Tidy Hedge, Tidy Mind
There is something quite calming about being surrounded by greenery that a nice hedge provides. It can shelter wildlife like birds and hedgehogs which are always welcoming to see and adds to the joy of having a garden. But it does need maintaining otherwise they can get out of control and begin to encroach into your outdoor space and can block more sunlight than you would like. Here is a few tips when trimming hedges in Guernsey.
1. Make sure your road side hedges are trimmed back in time for the Parish constables inspection
Each year, our busiest time for hedge trimming is beginning of June and late September. This is due to Guernsey law, where landowners must ensure all vegetation on their property bordering public roads and foot paths between 1st – 15th June and 15th - 30th September are trimmed back. The parish constables are also checking for any overhanging vegetation from hedges or branches of trees are clear of 12ft from the road surface which are used by vehicles and up to 8ft for other public roads.
2. Regular Pruning helps keep the hedge tighter and fuller
During the summer period it is a good excuse to get out and keep on top of maintaining any other hedging you may have around your property. It is a good practice to trim a hedge at least once a year as it stimulates growth at the cut points making the hedge denser. This keeps the hedge looking vibrant and healthy.
3. Don’t let your hedge get
top heavy
One thing to look out for is whether the hedge is getting wider at the top than the bottom causing it to become top heavy. If this is the case you may notice that the lower section of the hedge is beginning to thin out a bit, revealing the branch structure. This is due to less sunlight reaching the bottom of the plant. In order to counteract this, you would want to trim more off the top of the hedge making the bottom wider allowing more light to the lower sections and this will encourage more growth in these areas making the hedge fuller. This practice works really well with broadleaf hedges and can be carried out on non-coniferous hedges that have been left unkept for several years but is limited with coniferous hedges
4. Care when cutting Conifers
Generally more care is needed when trimming conifers as they do not like being cut back too harshly and will die off if cut back past the green areas of their foliage leaving a brown twiggy hedge which won’t recover. So once the hedge is left to grow for a few years you are restricted with what you can do to bring the hedge back to a manageable tidy hedge that it once was. It is best to keep conifer hedging pruned tightly and regularly.
Expert advice from Arbology Tree Services
Whilst trimming a hedge it gives you a chance to check out if there are any areas that need attention. Once pinpointed there are various pruning techniques to achieve a desired outcome where here at Arbology Tree Services we would be happy to offer further advice to help you with this.
Or if you would prefer to have an experienced team to come and trim your hedges for you then please give us a call on 07781 438747. At Arbology Tree services we would love to hear from you we can provide a no obligation free quotation and/or helpful advice.
Whether it is simply to reduce the height or rejuvenating a thinning lower section or just a nicely trimmed tidy up. It’s amazing the sigh of relief you get once you can step back and admire a neat hedge giving your garden the feeling of a more spacious and refreshing feel to it.