A hedge to fulfill its decorative role and preserve the aesthetics of your garden must be perfectly cut. Here are some tips that will help you look your hedge.
When to cut a hedge?
As soon as you have planted your deciduous shrubs, you will need to fold them one-third of their height or peel the ends if they are persistent. The size of the hedges is mainly used to give it a shape and a height to get a pleasant decor to the eye and a dimension that suits you best. You will make the size twice a year. Once in spring in May and June, and once in summer in August or September. Enjoy the size to eliminate dead branches. This size is of course to get a hedge very straight, but also to remove the branches of the center and the branches that seem to you damaged. You will avoid pruning during periods of heat wave, it may weaken.
Can we cut a hedge in winter?
Do not prune your hedge in winter, but rather at the end of the summer. The late size is not recommended and may put your hedge in bad shape. Indeed, if the frost occurs just after this one, she will suffer. A hedge is fed by the sap to grow or to keep it alive in the winter. If you trim the aerial part, the surplus sap will drain, the buds appear and the vegetation restarts. In this case, it will freeze. This phenomenon weakens it a lot and sometimes it even dies and is covered with fungi.
If you have not had the time to do it in the summer, pushing back in the spring is definitely better. Your hedge will be much more beautiful and you will have preserved it.
To read also >> When to cut a hedge of cedar?
The necessary equipment
Cutting a hedge requires a good tool to choose from this list according to your needs:
Manual and motorized tools:
- Secateurs: intended for small branches;
- A secateur de force: intended for medium diameter branches;
- Shears: ideal for low hedges and finishes;
- An atrium: useful in case of high branches, small or medium diameter;
- A hedge trimmer: this power tool allows you to prune faster, to learn more, look at the Warrior guide of trimmers.
- The hedge trimmer: mainly for very tall or wide hedges, it is also motorized;
- A chainsaw: it is designed to fold the hedges to a too big volume by cutting the trunks or the big branches or chainsaws on pole for branches or trunks too far away.
You will add some useful accessories like:
- A stepladder or ladder: for the highest and widest hedges, a scaffolding is possible;
- Protection equipment such as: protective gloves, safety goggles, hearing protection if necessary, safety shoes, safety harnesses and lifejackets, if you cut from the street for example;
- A rake: to move the waste;
- A tarpaulin: large size preferably and in any case as close as possible to the length of the hedge. It allows the waste to be recovered and then transported easily.
- A blower : it is useful in finishing so that the building site is perfectly clean.
Cut a hedge: the steps
Some steps are essential to obtain a quality size:
- Begin the size by the sides of the hedge starting at the ends and progressing from top to bottom. The movement is circular from bottom to top if you have chosen to use an electric hedge trimmer. Avoid having to reach out to minimize fatigue and risk of accidents;
- If you want the hedge to have adequate sunshine, the bottom must be wider than the top;
- Once the sides are finished, you will place a rope or string at the desired height, this allows you to get a very straight hedge. You use stakes or you tie the rope to the branches. Fold about 30 cm so that the hedge is very vigorous;
- Then start the height in height, along the string stretched;
- If you have not made a regular size, the shears or hedge trimmer may not be suitable. A handsaw or pruner can be used. Indeed, it is very thick and the size can be dangerous.
Cut a big hedge: our practical advice
First, for a large hedge, the string and string process is a must to obtain an aesthetic result and a hedge very straight.
The hedge must remain dense to be beautiful, it can be square or rectangular so as to bloom at best. However, it should be maintained very regularly by cutting twice a year, or even three if necessary.
Once you have chosen a shape, try to fit it perfectly. You will prune above all the tender stems and the leaves.
The sun can be dangerous for your hedge, so it is recommended to try to densify it so that the rays can not penetrate inside and reach the root system.
The choice of tools is essential to obtain the desired result. Opt for specialized tools like the electric hedge trimmer for large and dense hedges. Remember to keep your tools in a perfect state of cleanliness once the size is finished. If you want to keep them for a long time, there should be no debris left.
