Hedge Trimming
When to Trim
By the end of the second year of your hedges growth, hedge trimming should become a bi-annual event.
In the spring, hedges are trimmed to remove the winter misery including any dead or broken branches. This is the time of year when your hedges will grow the most. Just as with trees, hedges slow down their growth rate in late summer to conserve moisture and prepare for winter.
Late summer or early fall (Jul-Sept) just after your hedges have achieved their maximum growth, is the best time for a second trimming when you can shape the hedges and at their slower rate of growth they will maintain their shape the longest.
Note: Pruning too late in the fall may risk damage to the hedges because they may not have time to heal the cuts before the frost sets in. The best time for a second trimming is late summer after the hedge has slowed down it's rate of growth.
Depending on the number of hedges you have and the risk involved in getting close enough to the hedges to cut them, you may find that a pair of hand trimmers and a good book adequate to do the job and save you some money. If you have a lot of hedges, or there is some risk involved in getting close enough to the hedges to trim them (ie elevated or sloped surface), or you just want to make sure the job is properly done, you should hire a professional arborist.
The actual trimming of the hedges (as tricky as it may be) is only one part of the problem. Here in BC, clean-up and disposal of the trimmings must also be considered.
With the city's recent change in refuse disposal by-laws you can no-longer dispose of the trimmings along with regular garbage. Doing so will result in a fine. You must haul (or pay someone to haul) the trimmings to the transfer station and pay to dump the trimmings in a separate location where they are collected for recycling.
Tree companies have chipper/shredders feeding directly into a truck where they can fit many times what they could as loose branches. What might take a homeowner two or three trips to the transfer station to dispose of, can be easily fit along with trimmings from other homes into a single load making it more economical for a tree company to dispose of them.
Many local residents are finding that between the time and energy required to cut the hedges and the costs for disposing of them, it makes more sense to hire a professional. Professionals not only trim hedges, but clean-up after and dispose of any trimmings. For large jobs, it is almost always more economical (and much faster) to hire a professional.
Hedge Trimming – Before and After
We have added a gallery of before and after images on some Burley Boys hedge trimming jobs. These might give you some idea at what point you might consider calling in a professional.
