that needs some deep thought. If you decide to go down the hedge path, feel free to give us a call.
Here's some pics of a large hedge we maintain for a customer in Templestowe.
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